Category: Tin Top Racing

Into the final day then of this very tricky rally which despite its rocky and dusty road often has some very close finishes. Adrien and Alex returned to the action as the Hyundai team were able to sort the damage out after their incident yesterday.

First up then was SS13 San Giacomo – Plebi 1 – 25.19 km and Seb was fastest from Ott and Kalle. The top three overall were making the most of the cleaning road which was opened by Adrien. The stage winning pace from Seb meant he increased his lead over Ott by four and a half seconds.

Into the second stage of the day, SS14 Porto San Paolo 1 – 13.70 km which would be the later power stage and Kalle was fastest from Seb and Ott. Takamoto gained two positions and moved into fifth position. This was after their teammate Sami slowed in the stage losing almost a whole minute to the stage winner.

Time for the penultimate stage then, SS15 San Giacomo – Plebi 2 – 25.19 km and Ott was fastest by two and a half seconds from Seb with Kalle third. There were a few leaderboard changes further back as Sami moved back into seventh place, but incredibly Oliver Solberg was actually one place ahead in sixth place, despite driving a Rally2 Yaris.

After a short service break we came to the final stage, SS16 Porto San Paolo 2[Power Stage] – 13.70 km and Thierry set the early pace before the Kalle came through to win the stage by eight or so seconds and Ott was third fastest whilst Takamoto and Elfyn rounded out the final points paying positions in the powerstage. There was some drama for Seb as he lost the rear of his Yaris and nudged a tree at the highest point of the stage. His winning margin in the end was a little under eight seconds.

Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Rally Italia Sardegna

1	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:34:24.5
2	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+7.9
3	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+50.5
4	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+5:05.7
5	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+7:29.6
6	O. Solberg	E. Edmondson	Toyota GR Yaris	+8:32.9
7	S. Pajari	M. Salminen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+10:29.0
8	N. Gryazin	K. Aleksandrov	Škoda Fabia RS	+10:58.7
9	R. Daprà	L. Guglielmetti	Škoda Fabia RS	+12:15.3
10	K. Kajetanowicz	M. Szczepaniak	Toyota GR Yaris	+12:21.1

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m very happy to secure this win. It was a close fight until the end with Ott and this morning I had the opportunity to build a bit of a margin. Therefore, in the Power Stage I was not pushing for the full points, but we still had to fight with the ruts, and I got caught in a tight corner and preferred to stop and reverse the car. It wasn’t ideal and cost us some Sunday points, but we had enough in hand to achieve our main target which was to win. It’s a very satisfying win for myself and the team, which did a great job after Portugal to improve the car setup and the speed even without a test; the car was enjoyable to drive, and the times were coming more easily.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“I think we can be happy with our weekend. We had a lot of cleaning on Friday and after that we managed it the best we can with a clean and clever drive and maximum points from Sunday. I did everything I could in the Power Stage, and I was surprised by the time gap because it didn’t feel great in such a narrow and slow stage, but I’m happy with the points. In terms of the pace this is probably the best weekend I’ve done in Sardinia, so thanks to the team for the good car.”

Elfyn Evans

“Overall, we have to be satisfied with how our weekend has turned out. Fourth was realistically as much as we could expect starting first on the road on Friday. This is always a rally full of attrition and getting to the end without big issues was vital. The pace of the top three was pretty hot but the positive thing is that we did make clear progress through the rally in terms of feeling, especially in second-pass conditions, so that gives us some positives to take forward to Greece.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s been a very tough weekend as we expect here, but still, we could finish fifth overall which is not so bad. We had some difficulties during the weekend with the roll and some other things, but this can happen in a rally like this and at the end I felt quite confident with the car. I tried to push in the Power Stage but just made a mistake at the end and got stuck in the very soft and loose surface. So it’s some mixed feelings but I think we are heading in a good direction looking forward to Greece.”

