WRC 2023, Round 6/13 – Rally Italia Sardegna (June 1/4)
Timetabe
Wednesday, 31 May
17:00 Mandatory Tabard Media Safety Briefing (Media Centre)
17:30 – 19:30 Team media functions
19:45 WRC official driver photograph followed by Rally Italia Sardegna 20th anniversary photograph (behind the Museo Archeologico)
Thursday, 1 June
Sunrise: 5:53 (Graniatoggiu)
Sunset: 20:47 (Olbia)
9:01-14:00 Shakedown, Loiri Porto San Paolo (2,87 km)
12:00 Meet the Crews (top 3 drivers from Shakedown), Molo Brin Service Park
12:30 Pre-event FIA press conference, Media Centre
13:05 FIA Rally Star Press Conference (Media Centre)
16:45 – 17:15 Autograph Session with invited drivers (Molo Brin Service Park)
18:02 Start of Section 1 (Olbia – Via Escrivà)
18:05 SS 1 Olbia – Cabu Abbas (3,20 km)
18:27 Parc Fermé IN
Competitive distance: 3,20 km (Liaison 1,72 km, Total 4,92 km)
Friday, 2 June
Sunrise: 5:53 (Padru)
Sunset: 20:48 (Alà dei Serdi)
7:40 Start of Section 2 (Olbia Molo Brin)
7:40 Service A (Olbia) – 20 min
8:40 SS 2 Tantariles 20RIS 1 (10,71 km)
9:31 SS 3 Terranova 1 (8,41 km)
10:21 SS 4 Monte Lerno – Sa Conchedda 1 (49,90 km)
12:27 Technical Zone & Regroup IN, Olbia – 40 min
13:07 Service B (Olbia) – 45 min
14:32 SS 5 Tantariles 20RIS 2 (10,71 km)
15:23 SS 6 Terranova 2 (8,41 km)
16:13 SS 7 Monte Lerno – Sa Conchedda 2 (49,90 km)
18:19 Technical Zone & Parc Fermé IN
18:29 Flexi Service C (Alghero) – 53 min
18:45 Meet the Crews (P1 team principals, then top 3 drivers), Service Park
22:19 All cars (except P1 and restarting cars) must be returned to Parc Fermé no later than
Competitive distance: 138,04 km (Liaison 209,34 km, Total 347,38 km)
Saturday, 3 June
Sunrise: 5:53 (Alà dei Serdi)
Sunset: 20:50 (Tempio Pausania)
6:50 Start of Section 4 (Olbia Molo Brin)
8:05 SS 8 Coiluna-Loelle 1 (16,28 km)
9:03 SS 9 Su Filigosu 1 (19,57 km)
10:08 SS 10 Erula – Tula 1 (21,92 km
11:22 SS 11 Tempio Pausania 1 (9,04 km)
12:45 Technical Zone& Regroup IN – 25 min
13:10 Service D (Olbia) – 45 min
15:05 SS 12 Coiluna-Loelle 2 (16,28 km)
16:03 SS 13 Su Filigosu 2 (19,57 km)
17:30 SS 14 Erula – Tula 2 (21,92 km
18:44 SS 15 Tempio Pausania 2 (9,04 km)
20:07 Technical Zone & Parc Fermé IN – 10 min
20:17 Flexi Service E (Olbia) – 53 min
21:00 Meet the Crews (P1 team principals, then top 3 drivers), Service Park
0:07 All cars (except P1 and restarting cars) must be returned to Parc Fermé no later than
Competitive distance: 133,62 km (Liaison 426,80 km, Total 560,42 km)
Sunday, 4 June
Sunrise: 5:51 (Arzachena)
7:00 Start of Section 6 (Olbia Molo Brin)
7:05 SS 16 Arzachena – Braniatogghiu 1 (15,22 km)
8:05 SS 17 Sardegna 1 (7,79 km)
8:53 Regroup IN – 30 min
10:09 SS 18 Arzachena – Braniatogghiu 2 (15,22 km)
12:15 SS 19 Sardegna 2 Power Stage (7,79 km)
13:47 Olbia Parc Fermé IN
15:00 Podium Ceremony and Prize Giving (Olbia – Piazza Crispi)
16:00 Post-Event FIA Press Conference (Media Centre)
Competitive distance: 46,02 km (Liaison 209,48 km, Total 255,50 km)
all times local
Rally total:
19 special stages
Special Stages total: 320,88 km (27,47 %)
Liaison: 847,34 km
Route total: 1168,22 km
Testing
Testing videos for Rally Italia Sardegna by Rally Paradise Testing-site
Preview
The FIA World Rally Championship is island-bound from June 1-4 for a milestone edition of Rally Italia Sardegna.
As well as forming round six of a typically action-packed WRC season, the upcoming gravel contest marks the 20th anniversary of this challenging rally, first run in 2004 following the relocation of Italy’s world championship counter from the mainland to the picturesque Mediterranean island.
Given the significance of the occasion, event organiser, Automobile Club d’Italia, has revisited elements of the route from 2004, and also increased the length of the famous Monte Lerno stage – complete with the iconic Micky’s Jump – to an energy-zapping 49.90 kilometres. The Kitzbühel downhill skiing course-inspired descent on the Terranova stage is also back.
After returning to his title-winning form of 2022 with a dominant victory on Vodafone Rally de Portugal earlier this month, Kalle Rovanperä holds the championship lead for Toyota Gazoo Racing. But while the Finn is back on familiar ground, he now faces the prospect of sweeping a clean line through the loose-surface gravel on the opening leg of the event (June 2).
Like his rivals – organisers have attracted a 74-car entry – Rovanperä, with Jonne Halttunen co-driving, will also be braced for narrow but fast rock- and tree-lined stages, high ambient temperatures plus the potential for hanging dust in certain sections.
While celebrating Rally Italia Sardegna’s first two decades takes centre stage, a strong focus will be placed on the future. In addition to hosting round three of the FIA Junior WRC Championship, Sardinia has been the setting for the FIA Rally Star Training Camp since May 21.
Providing crucial experience and guidance to the six young talents preparing to embark on the inaugural FIA Rally Star Training Season next month, the Training Camp concludes with the two-day reconnaissance for Rally Italia Sardegna, plus a day of media-based activities in the event service park on June 1.
Some 600 personnel – 300 officials and 300 marshals – are providing their expertise to ensure the safe and successful running of Rally Italia Sardegna, under the coordination of the event organiser and Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI).
Meanwhile, Pirelli, the FIA World Rally Championship’s official tyre partner, is supplying its Scorpion KX soft and hard tyres to Rally1 crews contesting Rally Italia Sardegna. The hard compound is the first choice and will be used in warm and dry conditions. In the event of cool and damp conditions, the soft-compound option will be selected. Rally1 teams can use a maximum of 28 tyres during the rally including four for Shakedown stage on Thursday morning.
THE ROUTE IN SHORT
Running out of Olbia following a year back in Alghero last season, the 20th Rally Italia Sardegna timed action begins on Thursday with a 3.23-kilometre superspecial in Olbia from 18:05 local time.
Friday’s route is based south of Olbia and is formed of two loops of three stages over a competitive distance of 141.27 kilometres. The returning 10.71-kilometre Tantariles test, part of the 2004 route, is up first from 08:40 followed by the 8.41 kilometres of Terranova (09:31) and the 49.90-kilometre Monte Lerno stage, which is scheduled to begin at 10:21. Following service in Olbia’s Molo Brin, the morning stages run for a second time in the afternoon with the second pass of Tantariles starting at 14:32.
Based southwest of Olbia, Saturday’s second leg features four repeated stages over 135.46 competitive kilometres. Covering 16.28 kilometres, Coiluna-Loelle kicks off proceedings from 08:05 ahead of Su Filigosu, Erula – Tula and Tempio Pausania. A service halt in Olbia is due to start at 13:10.
Competitors journey north of Olbia for Sunday’s double-use stages that make up a total of 46.02 timed kilometres. Arzachena – Braniatogghiu, a 15.22-kilometre run from 07:05, is first with the 7.79-kilometre Sardegna test due to go live at 08:05. The early morning stages are repeated at 10:09 and 12:15 respectively with Sardegna 2 forming the 50th Wolf Power Stage from 12:15.
RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA DATA
Stage distance: 322.75 km
Total distance: 1170.06 km
Number of stages: 19
RALLY1 HYBRID CONTENDERS
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team: With five Rally Italia Sardegna victories, Hyundai is the event’s form make but has yet to triumph in the WRC this season. Its trio of drivers – Esapekka Lappi, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo – will be aiming to put that right on round six of the season.
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team: Ott Tänak scored his maiden WRC victory in Sardinia in 2017 and the Estonian also triumphed last season. Sardinia is the setting of Pierre-Louis Loubet’s best WRC finish to date, a feat he achieved in 2022.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT: Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier returns to action alongside Elfyn Evans and championship leader Kalle Rovanperä, last year’s WRC title winner. Development driver Takamoto Katsuta switches to the fourth GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid.
SUPPORTING CATEGORIES
It’s tight at the top in FIA WRC2, the category for Rally2 cars, with three points separating the leading three drivers in the provisional standings following Vodafone Rally de Portugal. Yohan Rossel (PH Sport Citroën C3 Rally2) heads the classification by a single point over Oliver Solberg. Gus Greensmith, the class winner in México and Portugal and Solberg’s Škoda-powered Toksport team-mate, is third, three points behind Rossel.
Boasting a 39-car entry, interest in WRC2 is much in evidence with 22 nationalities represented and several FIA champions taking part. They include Robert Virves, the Junior WRC champion in 2022 and three-time European title winner Kajetan Kajetanowicz. Emil Lindholm, last season’s WRC2 champion, will also be competing but has not nominated Rally Italia Sardegna as one of his WRC2 scoring rounds.
M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 driver Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai Motorsport N’s Teemu Suninen (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) and joint WRC2 Challenger leader Nikolay Gryazin are also among the contenders for victory.
Nine drivers, all competing in Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars, are eligible for WRC3 points. Among them is Roope Korhonen, the provisional points leader, plus Ali Türkkan who is making his WRC debut having represented Turkey in the FIA Motorsport Games last October.
William Creighton (Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy) heads the eight-car FIA Junior WRC entry, the category for Ford Fiesta Rally3s run by M-Sport Poland on Pirelli tyres. He heads Frenchman Laurent Pellier by 21 points and Paraguay’s Diego Dominguez by 23 points respectively after two rounds in Sweden and Croatia.
