Friday
Sébastien Ogier held a slender overnight lead at Rally Italia Sardegna after a punishing Friday leg carved through the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) field.
The eight-time world champion vaulted from third to first overall on the final stage of the day, overhauling Hyundai pair Ott Tänak and Adrien Fourmaux to end the leg 2.9sec clear in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
Fourmaux led at the midpoint by 2.9sec over team-mate Thierry Neuville, but the tide turned after lunch. Neuville snatched the lead on SS4, only to retire on the next stage after striking a bank in Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda and damaging the rear-left corner of his i20 N Rally1.
Fourmaux retook first place but was unable to fend off Ogier’s late charge.
The newly-introduced Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda stage proved decisive – and destructive. Neuville wasn’t its only victim: M-Sport Ford trio Mārtiņš Sesks, Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster all retired on the first pass. Sesks rolled at high speed, while McErlean and Munster were sidelined by suspension damage.
Saturday
Ogier retained his grip on Rally Italia Sardegna with one eye on redemption as the searing Mediterranean event continued to dish out punishment on Saturday.
What began for Ogier as a 2.1sec buffer over Adrien Fourmaux turned into a 11.1sec lead over Tänak by day’s end after another punishing loop of rocky roads on the island tested the resilience of the Rally1 crews – and saw Friday’s second-placed man Fourmaux roll out in the penultimate stage.
Behind the top two, Kalle Rovanperä quietly worked his way into third overall. The two-time world champion had started the day fifth but climbed steadily as others faltered, capitalising on issues for both Fourmaux and Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari. He sits 55.5sec back from the lead.
Pajari had enjoyed another assured showing before running wide on SS9 and clouting the rear of his Yaris. The damage was cosmetic, but the Finn also lost time with a wheel change later in the day, slipping to fifth behind championship leader Elfyn Evans – who made gains after a muted Friday but also lost a chunk of time on SS11 when he too stopped to change a wheel.
The attrition up ahead meant that Nikolay Gryazin, driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, slotted into sixth overall ahead of Takamoto Katsuta, who was another to carry out a wheel change – adding further frustration to an already trying week.
Oliver Solberg was eighth, but it was Emil Lindholm who was the highest-placed driver registered to score WRC2 points in ninth. The Finn finished the day ahead of Lauri Joona, who rounded out the top 10.
Sunday
Sébastien Ogier survived a heart-stopping final stage scare to clinch a record fifth Rally Italia Sardegna victory, fending off a charging Ott Tänak to win by just 7.9sec on Sunday afternoon.
The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver appeared set for a relatively calm run to the finish after building a 17.1sec buffer ahead of the Wolf Power Stage, but an overshoot in the final kilometres saw that gap slashed by more than half. Ogier was forced to stop and reverse after his car failed to turn into a tight corner carved with deep ruts.
Elfyn Evans, who ended the rally fourth, saw his championship lead trimmed to just 17 points over team-mate Ogier, while Kalle Rovanperä – 42.6sec behind Tänak in third overall – dropped to third in the standings. Tänak and Thierry Neuville remain fourth and fifth respectively after round six of 14.
Sami Pajari sustained a damaged rear driveshaft after a spin on Sunday’s opener and slipped from fifth to seventh by the finish. Nikolay Gryazin was eighth, while Roberto Daprà and Kajetan Kajetanowicz capitalised on a final-day crash for Emil Lindholm to fill out the remainder of the top 10 and the leading two positions in WRC2.
The WRC continues later this month at the legendary EKO Acropolis Rally Greece, based in Lamia from 26 – 29 June.