Sami Pajari

“It was a tricky final day for us. The plan was just to get to the finish with a good feeling, but we hit something on the first stage of the day and broke something small in the suspension. We managed to fix it on the road section so that we could continue driving, and then the most important thing was to get to the finish and bring the points back. Up until today I think it was a positive weekend for us. The speed was better and coming more naturally and this is something good to take to Greece.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“We didn’t come into today feeling comfortable to push the limits, as we were struggling to find a good rhythm and balance in the car, but we did our absolute maximum. It has been a very demanding rally, and it’s frustrating to finish second to Seb again. He has been strong this weekend, and at the moment we just don’t have the full package to beat the Toyotas. It was extremely punishing on the stages, and we knew we had to push for as many points as possible but also be very clean and neat, which was a challenge.”

Thierry Neuville

“Overall, I am disappointed in the weekend – I feel we had a lot of back luck on Friday. I still don’t know what went wrong, as I somehow lost control of the car on a flat corner and took off the whole rear. From that point on, there was only today where we could salvage something. Considering our road order, taking five points is not too bad. We will turn the corner soon, the team deserves it; everyone is pushing so hard and I know it will happen. Greece will be tough, it’s very rough and easy to damage the car, but we were able to win from first on the road last year, so starting fifth should be even better for us.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Sardinia was another rally where we were fighting at the top in the beginning, but then something happened that stopped that. I was pleased with my pace on the new stages today, so there are some positives to take from the weekend, and I am determined to turn the negatives into positives by learning from them. There’s things we can definitely improve. The target was a clean rally, which unfortunately didn’t happen, so I will do everything I can to have one in Greece.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Grégoire Munster

“A disappointing weekend for the team with what happened on stage two, but the boys and girls did a good job to get us back on the road. It was quite important to get back out there, because Greece is quickly coming up, so we got some good mileage where we could try things out, collect some data and we’re looking forward to having a better event in Greece.”

Josh McErlean

“A lot of good learning this weekend, and hopefully someday we can use this experience driving first on the road on the first day of a rally! But honestly, a big thanks to the whole team, even in the last service they had a big job to fit a front-left damper in seven minutes! So, a big kudos to them and hopefully we’ve gained some good learning for Greece. It definitely shows us you need to have a good Friday in WRC!”

Jourdan Serderidis

“We end the rally 25th overall, which is better than expected, because looking through the entry list I thought the Top-30 would be the aim. So, we finished 25th, even though we had the roll-on Friday, we lost about three minutes there. For M-Sport it’s not been the best rally so far, with the three cars crashing out on Friday. But thanks to the mechanics, we repaired the cars so we could continue on Saturday and Sunday.”

“Another good point is that we’ve made some developments for the next rally in Greece, and I’m looking forward to a good weekend there soon.”

Romet Jürgenson – WRC2

“In general, it’s been a very positive weekend, the speed is clearly better than in Portugal. That’s what I hoped for, already to be faster on Friday and we were quite consistent as well. Unfortunately, we had the power steering issue which dropped us back, but now we have fought our way back to sixth.”

Oliver Solberg

“Maybe I should have nominated this rally for WRC2 points after all. I’d only been here twice before and without so much experience, I thought it was sensible not to take the points and to focus on learning more about this event.

Before the event, that was sensible. Now, it feels like a bit of a shame. It doesn’t matter. The aim is to win whether we are taking the points or not.

We had a small kiss with the wall on Friday, but after that everything has gone really well. Elliott and the whole team has been amazing and the same with the car.

It was a great weekend. The roads were really tough, but it was a very interesting lesson in working with these new Hankook tyres and making a good strategy to get through the event with the mixture of the hard and soft compound. This has been a hard rally. The temperatures have been high, the car and me and Elliott in the car have worked hard – but it’s been a lot of fun.

Italy has a big passion for rallying, and I think everybody knows we like to go to the place with the big passion for the sport. My dad won here 21 years ago, the first time the WRC came to Sardinia, so it’s nice to take this result.”

 

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 6

1	E. Evans	133
2	S. Ogier	114
3	K. Rovanperä	113
4	O. Tänak	108
5	T. Neuville	83
6	T. Katsuta	63
7	A. Fourmaux	44
8	S. Pajari	31
9	G. Munster	18
10	J. McErlean	12

 

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 6

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	312
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	243
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	87
4	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2	48

Summary

What an incredible drive from Seb and Vincent this weekend. Showing their remarkable partnership, they have taken a second win in a row and third of the year. The speculation that they will do a full season will continue. Whether they do is another matter.