Sardinia-based Francesco Marrone is also worthy of special mention having started all 19 editions of Rally Italia Sardegna held so far, while 2022 WRC Masters Cup winner Mauro Miele will be in action.
MANUFACTURER ENTRIES, RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT:
69 Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (FIN)
33 Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (GB)
17 Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais (F)
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team:
11 Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe (B)
4 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (FIN)
6 Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera (E)
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team:
8 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (EE)
7 Pierre-Louis Loubet / Nicolas Gilsoul (F/B)
ENTRY LIST
| ORD | ENTRANT (TEAM) | DRIVER/CODRIVER | NAT. | NR | CAR | CL | GR | SEED PR | |
| 1 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen | FIN | 69 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 2 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja | EE | 8 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 3 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais | F | 17 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 4 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | GB | 33 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 5 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe | B | 11 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 6 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm | FIN | 4 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 7 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera | E | 6 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 8 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | J/IRL | 18 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | |
| 9 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Pierre-Louis Loubet / Nicolas Gilsoul | F/B | 7 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 10 | PH Sport | Yohan Rossel / Arnaud Dunand | F | 20 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 11 | Toksport WRT 3 | Gus Greensmith / Jonas Andersson | GB/S | 21 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T) |
| 12 | (Toksport WRT) | Oliver Solberg / Elliot Edmondson | S/GB | 22 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 13 | Toksport WRT 3 | Andreas Mikkelsen / Torstein Eriksen | N | 23 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 14 | Toksport WRT 2 | Nikolay Gryazin / Konstantin Aleksandrov | RUS | 24 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 15 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula | FIN | 25 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 16 | Toksport WRT | Emil Lindholm / Reeta Hämäläinen | FIN | 26 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | |
| 17 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | F | 27 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 18 | (Sarrazin Motorsport) | Nicolas Ciamin / Yannick Roche | F | 28 | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 19 | (RaceSeven) | Kajetan Kajetanowicz / Maciej Szczepaniak | PL | 29 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 20 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Grégoire Munster / Louis Louka | LUX/B | 30 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 21 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Fabrizio Zalvidar / Marcelo Der Ohannesian | PY/I | 31 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 22 | Toksport WRT | Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen | FIN | 32 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 23 | (Toksport WRT) | Bruno Bulacia / Axel Coronado | BOL/E | 34 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 24 | (Sports & You) | Alejandro Cachón / Alejandro López | E | 35 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 25 | (RedGrey Team) | Georg Linnamäe / James Morgan | EE/GB | 36 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | |
| 26 | (Sports Racing Technologies) | Mikołaj Marczyk / Szymon Gospodarczyk | PL | 37 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 27 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Josh McErlean / John Rowan | IRL | 38 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 28 | (RaceSeven) | Lauri Joona / Tuukka Shemeikka | FIN | 39 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 29 | (RedGrey Team) | Robert Virves / Hugo Magalhães | EE/P | 40 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 30 | Yacco ACCR Team (Orsák Rallysport) | Erik Cais / Petr Těšínský | CZ | 41 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 31 | (BRR) | Armin Kremer / Timo Gottschalk | D | 45 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 32 | (BRR) | Martin Prokop / Michal Ernst | CZ | 46 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 33 | (DreamOne Racing) | Mauro Miele / Luca Beltrame | I | 47 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 34 | (MAPO Motorsport) | Eduardo Castro / Fernando Mussano | PE/RA | 48 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 35 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Patrick O’Brien / Stephen O’Brien | IRL | 49 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 36 | (Keane Motorsport) | Johannes Keferböck / Ilka Minor | A | 50 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 37 | (Calm Competició) | Alexander Villanueva / José Murado | E | 52 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 38 | (Eurosol Racing Team Hungary) | Daniel Chwist / Kamil Heller | PL | 53 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 39 | Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah / Giovanni Bernacchini | QA/I | 55 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) | |
| 40 | Giuseppe Dettori / Carlo Pisano | I | 56 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 41 | (Balbosca) | Matteo Gamba / Nicolò Gonella | I | 57 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 42 | Nicola Tali / Massimiliano Frau | I | 58 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | ||
| 43 | (Munaretto s.r.l.) | Pablo Biolghini / Stefano Pudda | I | 59 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 44 | Maurizio Morato / Andrea Dal Maso | I | 60 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 45 | (Delta Rally) | Carlo Covi / Andrea Budoia | I | 61 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 46 | Francesco Tali / Chiara Corso | I | 62 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 47 | Castrol Ford Team Türkiye | Ali Türkkan / Burak Erdener | TR | 63 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 48 | (LMP Racing) | Filip Kohn / Tomáš Střeska | CZ | 64 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 49 | (Rautio Motorsport) | Roope Korhonen / Anssi Viinikka | FIN | 65 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 50 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | William Creighton / Liam Regan | IRL | 66 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 51 | (M-Sport Poland) | Laurent Pellier / Kévin Bronner | F | 67 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 52 | (M-Sport Poland) | Diego Dominguez Jr. / Rogelio Peñate | PY/E | 68 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 53 | RACB National Team (M-Sport Poland) | Tom Rensonnet / Loïc Dumont | B | 70 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 54 | (M-Sport Poland) | Rober Blach / Mauro Barreiro | E | 71 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 55 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | Eamonn Kelly / Conor Mohan | IRL | 72 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 56 | (M-Sport Poland) | Raul Hernandez / Rodrigo Sanjuan | E | 73 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 57 | (M-Sport Poland) | Hamza Anwar / Martin Brady | EAK/IRL | 74 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 58 | (Topp-Cars Rallye Team) | Zoltán László / Gábor Zsiros | H | 75 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | (DM) | |
| 59 | Francesco Marrone / Francesco Fresu | I | 76 | Peugeot 208 T16 | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 60 | Giuseppe Pozzo / Pier Paolo Cottu | I | 77 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 61 | Gianpietro Bendotti / Giuliano Vaerini | I | 78 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 62 | (Fabio Schwarz Motorsport) | Fabio Schwarz / Tim Rauber | D | 79 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | ||
| 63 | (HMI Motorsport) | Matteo Fontana / Alessandro Arnaboldi | I | 80 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | ||
| 64 | Stefano Marrone / Claudio Mele | I | 81 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 65 | Davide Biancu / Luigi Pittalis | I | 82 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 66 | Jacopo Bergamin / Nicolò Ventoso | I | 83 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 67 | Michele Liceri / Salvatore Giulio Mendola | I | 84 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 68 | Fabrizio Schirru / Fabio Salis | I | 85 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 69 | Gianluca Mara / Veronica Cottu | I | 86 | Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 70 | Slaven Šekuljica / Damir Petrović | HR | 87 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 | |||
| 71 | Marc Dessi / Mattia Pastorino | MC/I | 88 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 | |||
| (RedGrey Team) | Gregor Jeets / Timo Taniel | EE | 44 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | cancelled entry | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| (Terratraining Motorsport) | Miguel Zaldivar Sr. / José Luis Díaz | PY/RA | 51 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | cancelled entry | WRC2 (DCM/CC) | |
| (Topp-Cars Rallye Team) | Norbert Herczig / Ramón Ferencz | H | 54 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | cancelled entry | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
Team Previews
Manufacturers: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (FIN) / Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Pirelli)
69 Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (FIN)
33 Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (GB)
17 Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais (F)
18 Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston (J/IRL)
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team will take on one of the toughest challenges of the season at Rally Italia Sardegna on June 1-4, looking to maintain its recent strong momentum.
The team has won four out of five rallies contested so far in 2023 with the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID, and leads the manufacturers’ championship by 32 points. After taking his first win of the year last time out in Portugal, defending champion Kalle Rovanperä tops the drivers’ standings by 17 points, with Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans tied on points in third place: Ogier resumes his part-season programme on an event he has won four times before, with Takamoto Katsuta also entered in a fourth car supported by the TGR WRC Challenge Program.
The stages on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia have a reputation as being among the most testing gravel tracks in the entire championship. They are fairly fast but often narrow and lined with bushes, trees and rocks, leaving little margin for error. The sandy surface is swept away by each passing car to expose the rocky and abrasive base: this can combine with temperatures in excess of 30 degrees centigrade to punish cars and tyres.
For this year, the service park moves back from Alghero to Olbia on the island’s northeast coast and the city’s mixed-surface super special stage will again begin the rally on Thursday evening. Friday’s route is headlined by the famous Monte Lerno stage which has more than doubled in length to 49.9 kilometres. This is preceded by two shorter stages – Tantariles (last run in 2004) and Terranova – to form a loop of three tests to be repeated after midday service in Olbia. Saturday is almost as long in terms of competitive distance with four stages run twice, while Sunday’s route is the same as in 2021 with a pair of repeated stages on the island’s northernmost tip.
Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“We are excited to see how we perform in Sardinia. Last year this event was a bit of a struggle but since then we have made many improvements to the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID for rough gravel conditions, which have worked well in Mexico and in Portugal. Normally, Sardinia is hotter than Portugal, and this year on Friday the Monte Lerno stage will be almost 50 kilometres in length; it hasn’t been that long since 2014, and on the second pass especially I am sure tyre management will play a major role. It means Kalle could pay a big penalty for needing to open the road on this event, but we will have Sébastien and Elfyn in better positions and hopefully they have the opportunity to challenge for victory. It will also be interesting to see how Takamoto goes after a good performance in Portugal.”
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“Portugal was a great weekend for us and it was nice to get a victory again. We will try to continue like this in the next events but we know that Sardinia will be a much more difficult job. Of all the rallies in the calendar, I think this one has maybe been the trickiest for me, and if the weather is dry and hot like it usually is in Sardinia, it can be very difficult to be the first car on the road there; perhaps even more so this year with the 50-kilometre stage to be driven on Friday. It will be a demanding weekend but, like always, we will push together with the team to get the best result that we can.”
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“Portugal was a disappointing weekend on my side but we have to put that behind us now, move forward to Sardinia and see what’s possible there. Our road position will be more favourable than what we started with on the last rally, but we know that it’s a challenging event regardless and one of the rougher rallies of the year. It definitely needs a smart approach but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless. Like always in Sardinia, they mix up the stages every year. A lot of the route is known from before but some of it has not been driven for many years, so there will be a lot of new pacenotes to write during the recce – and this very long stage on Friday will of course be key.”
Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“Sardinia is a rally that I have learned to love. At first, I used to struggle going there, but over the years I started to master it more and more. The most recent memories I have of Sardinia are really good from when we managed to win in 2021 after starting first on the road, which is not normally possible on this event. Having missed Portugal, we will have a bit of a better starting position this time, but it will still be a difficult challenge, especially with this very long stage of 50 kilometres that the organisers have made for this year. I quite like that challenge, honestly; it adds some spice to the rally and the need for tyre management. It will certainly be an interesting rally.”
Manufacturers: Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team (D) / Hyundai i20 N Rally1 (Pirelli)
11 Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe (B)
4 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (FIN)
6 Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera (E)
Following a double podium finish in Portugal, we now travel to Rally Italia Sardegna, the event at which we have enjoyed our most success in WRC. In total we have secured five wins and 12 podiums on the Mediterranean island, as well as 78 stage wins and 22 stage 1-2 finishes.
“Sardinia is a very tough event, but it is also one where the team has a lot of good memories from the past ten years,” said Cyril, our Team Principal. “We hope to finish the weekend with a good result.”
“To finish first, first you must finish”
Fast and narrow, and often lined with rocks and trees on either side, the stages of Sardinia will be highly demanding for our crews to navigate cleanly. The surface itself is also a challenge, as the sandy top layer is swept away on the first pass, exposing rough and rutted roads below. These factors, combined with the blistering heat, creates a gruelling test for both our i20 N Rally1 Hybrid and our drivers and co-drivers inside the cockpits.
“Sardinia presents a lot of challenges, but the biggest are the heat and tyre wear,” said Thierry. “The stages are also difficult as the surface is rough, and they are quite technical too, so there is not much room for mistakes.”
Proven performers
Four of our Sardinian victories are split evenly between Thierry and Dani. Alongside co-drivers Martijn and Cándido, both drivers will be battling on the sun-baked stages next weekend in the hopes of standing on the top step for a third time.
“Road position can be very important at this event, as starting later in the order usually gives you a cleaner stage than those at the front,” commented Dani. “Our minimum goal for the weekend is to finish on the podium and hopefully we can be in a position to fight for the victory.”
Esapekka and Janne will join their team-mates on the Italian island. Our Finnish crew is in fine form having secured podium finishes in the two previous rounds, Croatia and Portugal.
“At dry gravel rallies, Friday is always very crucial in terms of making a successful weekend, so that will be the key focus for us,” said Esapekka. “Our hope is that we can deliver a consistent performance, avoid the rocks that could cause punctures, and bring home a podium for the team.”
Redemption in WRC2
Our WRC2 entries will be back in action at Rally Italia Sardegna following a challenging outing in Portugal. The crews of Teemu/Mikko and Fabrizio/Marcelo will once again be behind the wheel of our i20 N Rally2 for the event.
“The goal is to win the rally, but with many top drivers in the class, it will be challenging,” said Teemu.
“I hope we can come to the end of Rally Italia Sardegna without any incidents and having shown what we are capable of,” added Fabrizio.
Manufacturers: M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (GB) / Ford Puma Rally1 (Pirelli)
8 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (EE)
7 Pierre-Louis Loubet / Nicolas Gilsoul (F/B)
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team is poised to tackle tough gravel action on next week’s Rally Italia Sardegna, the sixth round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship.
Sitting second in the driver’s championship, Ott Tänak continues to battle for crucial points to keep his rivals at bay.
M-Sport saw a fantastic start to the championship’s previous round in Portugal two weeks ago, where both Tänak and Pierre-Louis Loubet led the rally at points and set top times throughout the weekend.
Both crews will use their experience from Portugal to head to Sardinia with confidence, both Tänak and Loubet having strong existing knowledge and good results in Sardinia to date.
Tänak in particular will hope to mirror his past results here. The Estonian claimed his maiden WRC victory on the Italian island back in 2017 behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta WRC, plus an additional win last year in 2022. With one win and another podium result already secured in the Ford Puma Rally1 this year, he will hope to add more silverware to his collection next week.
In what was only his third outing in the Puma’s maiden season, Loubet’s rally in Sardinia 2022 saw him in the podium fight, holding third position throughout the first full day of action and finishing the event in a career-best fourth overall. Loubet starts Sardinia in an advantageous road position that will aid his way to the podium spots.
This year’s event will be based in Olbia, the home of Thursday night’s spectator stage on the island’s picturesque east coast. The event’s traditional gravel stages remain the same, including the famous Monte Lerno stage, now extended to an incredible 49.92 kilometres in length making endurance a key feature for both cars and drivers.
The crews will tackle ever-changing gravel, gradually revealing unforgiving bedrock calling for delicate tyre management and sensitivity to the car’s mechanics. Long days and high temperatures sometimes exceeding 30 degrees Celsius only add to the challenge, as the crews balance their need for speed alongside the inevitable threats posed by twisty and slippery gravel roads.
In the WRC2 category, M-Sport Ford will field three Fiesta Rally2s in the hands of Adrien Fourmaux, Grégoire Munster and Robert Virves. Fourmaux had a strong weekend in Portugal, claiming two stage wins and a collection of other top-five times in the feeder category, and hopes to replicate this speed again in Sardinia.
Richard Millener, Team Principal, said:
“Portugal was a tough battle but we’ve set some good groundwork for the upcoming challenge in Sardinia. As a team we have some good memories here with Ott’s victory in 2017, so we can hope to see a repeat of that this year.
“Ott’s proven his pace, he’s proven he can win, so now we need to continue to support him to do that. He is still fighting for the championship and we’re hoping we will see that fight get even closer after next weekend.
“Let’s not forget that Pierre had a fantastic rally in Sardinia last year, he was fighting for third all weekend and proved to us what he can do. Since then, he has won stages and led rallies, so I’m confident we will see something good from him out there as well.
“It’s also great to be fielding a trio of Rally2s again, and Adrien in particular is putting on a strong performance this season. I was very impressed by his pace and endurance in Portugal, despite being hampered by punctures, and I think we can expect to see more of this speed in Sardinia.
“Our Rally2 customer programme is a core element of what we do at M-Sport, and it’s fantastic that we can come out onto WRC stages and prove what it can do.”
Ott Tänak, currently second in the FIA WRC Drivers’ Championship, said:
“Sardinia is a unique rally in many ways, the roads are demanding with very low grip conditions but at the same time very narrow and fast between trees and rock faces. I always enjoy driving there!
“All the M-Sport team, together with the Ford Performance guys in the US, have been on it to bring on the next steps in our performance and we have a busy test day before Sardinia. We are looking into everything to extract some extra speed.
“The target is to get another step closer to our competitors. Things will take a bit of time, but I’m sure that improving step by step we will be there one moment!”
Pierre-Louis Loubet, said:
“I think with the pace we showed on Friday in Portugal we can expect to do something good in Sardinia. It will be very important to avoid any mistakes this time, as even small ones can have big consequences. We know that the pace is there, we just need to put it all together to get a good result and we’re hoping that will all happen in Sardinia.”
Adrien Fourmaux, said:
“Sardinia is a really rough event, with hot conditions, and this year we have a nearly 50km stage to look forward to! It’ll be a huge challenge for everybody, for the crews and the mechanics. But I like the challenge, and this will be my fifth time in Sardinia so we have a good base knowledge of the stages.
This is a famously difficult event, there’s no margin for error with rocks everywhere! When you hit something, you hit it hard. Let’s see what we can achieve.”
Grégoire Munster, said:
“Sardinia is a new event for us, just like Portugal, so it will all be about discovery and gaining experience. Portugal didn’t go so well for us, but it was our first time on gravel in the car, so we will try to use that experience in Sardinia and do better there.”
Robert Virves, said:
“This will be my first time competing in Sardinia, so there will be a lot to learn as it is a very tough event. Luckily, we have had some good experience in Portugal, and we can use a lot of that information on the stages in Sardinia. This is a big opportunity to learn a lot, it’s a tough event and we will need to manage the car and the tyres. But the experience in the Rally2 is all about learning, and it’s all beneficial to us going forward. Let’s see what happens!”
Junior WRC
The 2023 FIA Junior WRC Championship takes to the rough and tough roads of Rally d’Italia Sardegna for round three, marking the first gravel rally of the 2023 tour.
M-Sport Poland’s Fiesta Rally3 Evo will make its WRC debut in Sardinia, with every Junior WRC crew taking delivery of a brand-new Fiesta Rally3 Evo on this event. The Fiesta Rally3 has received a comprehensive update package including a new-look front bumper which provides a larger aperture for cooling, a new rear wing and new gravel damper specifications.
Sardinia has a long and storied past with Junior WRC, making its first appearance on the feeder series’ calendar in 2005 with Dani Sordo taking his maiden Junior WRC victory.
Junior WRC is returning to the rough gravel classic for the event’s 20th edition and what promises to be an action-packed weekend filled with drama.
Sardinia usually sees high ambient temperatures which make for oven-like temperatures for each crew to contend with inside the car. Heat exhaustion will be a developing adversary for them as each stage progresses making it difficult to stay focussed. This is a rally where focus is paramount too with dust and visibility being major factors for drivers to negotiate on each speed test. This challenge culminates on the 50km Monte Lerno stage this year which crews will have to make two passes of, totalling almost one third of the entire length of the rally!
The challenge of Rally Italia is further compounded by a continually developing surface as the soft and sandy top surface covers a very hard and immovable bedrock. It results in an unstable surface that is ravaged by more the more powerful cars ahead that dig up ruts and rocks.
Maciej Woda, FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, said: “I am very proud to see another step forward for Junior WRC and M-Sport Poland this weekend with the introduction of the Fiesta Rally3 Evo. It’s a result of close to two years of continuous improvement and development by the talented team back at M-Sport Poland’s headquarters in Krakow. I think bringing the updated cars to the Junior WRC field mid-season underlines our commitment to ensuring the very best Rally3 cars are available to all Junior WRC competitors.
“Sardinia always makes for very exciting rally action as it requires a good balance between knowing when to push and when to keep it clean with the ruts and rocks. The entertainment and drama come when drivers try and push their luck a little further, a higher gear here or later on the brakes there. Sometimes they can get away with it and sometimes, they can overdo it and the consequences on this kind of surface can mean the end of your weekend.”