For Ott and Martin, a third podium of the year has taken them to fourth in the championship and a good twenty-five points ahead of their reigning champion teammates.

Kalle and Jonne took a good podium with third place. They we’re really on the pace early on Friday and were even at some points slower than Elfyn and Scott. They turned it around with some changes to their car set-up giving them the ability to push harder and this took them ahead of their teammate and championship leaders. They are now within twenty-points behind Elfyn and Scott and third in the championship standings.

Next up is the Acropolis Rally held over the final weekend of June from the 26^th to 29^th.

Onto Saturday’s 121km’s over six stages then and we had a number of returning crews following incident’s from Friday’s stages. Two of the M-Sport crews returned with both Greg and Josh returning as well as Thierry for Hyundai. The M-Sport duo would open the road, with Josh heading first into the stages throughout the day.

First up was SS7 Coiluna – Loelle 1 – 21.18 km and Seb was fastest from Kalle and Ott. The gap between Seb and Adrien who held second overall grew to 7.4 seconds. Meanwhile Kalle’s pace took him ahead of his teammate Sami and into fourth place.

Into SS8 Lerno – Su Filigosu 1 – 24.34 km and Ott was fastest from Seb and Kalle. Adrien fell from the podium positions after getting a puncture which he and co-driver Alex changed at around 5km’s into the stage. The result of this was he emerged from the stage in seventh position.

The final morning stage then, SS9 Tula – Erula 1 – 15.28 km before service saw Seb again set the pace from Kalle and Ott. Adrien had more problems on this stage going off road and losing two more positions.

After the service break SS10 Coiluna – Loelle 2 – 21.18 km was next and Ott was fastest from Seb and Kalle. Adrien found some luck and pace to go fourth fastest and climbed two positions back into seventh. However, at Toyota, Takamoto fell to tenth position after suffering a puncture.

There was more drama in SS11 Lerno – Su Filigosu 2 – 24.34 km with both Elfyn and Sami getting punctures in the stage. They both stopped in the stage to change the tyre. Of course, they were in fourth and fifth coming into the stage and Elfyn ended up passing his younger teammate as he and Scott were able to change the tyre quicker. Ott was fastest from Seb and Takamoto. Adrien luck ran out again as he rolled his car at 1.9km’s into the stage. He was out again sadly.

The final stage then of the day, SS12 Tula – Erula 2 – 15.28 km which had really rutted up and become very rough with rocks over the stages. Seb was fastest from Ott and Kalle and the gap between the top two was just 11.1 seconds.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

1	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:32:38.9
2	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+11.1
3	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+55.5
4	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+4:33.3
5	S. Pajari	M. Salminen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+4:56.3
6	N. Gryazin	K. Aleksandrov	Škoda Fabia RS	+5:59.6
7	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+6:11.4
8	O. Solberg	E. Edmondson	Toyota GR Yaris	+6:19.5
9	E. Lindholm	R. Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia RS	+6:36.6
10	L. Joona	S. Vaarleri	Škoda Fabia RS	+7:48.1

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m happy with how we managed today. It was a long and demanding day with rougher sections than yesterday, especially this afternoon. The lead is not a huge one, but we will certainly take it. It’s always nice to fight with Ott and we know that he always pushes hard, so we will have to be at our maximum tomorrow if we want to win. It’s a long final day with new and difficult stages and we need to prepare as well as we can because it’s going to be intense. Everyone will be pushing hard for points so I’m sure it will be interesting to watch.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“Today we continued with the better feeling that we had in the car yesterday afternoon, and that together with the better starting position was making a big difference on the first pass. The morning was surprisingly rough already, so we were expecting the afternoon to be tough, and it definitely was. There were quite a few surprises, so I’m happy to finish the day without any issues. Tomorrow won’t be easy at all with the new stages, and it could be quite rough again, but let’s see what we can do.”