66 William Creighton / Liam Regan
“It’s going to be a difficult weekend. A big challenge. The stages are going to be rough by the time we get there and it’s going to be warm. So it’s hard to know what to do. I think we’re going to have to play it smart when we can and try to stay out of trouble. But that’s easier said than done. So yeah, let’s just try and have a good recce and see how it goes.”
67 Laurent Pellier / Kevin Bronner
“For the first time during the season, we have done some kilometres of testing on gravel. We tried a lot of what historically is already good on this surface, I think. We tried some changes with the anti-roll bar and with the new damper, which works very well. We need to keep very strong points here and we need to drive, with our head. We will see because all the experienced guys know it will be a hard and difficult rally because of the rocks. It’s a big challenge ahead.”
70 Tom Rensonnet / Loïc Dumont
“I’m very happy to be here, for me it’s a dream and it’s going to be a tough rally because with the temperatures and the conditions, I have never driven on gravel before and I think I’m alone with that fact. It’s my first appearance on the gravel so we need to stay on the on the roads and take experience and to improve step by step.”
71 Roberto Blach / Mauro Barreiro
“I think that this will be a very difficult rally with many difficult conditions especially with the heat. I think that it’s similar to some of the Spanish gravel at home. For me it will be difficult because I have never driven with four-wheel drive on gravel so I will take it just step by step. A lot of things are going to happen in this rally, and I want to do a good job and learn a lot from this. If we can do a podium, it will be very nice.”
72 Eamonn Kelly / Conor Mohan
“I was able to do a pre-event test in a rally2 car, to be honest, it was just an opportunity that was presented to me, and I was very grateful to get it. We grabbed it both hands. And It’s a rough rally and it’s as good as it gets ahead of Sardinia. We’ve done nothing in the Fiesta Rally3 on gravel, but you know, we’ve done some driving and that’s the main thing. Obviously, it is going to take a little bit of time to adapt to the Rally3, but we’ve got a very long rally ahead of us to do that.”
73 Raul Hernandez / Adrian Perez
“I am happy to be here in Sardinia, the stages are really, really hard but for me the important thing is to finish the rally.”
74 Hamza Anwar / Adnan Din
“I believe this will be one of my strongest results, hopefully. I’m really looking forward to this one, it gives me the safari vibe! We will know after recce but, so far, so good. Looking forward to push a little this weekend.”
Pre-event
Service Park
Recce
Wednesday, 31 May
Thursday, 1 June
9:01-14:00 Shakedown, Loiri Porto San Paolo (2,87 km)
12:00 Meet the Crews (top 3 drivers from Shakedown), Molo Brin Service Park
12:30 Pre-event FIA press conference, Media Centre
13:05 FIA Rally Star Press Conference (Media Centre)
16:45 – 17:15 Autograph Session with invited drivers (Molo Brin Service Park)
18:02 Start of Section 1 (Olbia – Via Escrivà)
18:05 SS 1 Olbia – Cabu Abbas (3,20 km)
18:27 Parc Fermé IN
Competitive distance: 3,20 km (Liaison 1,72 km, Total 4,92 km)
Shakedown, FIA World Rally Championship
Shakedown, Rallyciak
Shakedown, Leandro Lemos Motorsport
Shakedown, CentreOuestRallye
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rally Italia Sardegna
Pre-event Press Conference
Thursday 1st June
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT – Sébastien Ogier (FRA), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team – Thierry Neuville (BEL), Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team – Pierre-Louis Loubet (FRA), Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
Q:
Rally Italia Sardegna is celebrating its 20th anniversary edition, 2004 we saw it come into the WRC. You all have some pretty good memories over the years I would like your highlights, please. Kick starting with you Mr Ogier…
SO:
A lot of great memories. Obviously we are tempted to mention the wins for great memories. I also have good memories with the battle I lost with Thierry very closely some years ago, because on those days I knew that it was still satisfying that you were driving on the limit and yes, it was missing a little bit it was an achievement to keep the car on the road pushing like this and it was good fun driving the car, so a lot of good times. I have to say I don’t miss the Power Stage near Alghero. This one was extremely rough and somehow the Hyundai was always strong there, so I think we don’t miss that one. This year there are many challenges ahead of us, even much earlier than the Power stage, so it is going to be an interesting weekend.
Q:
Pierre-Louis, what’s your favourite memories so far?
P-LL:
I think winning WRC2 was very important for us at this time, because if I was not leading the championship after Sardinia my season was stopped so it was a big relief and very nice memories.
Q:
Thierry, the seven-tenths-of-a-second win that Sébastien just mentioned, is that going to be your highlight?
TN:
I said it at that time, since then it was the only time where I really felt proud of the achievement because obviously in such a battle against Sébastien. You never know who is going to win and have the upper hand. It was a bit of a tense situation and there was this issue with his timecard in the previous stage and there was this regroup and we had to wait. We knew there might be a penalty but we did not know what or how much risk we had to take but at the end, I mean, we had to go for it we did and it was very close, but it was a big relief at the end and I think we both enjoyed that, obviously everybody wants always to win but you can’t always win. For us it was a great memory and it will stay for a long time in our memories.
Q:
You have two wins to Sébastien Ogier’s four, and I am sure your target a third this weekend, but given the conditions we have out there, the rain, the mud, is it going to be one of the toughest challenges here in Sardinia that you’ve ever faced?
SO:
It looks more unpredictable than ever, that’s a fact. Just quickly I forgot to mention my win two years ago but at least this one I should mention. From first on the road wins are pretty rare with the level of competition. This year, road position is not even sure it will play a big role this weekend. We have to see, but with the weather expected, I think first of all is making the right tyre call and staying out of trouble on the long stages. So many parameters seems not really clear at the moment, the only thing that is clear is on our side, we feel ready, the car feels good, we did some descent steps on this surface to make the car progress. I am excited to start the rally, but it’s a bit like going to the unknown at the moment.
Q:
That thrills us all when you say things like that. What do you say, Pierre-Louis, we saw a great result from you last year. You are kind of targeting the podium even though, as Seb said, it’s into the unknown right now so what is the target this weekend?
PLL:
Like Seb said, there are a lot of parameters this year. So difficult to give a prediction, so just doing my best try the same pace like in Portugal without hitting any rocks and I hope the result will be good.
Q:
Thierry, talk to us about the appointment of François-Xavier Demaison, which was the most recent news from the team that we have seen, as technical director. He has a wealth of experience within the WRC and most recently in Formula 1 as well. How important is this appointment?
TN:
We are going to find out. Sébastien knows him probably one hundred times better than I. I met him…
SO:
I would have preferred he joined my team than yours…
TN:
That’s a good sign! As you have already said, there is a new structure in Hyundai in the making and one of the positions we didn’t have in the team was a technical director. We got Christian Loriaux last year or two years ago, who joined the team as a technical advisor. He still didn’t have this lead of the project and was mainly focused on WRC and now with FX, he will be an additional help to Christian as well to get the necessary power to lead the WRC department and I am sure that FX, obviously with his experience in rallying, he will bring a lot of good things to the team. And I am looking forward to the collaboration, he has worked with some of the best drivers in the past and has a hell of an experience and I am sure this is going to benefit the team and benefit myself as well and if we match things properly together it should be fun.
Q:
Seb, we talked earlier about the Monte Lerno test and what a challenge that could be. You have done longer stages of course in the championship as drivers but this is going to be the first time now with the brand-new Rally1 Hybrid car that you would have done a stage of this length, on this terrain and in this heat. How is it going to be out there do you think?
SO:
Well, at least regarding the heat it might be a little cooler than we thought coming here. The one of 50 kilometres of course the car is going through hot conditions and for the brakes it’s important to have all the cooling system really on because otherwise you can get in trouble. But otherwise I am happy to see long stages coming back. It has normally been a strong point for me, tyre management can start to play a role and obviously I like this. The only parameter which is a little more complicated is puncture management and this one is something you cannot really control. Of course trying to stay on the best line as possible without having too much impact , but in such rough conditions, we know we are going to face some rocks and impacts, so hopefully we can have a clean run, but of course these stages just by itself is one third of the rally so it’s going to be a crucial one.
Q:
It is going to be a crucial one. Pierre-Louis, you have seen it on the recce, what kind of condition was it in, was there a lot of muddy sections or was it not so bad?
PL-L:
It was not so bad in terms of the condition of the road, but for sure in 50 kilometres you have a bit of everything, everywhere, so you have some very wide parts, very nice with a lot of speed and some parts where it is very narrow and tricky with very bad rocks, so very important not to have any puncture there, because if you have a puncture in the middle of the stage you can’t continue but you have to stop and change the wheel, so that will be one of the most demanding stage of the year for sure so very important to go through.
Q:
What’s going to be the key to success on this stage Thierry. Does your approach change at all? Heading into a stage of that duration or not?
TN:
I don’t think the key to success is only in one stage. I think the key to success this weekend is to be constant, have a bit of luck as well with the weather, make the right tyre calls and survive because it’s going to be rough out there. We kick off tomorrow with a very bumpy stage already, there are some stages we know, there are a couple of new parts or, at least, opposite direction so quite a lot of new pacenotes. There are a lot of things that come together so the challenge is huge. For the long stage if you kick off properly after the first corner and have a good feeling it should be fine, but you always have to stay concentrated for such a long stage. I think it will be around 35 minutes of effort so it’s going to be hopefully fun.
Q:
Final question to you, Pierre-Louis Loubet, because you are an island man coming from Corsica which is not far away. So what’s going to happen with the weather this weekend. Have you got any indications for us? Any knowledge?
PLL:
Normally, in Corsica it’s always sunny, so I don’t know what has happened here exactly. In my hometown it’s a bit easier than here, so I’m just hoping it will be okay, but it looks like the weather is not going to be here with us this weekend.
Questions from the floor:
Tom Howard, Autosport/Motorsport.com (GBR)
Q:
You’ve mentioned survival. Is it very much like Kenya, does it remind you about Kenya, is it that rough?
SO:
Honestly, some sections do look a little bit like Kenya, I think, with lot of stones. Basically, there are some sections which are harder than a lot of section we’ll go through in Kenya, honestly. And, also, it’s hard to predict how the conditions are going to be in the second pass. As a whole, of course Kenya itself is one step further, but from my point of view we are still on the rough side of the Sardinia conditions that I have experienced here.
TN:
Like Seb said in some sections they look a bit like Kenya. Generally the challenge is that the mixed of conditions that we already had during the recce and we’re going to have during the rally that makes it tricky and some parts are going to be rough on the second pass, but some parts might stay in better conditions than we expect so it’s always a bit of a surprise.