Elfyn Evans

“Conditions were tough today like always here in Sardinia. We were just trying to drive at a good pace and with a good feeling in the car and trying to stay out of trouble. The puncture this afternoon was not ideal – it was an exposed rocky place that I tried to avoid, but in doing so I perhaps made it worse for myself – but with Sami losing more time than us we were able to gain a place. Fourth is not a bad position but attention turns to trying to score some extra points tomorrow. It won’t be easy with the strong pace of the guys ahead, but we’ll give it a go.”

Sami Pajari

“This morning I was expecting a big push from Kalle and from the top three. The feeling for me wasn’t too bad, but I was probably a bit on the safe side and could have been quicker. Still this afternoon we were having quite a nice flow until we got the puncture. At first I tried to continue carefully, but then it started making a lot of noise and we stopped to change it and not damage the car. In the end, it wasn’t so bad, we just swapped places with Elfyn. Then I was careful on the last stage, but I hope to find a good flow again tomorrow.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Today I was focused on getting a good feeling in the car and trying some different things with the setup. Unfortunately, we had to stop and change a tyre in the first stage of the afternoon, but after that the pace was pretty good and I felt quite confident with the car. I didn’t expect that I could set those kind of times from my starting position. Tomorrow’s stages are a bit different to today’s, so I will need to find the right compromise in the setup and my driving.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“Today has been all about managing the tyre wear but also the risk of punctures. The roads have been very punishing with a lot of loose stones and bedrock, as well as many surprises, so it has been quite the challenge today. We were trying to keep a good rhythm, as well as a good gap to Kalle behind us. Now our aim is to continue that tomorrow, although the nature of rallying means it is very difficult to forecast what will happen next. Tomorrow is a very different day, and we don’t expect it to be easy, but we will give it our best.”

Thierry Neuville

“It was hot and exhausting out there, but it was a clean run through the stages for us. We tried some new settings to see if we could find something interesting for tomorrow, as we have everything to play for. Obviously, our new road position will help after we managed to catch Jourdan Serderidis, but we didn’t expect our team-mates to crash out and to gain a place as a result. It’s going to be tough with two brand-new stages and a lot of cleaning expected, but anything is still possible. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“On approach to a corner that was tightening, I confused two trees and missed the braking point, which was enough to go wide and cause the car to roll. I think the car can be repaired, but we won’t know until we have a proper inspection. It was a shame to end the day like this, as I already knew Elfyn had a puncture on the stage, so decided to go with higher tyre pressures to avoid one myself, but I should have also avoided missing the braking point.”

Oliver Solberg

“It’s been a fantastic day. We’ve been able to find a nice rhythm and show some good speed. It’s always such a fine line on this rally between setting fast times and making the finish. You have to be quick, but not too quick. I think we’ve been nice and consistent today.

“I’m here to take more experience and that’s what I’m doing – the feeling is nice from the car and hopefully we can bring everything home tomorrow. Winning all of the stages except for the first one is good for Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] and me. We missed [winning] the first one this morning when we had a little bit of a handbrake problem caused by a sensor.

“We had to make some nice Scandinavian flicks to get through some of the hairpins – that was a lot of fun. We reset the sensor after that stage, and it was fine for the rest of the day.

“Tomorrow is still quite an intense day, with a lot of kilometres still to come and some really tricky sections in the two stages.”

 

Sunday

The final day will see the crews tackle four stages. However, with two of them being 25km’s in length the total stage distance is almost 78km’s. There will not be any cruising around out there, particularly with just a little over ten seconds between the top two. What can Thierry do as well to score some points?

The first full day of this season’s round on the island paradise and there was loads of drama in the stages. Of course, compared to last year there were 50km’s extra with an extra two stages giving a total distance of 120km’s.

As mentioned in my preview as they are championship leaders Elfyn and Scott would open the road, whilst their teammates at Toyota due to their current championship position would potentially have a road advantage due to the top surface being swept clean by the number 33 Toyota.

Also eyeing up an advantage would be the Hyundai team and their three crews given their present position in the championship. The team have not yet taken a victory this year but have been knocking on the door with Ott and Martin.

Into the first stage then, SS1 Arzachena 1 – 13.97 km and Seb was fastest from Thierry and Sami. Elfyn and Scott who opened the road managed eighth, 10 or so seconds slower than Seb, but it was a surprise to see Kalle slower as well. He and Jonne were a further two positions back in eleventh place. Josh and Eoin were the top placed M-Sport crew, holding sixth place.

Next up then was SS2 Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda 1 – 18.43 km and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Adrien, a Hyundai, 1-2-3. This led to some significant position changes with Thierry moving into the lead from new second placed Ott who’d gained three positions, whilst Sami remained in third. Seb fell four positions down to fifth overall, whilst teammate Elfyn claimed seventh. There was huge drama for M-Sport though. First Greg took a chunk out of his rear suspension after clipping something at the side of the stage. They finished the stage and would look to carry out repairs. It was worse though for both their teammate. First Josh lost a wheel at around halfway through the stage and would retire. Then Martins hit a fence after a jump and the car rolled a number of times. Both crews were fine, but the loss for the team was huge. Unfortunately, Greg would ultimately have to retire for the day as they could not repair the damage caused.

Onto SS3 Sa Conchedda 1 – 27.95 km which was the longest stage of the day and a much more flowing stage with open corners as opposed to the narrow stage two and this time Adrien was fastest from Takamoto and Seb. The two Frenchman were on the move with Adrien gaining two places and taking the lead and Seb moving into third. Also gaining a position was Kalle as he found some pace and moved into seventh pushing Elfyn down one place.

After the service break came SS4 Arzachena 2 – 13.97 km and Ott set the pace in this one from Thierry and Seb and this meant more changes in the leaderboard. Thierry moved back into the lead, Adrien who was only sixth fastest in the stage fell to second overall and Ott moved back into third overall.

Onto the penultimate stage then, SS5 Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda 2 – 18.43 km and Kalle was fastest this time from Ott and Seb. There was drama further back though with Thierry clipping something at the side of the stage and having to retire after losing a wheel. Also having drama was Takamoto and Jourdan who both rolled in the stage at the same place. The fans got them back on four wheels with damaged windscreens and bodywork, but they both finished the stage. The new leader by the way was Adrien who held a 1.2 second lead over Ott with Seb now into third.

Time then for the final stage, SS6 Sa Conchedda 2 – 27.95 km and Seb was fastest from Kalle and Adrien. The multiple champions retook the lead from Adrien whilst Ott was now in third overall. It had been a very good day for Sami who was best of the rest in fourth and within 10 seconds of the podium positions.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

1	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	1:10:33.1
2	A. Fourmaux	A. Coria	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+2.1
3	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+7.3
4	S. Pajari	M. Salminen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+16.8
5	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+22.8
6	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+1:09.8
7	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+2:27.9
8	N. Gryazin	K. Aleksandrov	Škoda Fabia RS	+2:33.3
9	E. Lindholm	R. Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia RS	+2:41.2
10	Y. Rossel	A. Dunand	Citroën C3	+2:57.5

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“To be in the lead after Friday was not what we were expecting, so we must be very pleased with our day. We made some changes to the setup based on our experience in Portugal and I’m feeling happier with the balance of the car here so far. We had a strong, consistent day and I believe it was our good tyre management that allowed us to take the lead in the last stage of the day. Still, the gaps are very close to Adrien and Ott, so we will need to keep pushing just as hard tomorrow as we did today.”

Sami Pajari

“It has been a really good day for us. I think we have been quite consistently on a solid pace. We maybe had some advantage from the road position compared to some, but I don’t think this was the only reason we could be quick. I don’t feel like I’m pushing more than on previous rallies, rather that the pace is just coming more and more naturally as we get used to the car. I’m sure the top three will be pushing very hard tomorrow and I’ll just be happy if we can keep up the pace we’ve had today.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“Overall, it has not been too bad a day for us. We expected this morning to be difficult running second on the road and I struggled to get comfortable with the car. But based on this we could make quite a few small changes around the car in service, and we found a better feeling, and the afternoon was definitely better. Still, I think there was some cleaning for us on the second pass, so I’m really happy to have set such good times. With this better feeling in the car and a better starting place, I hope we can keep up a good pace tomorrow.”