Q:
It’s going to be your first time in Safari this year isn’t it so we can’t get any feedback?
P-LL:
Yeah.
Reiner Kuhn, Motorsport Aktutell (DEU)
Q:
We heard from the other two that they have new suspensions. How about Toyota? Do you have something new?
SO:
I don’t think so. Honestly, nothing really new. I think we’ve obviously been working on the set-up for this kind of rally because the car was not performing well last year, I wasn’t here, but the drivers were complaining a lot about grip and that was the focus. So I think suspension is constantly evolving so it’s not like a new pure technology but you constantly work on valving and trying to make it better. Often some new dampers coming in but it’s hard to say. For sure the team has progressed in these conditions but so has everybody so it will be interesting to compare.
Q:
After Mexico?
SO:
Not so much after Mexico I think. But Mexico like we know is very specific. As a whole the work has been done from the beginning of the season already in this direction.
Marco Giordo, Autosprint (ITA)
Q:
For tomorrow, speaking to all drivers, the most difficult stage is not the long one, but the first one, Tantariles. What do you think?
SO:
It’s the roughest stage, for sure. Luckily it’s only ten kilometres, because if you go 50 kilometres like this I am not sure anybody would survive, it’s definitely a challenging start of the rally.
TN:
Same for me, obviously it’s already a new stage, the first two kilometres are quite fine, but towards the end it gets quite more rough, a bit bumpy, couple of compressions, watersplashes, anything you don’t want could happen there so you have to careful. You don’t want to lose bodywork parts on that stage when there are many more stages to come. It could affect the ca balance, the aerodynamic, whatever. It will be a fine line between going fast enough but not too fast.
P-LL:
Yeah, like Thierry said, hoping that nothing happens in this one, because after that you have some very important stages. So very tricky, at the end of stage and it can be very difficult. With the rain we saw that the gravel can be very, very slippery at the end of the recce, so it’s a very demanding stage.
The starting order:
| ORD | ENTRANT (TEAM) | DRIVER/CODRIVER | NAT. | NR | CAR | CL | GR | SEED PR | |
| 1 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula | FIN | 25 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 2 | Toksport WRT | Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen | FIN | 32 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 3 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | F | 27 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 4 | Toksport WRT 2 | Nikolay Gryazin / Konstantin Aleksandrov | RUS | 24 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 5 | Toksport WRT | Emil Lindholm / Reeta Hämäläinen | FIN | 26 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | |
| 6 | Toksport WRT 3 | Gus Greensmith / Jonas Andersson | GB/S | 21 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T) |
| 7 | (Toksport WRT) | Oliver Solberg / Elliot Edmondson | S/GB | 22 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 8 | PH Sport | Yohan Rossel / Arnaud Dunand | F | 20 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 9 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Pierre-Louis Loubet / Nicolas Gilsoul | F/B | 7 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 10 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | J/IRL | 18 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | |
| 11 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera | E | 6 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 12 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm | FIN | 4 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 13 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe | B | 11 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 14 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | GB | 33 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 15 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais | F | 17 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 16 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja | EE | 8 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 17 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen | FIN | 69 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 18 | Toksport WRT 3 | Andreas Mikkelsen / Torstein Eriksen | N | 23 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 19 | (Sarrazin Motorsport) | Nicolas Ciamin / Yannick Roche | F | 28 | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 20 | (RaceSeven) | Kajetan Kajetanowicz / Maciej Szczepaniak | PL | 29 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 21 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Grégoire Munster / Louis Louka | LUX/B | 30 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 22 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Fabrizio Zalvidar / Marcelo Der Ohannesian | PY/I | 31 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 23 | (Toksport WRT) | Bruno Bulacia / Axel Coronado | BOL/E | 34 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 24 | (Sports & You) | Alejandro Cachón / Alejandro López | E | 35 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 25 | (RedGrey Team) | Georg Linnamäe / James Morgan | EE/GB | 36 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | |
| 26 | (Sports Racing Technologies) | Mikołaj Marczyk / Szymon Gospodarczyk | PL | 37 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 27 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Josh McErlean / John Rowan | IRL | 38 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 28 | (RaceSeven) | Lauri Joona / Tuukka Shemeikka | FIN | 39 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 29 | (RedGrey Team) | Robert Virves / Hugo Magalhães | EE/P | 40 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 30 | Yacco ACCR Team (Orsák Rallysport) | Erik Cais / Petr Těšínský | CZ | 41 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 31 | (BRR) | Armin Kremer / Timo Gottschalk | D | 45 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 32 | (BRR) | Martin Prokop / Michal Ernst | CZ | 46 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 33 | (DreamOne Racing) | Mauro Miele / Luca Beltrame | I | 47 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 34 | (MAPO Motorsport) | Eduardo Castro / Fernando Mussano | PE/RA | 48 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 35 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Patrick O’Brien / Stephen O’Brien | IRL | 49 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 36 | (Keane Motorsport) | Johannes Keferböck / Ilka Minor | A | 50 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 37 | (Calm Competició) | Alexander Villanueva / José Murado | E | 52 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 38 | (Eurosol Racing Team Hungary) | Daniel Chwist / Kamil Heller | PL | 53 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 39 | Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah / Giovanni Bernacchini | QA/I | 55 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) | |
| 40 | Giuseppe Dettori / Carlo Pisano | I | 56 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 41 | (Balbosca) | Matteo Gamba / Nicolò Gonella | I | 57 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 42 | (Team Autoservice Sport) | Nicola Tali / Massimiliano Frau | I | 58 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 43 | (Munaretto s.r.l.) | Pablo Biolghini / Stefano Pudda | I | 59 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 44 | Maurizio Morato / Andrea Dal Maso | I | 60 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 45 | (Delta Rally) | Carlo Covi / Andrea Budoia | I | 61 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 46 | Francesco Tali / Chiara Corso | I | 62 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 47 | Castrol Ford Team Türkiye | Ali Türkkan / Burak Erdener | TR | 63 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 48 | (LMP Racing) | Filip Kohn / Tomáš Střeska | CZ | 64 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 49 | (Rautio Motorsport) | Roope Korhonen / Anssi Viinikka | FIN | 65 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 50 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | William Creighton / Liam Regan | IRL | 66 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 51 | (M-Sport Poland) | Laurent Pellier / Kévin Bronner | F | 67 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 52 | (M-Sport Poland) | Diego Dominguez Jr. / Rogelio Peñate | PY/E | 68 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 53 | RACB National Team (M-Sport Poland) | Tom Rensonnet / Loïc Dumont | B | 70 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 54 | (M-Sport Poland) | Rober Blach / Mauro Barreiro | E | 71 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 55 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | Eamonn Kelly / Conor Mohan | IRL | 72 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 56 | (M-Sport Poland) | Raul Hernandez / Rodrigo Sanjuan | E | 73 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 57 | (M-Sport Poland) | Hamza Anwar / Martin Brady | EAK/IRL | 74 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 58 | (Topp-Cars Rallye Team) | Zoltán László / Gábor Zsiros | H | 75 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | (DM) | |
| 59 | Francesco Marrone / Francesco Fresu | I | 76 | Peugeot 208 T16 | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 60 | Giuseppe Pozzo / Pier Paolo Cottu | I | 77 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 61 | Gianpietro Bendotti / Giuliano Vaerini | I | 78 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 62 | (Fabio Schwarz Motorsport) | Fabio Schwarz / Tim Rauber | D | 79 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | ||
| 63 | (HMI Motorsport) | Matteo Fontana / Alessandro Arnaboldi | I | 80 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | ||
| 64 | Stefano Marrone / Claudio Mele | I | 81 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 65 | Davide Biancu / Luigi Pittalis | I | 82 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 66 | Jacopo Bergamin / Nicolò Ventoso | I | 83 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 67 | Michele Liceri / Salvatore Giulio Mendola | I | 84 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 68 | Fabrizio Schirru / Fabio Salis | I | 85 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 69 | Gianluca Mara / Veronica Cottu | I | 86 | Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 70 | Slaven Šekuljica / Damir Petrović | HR | 87 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 | |||
| 71 | Marc Dessi / Mattia Pastorino | MC/I | 88 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 |
SS 1: Francesco Tali went off the road. Retired -> Rally 2
Esapekka Lappi leads Rally Italia Sardegna overnight after winning this evening’s superspecial stage in the suburbs of host city Olbia.
With thousands of fans watching the action, Lappi quickly found his rhythm to edge M-Sport Ford Puma driver Ott Tänak by 0.2s through the 3.20-kilometre curtain-raiser, which featured a thrilling blend of smooth asphalt roads combined with off-road tracks and jumps.
He relished the opportunity to “play” with his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid before the pressure is cranked up on Friday, the first of three days of intense competition.
“This was fun,” said the Finn, who starts round six of the FIA World Rally Championship season on a high following podiums in Croatia and Portugal. “You have enough space and you can play with the car. On the gravel you just go fully sideways and keep the foot on the throttle because it’s so slippery – that’s the only way to do it.”
Lappi’s team-mate Thierry Neuville was only half a second off the pace, taking third overall by a mere 0.4s from Toyota star Takamoto Katsuta. WRC points leader Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier – both driving Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 cars – complete the top six.
Just eight-tenths of a second covered Dani Sordo, Elfyn Evans and Pierre-Louis Loubet while WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg rounded out the top 10.
Friday is a demanding day with three stages, each run twice either side of a service, lying in wait. Tantariles (10.71 kilometres) is up first, followed by a short blast through Terranova (8.41 kilometres. The ultimate test, however, will be the return of Monte Lerno – Sa Conchedda in its 49.90-kilometre format. The monster stage rounds out both loops and incorporates the fan-favourite Micky’s Jump, where cars fly high into the air.