Elfyn Evans

“As we expected it was a challenge to open the road today with quite a big cleaning effect. The feeling in the car this morning was actually not too bad with some improvement from Portugal, but the road was evolving a lot behind us and other drivers could take big chunks of time, especially in the last stage of the loop. In the afternoon there was still some cleaning effect for us, but when the road was hard and rocky I was also struggling more with the feeling, so that’s still something to work on overnight. A better road position will definitely help and we’ll go again tomorrow.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“At first this morning I struggled with the feeling, but we made some changes to the setup between stages, and it was getting better and better. Unfortunately, in the second stage this afternoon, in a very tight corner, we turned in quicker than I had expected and hit the rock on the inside and rolled. I’m very disappointed but at least we could reach service. We will try to reset tomorrow; it won’t be an easy day, but I will just keep focused and do my best. We have seen how a small mistake can catch people out on this rally, so let’s see what happens.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“I’m quite happy with how my day went, fighting for the lead and finishing just two seconds behind Ogier. Of course, I would prefer to have been ahead of him, but I enjoyed the fight out there. Unfortunately, I changed a few things on the car for the final stage and went too stiff, so I was losing time everywhere. I’ve learned a lot today; it’s been a different experience being in the lead and now I know what to do tomorrow. It’s very small margins, and anything can happen – to get a good result here, first you need to finish.”

Ott Tänak

“It was a tricky morning, but on the first stage of the afternoon I felt the car was working well thanks to more grip and the hard tyre. However, I started to struggle again on the middle stage, and we later discovered we had a damper issue. We just had to get through the final stage, which wasn’t easier with it being both fast and rough at the same time – very punishing for the car. We made some improvements for the second loop, so let’s see how we do on fresh roads tomorrow.”

Thierry Neuville

“It’s disappointing to end our day in retirement – our first since Sardinia last year, so a shame to end our positive run of results. I lost the front of the car on the entry to a corner at high speed, and we went maybe 15cm wide and hit something with the rear, ripping our tyre off too. Unfortunately, that was the end of our running. It was a bit of a surprise as I was close to flat out this morning and similar this afternoon, but unfortunately it didn’t end well for us today.”

 

Oliver Solberg

“What a day! We knew that Sardinia could be tough and today really showed that. The day ends is a very positive way for Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] and me with fastest [Rally2] time on the last two stages.

“The car was working really nicely; we could follow the line and really commit the car in those two. The second pass of stages here is always tricky, with so many rocks being pulled out into the line – but our Toyota ran really well all day.

“We’re not quite at the front, but I think when you see how tough today has been we can still be in the fight to finish the top Rally2 car.

“We had a small communication issue on the second stage, we kissed a wall and dropped some time. Apart from this, it’s been a good day. Thanks for the whole Printsport team, who have done another great job for Elliott and I today.

“Tomorrow’s going to be another long and tough one, but we’re ready for the challenge!”

 

Saturday

The second day will see the crews tackle 121.6km’s over six stages. Can Seb hold onto the lead, or will we see either of the Hyundai crews move past him?

 

What can Elfyn do with his better road position as well and could he close the gap to the top four?

Time then for the sixth round of this year’s championship and the second in a row on gravel. This round is famous for the dust that is thrown into the air by each passing car, as well as some really rough roads, with large rocks being pulled out and giving the second run of the stages additional risk for the tyres and suspension components.

Interestingly, this season’s round has the same number of stages as last year with sixteen stage, but a longer distance with 320km’s up from 266km’s. The day which has changed a lot is in fact Friday which has changed from four stages and 77km’s to six stages and 120km’s.

Elfyn and Scott will again open the road throughout Friday’s stages and will hope for a better result than last time out in Portugal, but this will depend on the position in which they hold at the end of the first day.

Those with a good stating position will be eyeing up a good result and perhaps victory. In that group will be Ott and Martin who took victory last year and after the pace they had in Portugal the Estonian crew will likely want to repeat this victory this year.

Let’s take a look at the stages and hear from the drivers.