Day 1, FIA World Rally Championship
Day 1, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC
Friday, 2 June
7:40 Start of Section 2 (Olbia Molo Brin)
7:40 Service A (Olbia) – 20 min
8:40 SS 2 Tantariles 20RIS 1 (10,71 km)
9:31 SS 3 Terranova 1 (8,41 km)
10:21 SS 4 Monte Lerno – Sa Conchedda 1 (49,90 km)
12:27 Technical Zone & Regroup IN, Olbia – 40 min
13:07 Service B (Olbia) – 45 min
14:32 SS 5 Tantariles 20RIS 2 (10,71 km)
15:23 SS 6 Terranova 2 (8,41 km)
16:13 SS 7 Monte Lerno – Sa Conchedda 2 (49,90 km)
18:19 Technical Zone & Parc Fermé IN
18:29 Flexi Service C (Alghero) – 53 min
18:45 Meet the Crews (P1 team principals, then top 3 drivers), Service Park
22:19 All cars (except P1 and restarting cars) must be returned to Parc Fermé no later than
Competitive distance: 138,04 km (Liaison 209,34 km, Total 347,38 km)
The starting order:
| ORD | ENTRANT (TEAM) | DRIVER/CODRIVER | NAT. | NR | CAR | CL | GR | SEED PR | |
| 1 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen | FIN | 69 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 2 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja | EE | 8 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 3 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais | F | 17 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 4 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | GB | 33 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 5 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe | B | 11 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 6 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm | FIN | 4 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 7 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera | E | 6 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 8 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | J/IRL | 18 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | |
| 9 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Pierre-Louis Loubet / Nicolas Gilsoul | F/B | 7 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 10 | (Toksport WRT) | Oliver Solberg / Elliot Edmondson | S/GB | 22 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 11 | Toksport WRT 3 | Andreas Mikkelsen / Torstein Eriksen | N | 23 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 12 | Toksport WRT 3 | Gus Greensmith / Jonas Andersson | GB/S | 21 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T) |
| 13 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | F | 27 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 14 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula | FIN | 25 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 15 | PH Sport | Yohan Rossel / Arnaud Dunand | F | 20 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 16 | Toksport WRT 2 | Nikolay Gryazin / Konstantin Aleksandrov | RUS | 24 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 17 | Toksport WRT | Emil Lindholm / Reeta Hämäläinen | FIN | 26 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | |
| 18 | (Sarrazin Motorsport) | Nicolas Ciamin / Yannick Roche | F | 28 | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 19 | (RaceSeven) | Kajetan Kajetanowicz / Maciej Szczepaniak | PL | 29 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 20 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Fabrizio Zalvidar / Marcelo Der Ohannesian | PY/I | 31 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 21 | Toksport WRT | Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen | FIN | 32 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 22 | (Toksport WRT) | Bruno Bulacia / Axel Coronado | BOL/E | 34 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 23 | (RaceSeven) | Lauri Joona / Tuukka Shemeikka | FIN | 39 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 24 | (Sports & You) | Alejandro Cachón / Alejandro López | E | 35 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 25 | (RedGrey Team) | Georg Linnamäe / James Morgan | EE/GB | 36 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | |
| 26 | (Sports Racing Technologies) | Mikołaj Marczyk / Szymon Gospodarczyk | PL | 37 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 27 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Josh McErlean / John Rowan | IRL | 38 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 28 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Grégoire Munster / Louis Louka | LUX/B | 30 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 29 | (RedGrey Team) | Robert Virves / Hugo Magalhães | EE/P | 40 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 30 | Yacco ACCR Team (Orsák Rallysport) | Erik Cais / Petr Těšínský | CZ | 41 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 31 | (BRR) | Armin Kremer / Timo Gottschalk | D | 45 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 32 | (BRR) | Martin Prokop / Michal Ernst | CZ | 46 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 33 | (DreamOne Racing) | Mauro Miele / Luca Beltrame | I | 47 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 34 | (MAPO Motorsport) | Eduardo Castro / Fernando Mussano | PE/RA | 48 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 35 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Patrick O’Brien / Stephen O’Brien | IRL | 49 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 36 | (Calm Competició) | Alexander Villanueva / José Murado | E | 52 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 37 | (Keane Motorsport) | Johannes Keferböck / Ilka Minor | A | 50 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 38 | (Eurosol Racing Team Hungary) | Daniel Chwist / Kamil Heller | PL | 53 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 39 | Giuseppe Dettori / Carlo Pisano | I | 56 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 40 | (Balbosca) | Matteo Gamba / Nicolò Gonella | I | 57 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 41 | (Team Autoservice Sport) | Nicola Tali / Massimiliano Frau | I | 58 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 42 | (Munaretto s.r.l.) | Pablo Biolghini / Stefano Pudda | I | 59 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 43 | Maurizio Morato / Andrea Dal Maso | I | 60 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 44 | Castrol Ford Team Türkiye | Ali Türkkan / Burak Erdener | TR | 63 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 45 | (LMP Racing) | Filip Kohn / Tomáš Střeska | CZ | 64 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 46 | (Rautio Motorsport) | Roope Korhonen / Anssi Viinikka | FIN | 65 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 47 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | William Creighton / Liam Regan | IRL | 66 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 48 | (M-Sport Poland) | Laurent Pellier / Kévin Bronner | F | 67 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 49 | (M-Sport Poland) | Diego Dominguez Jr. / Rogelio Peñate | PY/E | 68 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 50 | RACB National Team (M-Sport Poland) | Tom Rensonnet / Loïc Dumont | B | 70 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 51 | (M-Sport Poland) | Rober Blach / Mauro Barreiro | E | 71 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 52 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | Eamonn Kelly / Conor Mohan | IRL | 72 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 53 | (M-Sport Poland) | Raul Hernandez / Rodrigo Sanjuan | E | 73 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 54 | (M-Sport Poland) | Hamza Anwar / Martin Brady | EAK/IRL | 74 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 55 | (Topp-Cars Rallye Team) | Zoltán László / Gábor Zsiros | H | 75 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | (DM) | |
| 56 | (Fabio Schwarz Motorsport) | Fabio Schwarz / Tim Rauber | D | 79 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | ||
| 57 | (Delta Rally) | Carlo Covi / Andrea Budoia | I | 61 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 58 | Francesco Tali / Chiara Corso | I | 62 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 59 | Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah / Giovanni Bernacchini | QA/I | 55 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) | |
| 60 | Francesco Marrone / Francesco Fresu | I | 76 | Peugeot 208 T16 | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 61 | Giuseppe Pozzo / Pier Paolo Cottu | I | 77 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 62 | Gianpietro Bendotti / Giuliano Vaerini | I | 78 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 63 | (HMI Motorsport) | Matteo Fontana / Alessandro Arnaboldi | I | 80 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | ||
| 64 | Stefano Marrone / Claudio Mele | I | 81 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 65 | Davide Biancu / Luigi Pittalis | I | 82 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 66 | Jacopo Bergamin / Nicolò Ventoso | I | 83 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 67 | Michele Liceri / Salvatore Giulio Mendola | I | 84 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 68 | Fabrizio Schirru / Fabio Salis | I | 85 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 69 | Slaven Šekuljica / Damir Petrović | HR | 87 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 | |||
| 70 | Gianluca Mara / Veronica Cottu | I | 86 | Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 71 | Marc Dessi / Mattia Pastorino | MC/I | 88 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 |
SS 2: Lauri Joona had a slow puncture.
SS 2: Hamza Anwar stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 3: Oliver Solberg braked for a tight left and then on the corner the damper just collapsed. The front left suspension damper was punched its way through its mounting hole.
SS 3: Armin Kremer stopped.
SS 4: Kalle Rovanperä narrowly avoided cows on the road.
SS 4: Thierry Neuville went wide and had a spin. Lost a couple of seconds.
SS 4: Dani Sordo went wide on a left-hander 48,5km into the stage and rolled down a banking. Managed to get back on the road to finish the stage. Lost almost 3 minutes.
SS 4: Takamoto Katsuta overshot a left-hander and slid into a rock, but managed to complete the stage.
SS 4: Lauri Joona had a puncture and stopped to change the tyre. Lost almost 3 minutes.
SS 4: Nicolas Ciamin stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 4: Alejandro Cachón stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 4: Patrick O’Brien stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 4: Giuseppe Dettori stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 4: William Creighton had a puncture and stopped to change the tyre. Lost over 2 minutes.
SS 4: Eamonn Kelly stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 5: Pierre-Louis Loubet stopped before the start line, because there was no any gear left.
SS 5: Maurizio Morato stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
For safety reasons, all remaining cars drove through the stage non-competitvely.
SS 6: Gus Greensmith went off the road 5,6 km into the stage. Retired
SS 7: Ott Tänak lost the water pump quite early in the beginning and were cooking the end. In some bumps it came back but then had no water pressure and no power in the engine. Lost almost 30 seconds.
SS 7: Elfyn Evan had a front right puncture.
SS 7: Esapekka Lappi had a rear left puncture at the finish.
SS 7: Pierre-Louis Loubet had a broken steering, went off the and got stuck. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 7: Teemu Suninen stopped 21,8 km into the stage to change the tyre. Lost over 2 minutes.
SS 7: Emil Lindholm almost rolled and had to reverse. Lost at least 3-4 seconds.
SS 7: Bruno Bulacia stopped due to the mechanical problem. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 7: Alexander Villanueva stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 7: Rober Blach
Esapekka Lappi demoted Sébastien Ogier in a gripping conclusion to Friday’s opening leg by claiming the tiniest of overnight leads on Rally Italia Sardegna.
After one of the most challenging days so far in this year’s FIA World Rally Championship, where crews tackled more than 140 kilometres of rough gravel stages in changeable weather conditions, the duelling duo reached the overnight halt in Olbia separated by a mere one-tenth of a second.
Ogier, contesting his fourth rally this year aboard a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, started on the front foot and led by a seemingly comfortable 16.3s at the day’s halfway point having blitzed his Finnish rival through the first pass of Monte Lerno, a whopping 49.90 kilometres in length.
But the Frenchman’s advantage began to erode as the same three speed tests were repeated after lunch and Lappi, charging hard in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, delivered the perfect response in Monte Lerno 2 – ultimately claiming the lead through the day’s final stage.
“There was no need to push harder, one tenth is enough,” Lappi said at the completion of SS7. “I’m glad to be at the finish, that was quite a tricky stage and we got a slow left-rear puncture as well, so that started to disturb a bit. But we are here, everything is okay and we are looking forward to tomorrow.”
Despite grappling with an intermittently functioning handbrake, Thierry Neuville fought his way up the leaderboard to make it two Hyundais in the top three. The Belgian trails Ogier by 18.5s with championship leader Kalle Rovanperä another 27.5s behind.
Rovanperä had entered the final stage down in seventh overall, but the wet conditions played to the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT driver’s favour – and to his early starting position. He posted the benchmark time, climbing three positions in the process.
Just 1.3s behind is Takamoto Katsuta, who suffered a fright in the morning loop when he hit a rock after running wide in a left-hand bend. The mishap cost around 20s and kept his Toyota mechanics busy in service.
A front-right puncture towards the end of Monte Lerno 2 left Elfyn Evans 18.2s behind his team-mate in sixth overall. He heads M-Sport Ford’s Ott Tänak, who overcame a failing water pump, by 4.2s.
FIA WRC2 runners Sami Pajari, Adrien Fourmaux are eighth and ninth with Emil Lindholm completing the top 10 ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen. Pajari also heads the FIA WRC2 Challenger classification.
Dani Sordo languishes in 12th overall after he rolled his Hyundai on SS4, losing more than three minutes in the process.
Initially running third overall, Pierre-Louis Loubet picked a three-minute time penalty when he couldn’t engage any gears prior to the start of SS5. Although the issue was swiftly resolved, Loubet’s rally ended later in the day when he beached his Puma in a Monte Lerno ditch, possibly as a result of a mechanical failure.
Meanwhile, Roope Korhonen leads FIA WRC3 with William Creighton ahead in FIA Junior WRC. Mauro Miele heads the WRC Masters Cup classification.
Saturday’s leg features double runs of Coiluna – Loelle (16.28km), Su Filigosu (19.57 km), Erula – Tula (21.92km) and Tempio Pausania (9.04 km). The eight tests add up to 133.62 kilometres.
Results after Section 2
Day 2, FIA World Rally Championship
WRC2 Day 2, FIA World Rally Championship
WRC3 Day 2, FIA World Rally Championship
Day 2, M-Sport
Day 2, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC
Day 2, Rallyciak
Saturday, 4 June
6:50 Start of Section 4 (Olbia Molo Brin)
8:05 SS 8 Coiluna-Loelle 1 (16,28 km)
9:03 SS 9 Su Filigosu 1 (19,57 km)
10:08 SS 10 Erula – Tula 1 (21,92 km
11:22 SS 11 Tempio Pausania 1 (9,04 km)
12:45 Technical Zone& Regroup IN – 25 min
13:10 Service D (Olbia) – 45 min
15:05 SS 12 Coiluna-Loelle 2 (16,28 km)
16:03 SS 13 Su Filigosu 2 (19,57 km)
17:30 SS 14 Erula – Tula 2 (21,92 km
18:44 SS 15 Tempio Pausania 2 (9,04 km)
20:07 Technical Zone & Parc Fermé IN – 10 min
20:17 Flexi Service E (Olbia) – 53 min
21:00 Meet the Crews (P1 team principals, then top 3 drivers), Service Park
0:07 All cars (except P1 and restarting cars) must be returned to Parc Fermé no later than
Competitive distance: 133,62 km (Liaison 426,80 km, Total 560,42 km)
The starting order:
| ORD | ENTRANT (TEAM) | DRIVER/CODRIVER | NAT. | NR | CAR | CL | GR | SEED PR | |
| 1 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Pierre-Louis Loubet / Nicolas Gilsoul | F/B | 7 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 2 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera | E | 6 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 3 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja | EE | 8 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 4 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | GB | 33 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 5 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | J/IRL | 18 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | |
| 6 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen | FIN | 69 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 7 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe | B | 11 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 8 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais | F | 17 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 9 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm | FIN | 4 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 10 | Toksport WRT | Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen | FIN | 32 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 11 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | F | 27 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 12 | Toksport WRT | Emil Lindholm / Reeta Hämäläinen | FIN | 26 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | |
| 13 | Toksport WRT 3 | Andreas Mikkelsen / Torstein Eriksen | N | 23 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 14 | (Sports Racing Technologies) | Mikołaj Marczyk / Szymon Gospodarczyk | PL | 37 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 15 | PH Sport | Yohan Rossel / Arnaud Dunand | F | 20 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 16 | (RaceSeven) | Kajetan Kajetanowicz / Maciej Szczepaniak | PL | 29 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 17 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula | FIN | 25 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 18 | (RedGrey Team) | Robert Virves / Hugo Magalhães | EE/P | 40 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 19 | Yacco ACCR Team (Orsák Rallysport) | Erik Cais / Petr Těšínský | CZ | 41 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 20 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Grégoire Munster / Louis Louka | LUX/B | 30 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 21 | (RaceSeven) | Lauri Joona / Tuukka Shemeikka | FIN | 39 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 22 | Toksport WRT 2 | Nikolay Gryazin / Konstantin Aleksandrov | RUS | 24 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 23 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Josh McErlean / John Rowan | IRL | 38 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 24 | (BRR) | Martin Prokop / Michal Ernst | CZ | 46 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 25 | (Toksport WRT) | Oliver Solberg / Elliot Edmondson | S/GB | 22 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 26 | (Toksport WRT) | Bruno Bulacia / Axel Coronado | BOL/E | 34 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 27 | (Sports & You) | Alejandro Cachón / Alejandro López | E | 35 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 28 | (BRR) | Armin Kremer / Timo Gottschalk | D | 45 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 29 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Fabrizio Zalvidar / Marcelo Der Ohannesian | PY/I | 31 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 30 | (RedGrey Team) | Georg Linnamäe / James Morgan | EE/GB | 36 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | |
| 31 | (Sarrazin Motorsport) | Nicolas Ciamin / Yannick Roche | F | 28 | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 32 | (Balbosca) | Matteo Gamba / Nicolò Gonella | I | 57 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 33 | (DreamOne Racing) | Mauro Miele / Luca Beltrame | I | 47 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 34 | (MAPO Motorsport) | Eduardo Castro / Fernando Mussano | PE/RA | 48 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 35 | (Calm Competició) | Alexander Villanueva / José Murado | E | 52 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 36 | (Keane Motorsport) | Johannes Keferböck / Ilka Minor | A | 50 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 37 | (Team Autoservice Sport) | Nicola Tali / Massimiliano Frau | I | 58 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 38 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Patrick O’Brien / Stephen O’Brien | IRL | 49 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 39 | Giuseppe Dettori / Carlo Pisano | I | 56 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 40 | (Eurosol Racing Team Hungary) | Daniel Chwist / Kamil Heller | PL | 53 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 41 | (Munaretto s.r.l.) | Pablo Biolghini / Stefano Pudda | I | 59 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 42 | Maurizio Morato / Andrea Dal Maso | I | 60 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 43 | (Delta Rally) | Carlo Covi / Andrea Budoia | I | 61 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 44 | Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah / Giovanni Bernacchini | QA/I | 55 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) | |
| 45 | (Rautio Motorsport) | Roope Korhonen / Anssi Viinikka | FIN | 65 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 46 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | William Creighton / Liam Regan | IRL | 66 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 47 | (M-Sport Poland) | Diego Dominguez Jr. / Rogelio Peñate | PY/E | 68 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 48 | (M-Sport Poland) | Laurent Pellier / Kévin Bronner | F | 67 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 49 | (Fabio Schwarz Motorsport) | Fabio Schwarz / Tim Rauber | D | 79 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | ||
| 50 | RACB National Team (M-Sport Poland) | Tom Rensonnet / Loïc Dumont | B | 70 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 51 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | Eamonn Kelly / Conor Mohan | IRL | 72 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 52 | (M-Sport Poland) | Rober Blach / Mauro Barreiro | E | 71 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 53 | (M-Sport Poland) | Raul Hernandez / Rodrigo Sanjuan | E | 73 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 54 | Castrol Ford Team Türkiye | Ali Türkkan / Burak Erdener | TR | 63 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 55 | (LMP Racing) | Filip Kohn / Tomáš Střeska | CZ | 64 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 56 | Gianpietro Bendotti / Giuliano Vaerini | I | 78 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 57 | Francesco Marrone / Francesco Fresu | I | 76 | Peugeot 208 T16 | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 58 | (M-Sport Poland) | Hamza Anwar / Martin Brady | EAK/IRL | 74 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 59 | Giuseppe Pozzo / Pier Paolo Cottu | I | 77 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 60 | (HMI Motorsport) | Matteo Fontana / Alessandro Arnaboldi | I | 80 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | ||
| 61 | (Topp-Cars Rallye Team) | Zoltán László / Gábor Zsiros | H | 75 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | (DM) | |
| 62 | Stefano Marrone / Claudio Mele | I | 81 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 63 | Michele Liceri / Salvatore Giulio Mendola | I | 84 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 64 | Fabrizio Schirru / Fabio Salis | I | 85 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 65 | Davide Biancu / Luigi Pittalis | I | 82 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 66 | Gianluca Mara / Veronica Cottu | I | 86 | Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 67 | Slaven Šekuljica / Damir Petrović | HR | 87 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 | |||
| 68 | Marc Dessi / Mattia Pastorino | MC/I | 88 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 |
SS 8: Pierre-Louis Loubet will not restart. Retired
SS 8: Takamoto Katsuta braked too late and drove to the water splash too fast at 14 km. The front end was damaged. The car was down on power. Tried to fix it, but not able to repair the radiator. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 8: Roope Korhonen rolled 11,3 km into the stage. Lost over 1 minute.
SS 9: Ott Tänak went too fast into a water splash and the engine stalled. Completed the stage in EV mode. Tried to fix the car on the road section. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 10: Elfyn Evans went too fast into a water splash and the engine stalled. Completed the stage in EV mode. Lost over 1.30 minutes.
SS 10: Esapekka Lappi had a puncture. Lost a couple of seconds.
SS 10: Emil Lindholm had a puncture. Lost over 1 minute.
SS 10: Mikołaj Marczyk went off the road, but was able to continue. Lost almost 30 seconds.
SS 10: Filip Kohn stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 11: Sami Pajari went a bit too wide on a short left corner and hit a stone fence. The rear right wheel was hanging off. Tried to repair, but ii was not possible. Retired -> Rally 2
https://twitter.com/samipajari/status/1665031313265401858
SS 11: Armin Kremer stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 11: Raul Hernandez stopped due to the damaged left rear wheel. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 12: Sébastien Ogier went through a water splash and the engine began misfiring. Also there’s some superficial damage to the car’s front end. Lost almost 5 seconds.
SS 12: Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 13: Oliver Solberg had no visibility as there was water leaking inside the car. Lost almost 3 minutes.
SS 13: William Creighton had a puncture and stopped to change the tyre.