Weekend at a Glance 

• Cars take to the stages for the first time with the Olbia Cabu Abbas Shakedown (2.19km) on Thursday afternoon.
• Friday’s itinerary features six stages: Arzachena (SS1/4, 13.97km), Telti-Calangianus-Berchidda (SS2/5, 18.43km) and Sa Conchedda (SS3/6, 27.95km)
• Saturday’s six stages are set to cover 121.60km: Coiluna-Loelle (SS7/10, 21.18km), Lerno-Su Filigosu (SS8/11, 24.34km) and Tula-Erula (SS9/12, 15.28km)
• Competition concludes on Sunday with four stages: San Giacomo-Plebi (SS13/15, 25.19km) and Porto San Paolo (SS14/16, 13.70km).

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“After a bit of a frustrating rally in Portugal we certainly want to be stronger in Sardinia. It’s a similar rally in some ways and maybe a bit more demanding in others. We will also have the challenge again of running first on the road on Friday, although the more typical schedule should hopefully help in that respect. We’re still looking for some more performance on this type of rally, and with the limited testing available it’s not easy to find an immediate solution, but we’re going to give it our best like always and try to come away with as many points as we can.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“Sardinia has always been quite a tricky rally and we know every time we go there that we face a big challenge. The result in Portugal was not so bad considering our start position, but we know that we need to keep working to get the feeling and the pace where we want it to be if we are going to have a good rally in Sardinia. Like always, everybody starts each rally from zero and we will try to do our best to come away with good points again.”

Sébastien Ogier

“Our victory in Portugal is good motivation to keep working hard with the team in this busy period of rallies because we know that we can still improve. Sardinia has always been a difficult challenge, one that it took me some years to master. This year it can be even tougher for our team because we have the top three drivers in the championship, and we will have the biggest job to sweep the road for our rivals on Friday. But I have good memories from our win in 2021 from first on the road and we know well that it’s a rally where anything can happen.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Sardinia is going to be another difficult and demanding rally. We learnt a lot of things about the tyres in Portugal and we need to take that knowledge and adapt it for Sardinia, where the gravel surface is a bit different. In general, it’s going to very important to prepare well and decide upon the right setup, but I know that the team is working very hard on that, and we will do our best to have a good rally.”

Sami Pajari

“For the first time with the Rally1 car I’m going to a rally that has similarities in style to the previous one, so there is more that we can learn and carry from one event to the next. In Portugal we had a nice clean weekend with some consistent speed, and so I’m feeling much more prepared for Sardinia. This was a good rally for me last year, when I won in WRC2, and we should have a nice starting position for Friday so let’s see what we can do.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Rally Italia Sardegna is an event we’ve always been competitive at. The roads play to our strengths, particularly on the second pass, so we’re really looking forward to it. We learned some things about how the car behaves on this surface in Portugal, so we’ll be taking that knowledge with us to testing. We need to be consistently fast, and there’s no room for mistakes, so we will be pushing across every stage. I want to be fighting for the win, so I need to finish ahead of my main championship rivals.”

Ott Tänak

“Sardegna is another super punishing event. At first, it can look smooth and sandy, but roads normally develop quickly. We can suddenly find solid rocks sticking out from the ground, which will make life hard for both the car and tyres. This year we will have many new stages, but we know these are often quite low grip, which makes driving very challenging on these narrow roads. We know our car is not easy to find good setup for different surfaces, but in the past we have done well in Sardegna. Hopefully, we have done our homework, and we are going to be on the pace from the start!”

Adrien Fourmaux

“We had really good pace on Friday morning in Portugal, but we all know that Rally Italia Sardegna can be a bit different. We got an understanding of how well the tyres are working in the dry conditions; we can push hard, and tyre wear is not so bad. The surface in Sardinia is a bit sandier, and there are some super narrow passes. It’s challenging because you want to commit fully, but there’s not much margin for error. We need to have a clean rally and score some good points for the team – this is crucial for our fight at the moment.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Grégoire Munster

“Sardinia is another long-standing event on the WRC calendar, and it’s also where we scored our first top-five result last year, so we’re hoping for a good feeling again! It’s a well-known event, but really quite different to Portugal. The stages can be a lot rougher, and their characteristics vary a lot – sandy, rocky, narrow, and technical.

“There are also a couple of new stages, which will make it interesting for everyone, especially the M-Sport crews as we’re a bit less experienced. We’ve done some good testing and gained some real positives, so hopefully we can see that benefit on the event. And hopefully it stays sunny and dry!”

Josh McErlean

“Rally Sardinia is one of the toughest events on the European calendar – rough, technical, and relentless. But you have to learn to love this rally. It’s a real test for both car and crew, and that’s exactly what makes it so rewarding. We had a positive run in Portugal, and the goal is to carry that rhythm into this weekend.”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“After quite an eventful rally in Portugal, I think we’re looking for a trouble-free week to regain some consistency. That’s the goal for Sardinia, because – just like Portugal – it will be our first time there in four-wheel-drive machinery. There will be lots of learning again, and nothing will be easy, but let’s see what it brings!”

Jourdan Serderidis

“Happy to be back in the WRC after our top result in Kenya! We come to Olbia with reasonable optimism; we have good memories from Sardinia 2022 in WRC2, and we had an excellent test last week where we discovered an enhanced package for the Puma. On the technical stages of the island, we believe a top-20 finish is possible for us.”

Romet Jürgenson

“I think going into Sardinia I already feel more confident compared to Portugal. In the past we’ve done some testing there with the Rally3 car and the FIA Rally Star team, and we competed in the rally last year, unfortunately not the full event, but we still gained experience, which definitely helps.

“With the car, on Sunday in Portugal we felt like we were in a good place, so I definitely expect a better performance from myself in Sardinia.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“I’m very pleased to be in Sardinia again, a place where I have so many nice memories – especially from 2022 when we were fighting for the podium in the Rally1 car! I hope I’ll be able to progress with the car during the event and try to get closer to the top. I’m really happy with the work of my engineer and the team to optimise everything with the car, so let’s see what we can do!”

Oliver Solberg

“The start to the season has been pretty good,” Oliver said. “We’ve taken two [WRC2] wins from three starts with the Toyota and the car feels like it’s getting better and better.

“It was quite a change from what I was driving last year and with the three-cylinder engine and a few other things, it maybe took a little bit of time to find my feet with this one. I’ve driven a lot of cars, a lot of R5 and Rally2 cars, so I have a good idea of what I want and how to make a car fast.

“Working with Toyota and the Printsport team has been really good, we’ve worked well together, and the pace is getting better and better. This week is about learning more and more from the car and how it works with the tyres. The new Hankook’s are also quite different from what we had last year, so that takes some time to understand the best set-up and how to get the best from the whole package. I really feel we’re getting there, and Sardinia is another step for that.

“And, yes, it’s fair to say I don’t know this rally so well as some of the others. I started here only two times – I have started Monte Carlo six times now! There’s definitely a rhythm to find on these roads, you can’t push too hard and go too crazy, there will be a rock waiting for you. It’s nice to come here without so much pressure for the [WRC2] points and we can drive our own race and keep trying different solutions for the car.

“At the same time, it’s always nice to come to Italy for a rally. There’s so much history for the sport in this country – and Sardinia is a beautiful place with beautiful weather. It’s going to be a good week.”

 

Summary

Well, who do you think will win this rally and stand on the podium? In my view it is possible to see Ott and Martin take victory this weekend. Also, possible to take a victory are Thierry and Martijn who won this rally a few years ago. Could their teammates Adrien and Alex take their first win? They have shown good very good pace this year.

At Toyota Kalle and Jonne could have a great rally. Although they are starting second on the road, it will be interesting to see if they could win this weekend as well or stand on the podium as they did last time out. Elsewhere Seb and Vincent also return to on a fourth round this year and third in a row for their part time season. For Elfyn and Scott as championship leaders will have to make the best of the road position and hope to take a good level of points away to keep them at the top of the standings.

Finally at M-Sport the young team will continue to develop their pace, whilst learning the stages on this new event. Of course, Greg and Louis have some experience from last year and will hope that they can build on this. For their rookie teammates Josh and Eoin and Martins and Renaur they will just look to build experience with the creation of new notes on stages which they have not driven before.

Enjoy the rally!