SS 14: Sébastien Ogier understeered on a left-hand bend, slid down an embankment on the outside of the corner and got stuck. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 14: Oliver Solberg had some issues. Lost over 27 minutes. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 14: Robert Virves went off the road and the car was damaged. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 14: Laurent Pellier stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
SS 14: Tom Rensonnet stopped. Retired -> Rally 2
Thierry Neuville sits on the brink of his first victory in this season’s FIA World Rally Championship after he took control of Rally Italia Sardegna during an action-packed second leg when eight-time WRC champion Sébastien Ogier was unable to go the distance.
Neuville had trailed Ogier and Esapekka Lappi since the start of this sixth round of the season, but a heavy downpour on the penultimate Erula – Tula test had a significant impact on the leaderboard.
Ogier, hunting down a record fifth Sardinian win in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, entered the stage clinging onto a slender overall lead. However, in a late twist, the Frenchman’s fortunes took a dramatic downturn when he understeered off the road and slipped down an embankment 1.4 kilometres after the start.
Lappi reduced his attack upon seeing Ogier’s stricken car, inadvertently dropping over half a minute to team-mate Neuville, who was unaware of the drama unfolding behind him on the road. The Belgian climbed from third to first overall as a result of his charge and heads a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid 1-2 by 36.4s approaching tomorrow’s four-stage finale.
“I am relieved to be at the finish,” admitted Neuville, who has not won in the WRC since Rally Japan last November. “It was a tough day but the feeling was getting better and better with the car. We learned a lot, that’s important, but it’s still not always perfect yet and we can still improve.
“Tomorrow is a short but tricky day,” he added. “We need to have a clever drive through and try to bring home the 1-2 for the team.”
Toyota’s championship leader Kalle Rovanperä was elevated to third at his team-mate’s expense, although the Finn is unlikely to be able to trouble the frontrunning pair on outright pace on Sunday. He trailed Lappi by 1m14.3s at the overnight halt in Olbia after being hampered by excessive tyre wear in the afternoon.
Perseverance paid off for Elfyn Evans, whose day was filled with setbacks. The Welshman’s Toyota sustained radiator damage in a water crossing on SS10 and he leaked almost three minutes limping back to service.
History threatened to repeat itself later in the day when the Welshman’s Yaris momentarily lost power while negotiating another watersplash. However, the misfire cleared itself shortly afterwards and he reached the finish of Saturday’s leg almost four minutes behind Rovanperä in fourth overall.
Ott Tänak and Takamoto Katsuta suffered water-induced retirements. A faulty electrical sensor was to blame for M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid driver Tänak’s exit while Katsuta bowed out with radiator damage. Their respective mishaps enabled Dani Sordo, recovering from a Friday morning roll, to climb to fifth overall.
He heads FIA WRC2 leader Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2) with Andreas Mikkelsen (Toksport Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) and Teemu Suninen (Hyundai Motorsport N i20 N Rally2) next. Emil Lindholm and FIA WRC Challenger pacesetter Kajetan Kajetanowicz complete the top 10.
Roope Korhonen bounced back from an early roll to lead FIA WRC3 after 15 stages in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 with William Creighton ahead in FIA Junior WRC. Johannes Keferböck is in front in the WRC Masters Cup.
Competitors journey north of Olbia for Sunday’s double-use stages that make up a total of 46.02 timed kilometres. Arzachena – Braniatogghiu, a 15.22-kilometre run from 07:05, is first with the 7.79-kilometre Sardegna test due to go live at 08:05. The early morning stages are repeated at 10:09 and 12:15 respectively with Sardegna 2 forming the 50th Wolf Power Stage from 12:15.
Results after Section 4
Day 3, FIA World Rally Championship
WRC2 Day 3, FIA World Rally Championship
WRC3 Day 3, FIA World Rally Championship
Day 3, M-Sport
Day 3, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC
Day 3, Rallyciak
Day 3, Leandro Lemos Motorsport
Sunday, 4 June
7:00 Start of Section 6 (Olbia Molo Brin)
7:05 SS 16 Arzachena – Braniatogghiu 1 (15,22 km)
8:05 SS 17 Sardegna 1 (7,79 km)
8:53 Regroup IN – 30 min
10:09 SS 18 Arzachena – Braniatogghiu 2 (15,22 km)
12:15 SS 19 Sardegna 2 Power Stage (7,79 km)
13:47 Olbia Parc Fermé IN
15:00 Podium Ceremony and Prize Giving (Olbia – Piazza Crispi)
16:00 Post-Event FIA Press Conference (Media Centre)
Competitive distance: 46,02 km (Liaison 209,48 km, Total 255,50 km)
The starting order:
| ORD | ENTRANT (TEAM) | DRIVER/CODRIVER | NAT. | NR | CAR | CL | GR | SEED PR | |
| 1 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | J/IRL | 18 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | |
| 2 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja | EE | 8 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 3 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais | F | 17 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 4 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera | E | 6 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 5 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | GB | 33 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 6 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen | FIN | 69 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 7 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm | FIN | 4 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 8 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe | B | 11 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | P1 | M |
| 9 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | F | 27 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 10 | Toksport WRT 3 | Andreas Mikkelsen / Torstein Eriksen | N | 23 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 11 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula | FIN | 25 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 12 | (RaceSeven) | Kajetan Kajetanowicz / Maciej Szczepaniak | PL | 29 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 13 | PH Sport | Yohan Rossel / Arnaud Dunand | F | 20 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 14 | (Sports Racing Technologies) | Mikołaj Marczyk / Szymon Gospodarczyk | PL | 37 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 15 | Yacco ACCR Team (Orsák Rallysport) | Erik Cais / Petr Těšínský | CZ | 41 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 16 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Grégoire Munster / Louis Louka | LUX/B | 30 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 17 | (RaceSeven) | Lauri Joona / Tuukka Shemeikka | FIN | 39 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 18 | (BRR) | Martin Prokop / Michal Ernst | CZ | 46 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 19 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Josh McErlean / John Rowan | IRL | 38 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 20 | (Balbosca) | Matteo Gamba / Nicolò Gonella | I | 57 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 21 | (RedGrey Team) | Robert Virves / Hugo Magalhães | EE/P | 40 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 22 | (Keane Motorsport) | Johannes Keferböck / Ilka Minor | A | 50 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 23 | (Team Autoservice Sport) | Nicola Tali / Massimiliano Frau | I | 58 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 24 | (MAPO Motorsport) | Eduardo Castro / Fernando Mussano | PE/RA | 48 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 25 | (DreamOne Racing) | Mauro Miele / Luca Beltrame | I | 47 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 26 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Fabrizio Zalvidar / Marcelo Der Ohannesian | PY/I | 31 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 27 | (RedGrey Team) | Georg Linnamäe / James Morgan | EE/GB | 36 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | |
| 28 | (Toksport WRT) | Bruno Bulacia / Axel Coronado | BOL/E | 34 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 29 | Toksport WRT | Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen | FIN | 32 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 30 | (Sarrazin Motorsport) | Nicolas Ciamin / Yannick Roche | F | 28 | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 31 | Toksport WRT 2 | Nikolay Gryazin / Konstantin Aleksandrov | RUS | 24 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 32 | (Toksport WRT) | Oliver Solberg / Elliot Edmondson | S/GB | 22 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 33 | (Munaretto s.r.l.) | Pablo Biolghini / Stefano Pudda | I | 59 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 34 | (Eurosol Racing Team Hungary) | Daniel Chwist / Kamil Heller | PL | 53 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 35 | Giuseppe Dettori / Carlo Pisano | I | 56 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 36 | (Calm Competició) | Alexander Villanueva / José Murado | E | 52 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 37 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Patrick O’Brien / Stephen O’Brien | IRL | 49 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 38 | Maurizio Morato / Andrea Dal Maso | I | 60 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 39 | (Delta Rally) | Carlo Covi / Andrea Budoia | I | 61 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 40 | Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah / Giovanni Bernacchini | QA/I | 55 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) | |
| 41 | (Rautio Motorsport) | Roope Korhonen / Anssi Viinikka | FIN | 65 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 42 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | William Creighton / Liam Regan | IRL | 66 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 43 | (M-Sport Poland) | Diego Dominguez Jr. / Rogelio Peñate | PY/E | 68 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 44 | (M-Sport Poland) | Rober Blach / Mauro Barreiro | E | 71 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 45 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | Eamonn Kelly / Conor Mohan | IRL | 72 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 46 | (M-Sport Poland) | Hamza Anwar / Martin Brady | EAK/IRL | 74 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 47 | (M-Sport Poland) | Raul Hernandez / Rodrigo Sanjuan | E | 73 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC |
| 48 | (M-Sport Poland) | Laurent Pellier / Kévin Bronner | F | 67 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 49 | RACB National Team (M-Sport Poland) | Tom Rensonnet / Loïc Dumont | B | 70 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P4 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 50 | Gianpietro Bendotti / Giuliano Vaerini | I | 78 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 51 | (Fabio Schwarz Motorsport) | Fabio Schwarz / Tim Rauber | D | 79 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | ||
| 52 | (Topp-Cars Rallye Team) | Zoltán László / Gábor Zsiros | H | 75 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | (DM) | |
| 53 | Castrol Ford Team Türkiye | Ali Türkkan / Burak Erdener | TR | 63 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 54 | (LMP Racing) | Filip Kohn / Tomáš Střeska | CZ | 64 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | P3 | WRC3 |
| 55 | (HMI Motorsport) | Matteo Fontana / Alessandro Arnaboldi | I | 80 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | ||
| 56 | Giuseppe Pozzo / Pier Paolo Cottu | I | 77 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 57 | Francesco Marrone / Francesco Fresu | I | 76 | Peugeot 208 T16 | RC2 | Rally2 | |||
| 58 | Stefano Marrone / Claudio Mele | I | 81 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 59 | Davide Biancu / Luigi Pittalis | I | 82 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 60 | Michele Liceri / Salvatore Giulio Mendola | I | 84 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 61 | Fabrizio Schirru / Fabio Salis | I | 85 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 62 | Gianluca Mara / Veronica Cottu | I | 86 | Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 63 | Slaven Šekuljica / Damir Petrović | HR | 87 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 | |||
| 64 | Marc Dessi / Mattia Pastorino | MC/I | 88 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 |
Service: Emil Lindholm did not started the Day 4 due to a rear suspension damage not able to repair. Retired
SS 17: Dani Sordo stopped after the stage due to an exhaust failure and fire risk. Retired
SS 19: Adrien Fourmaux went off the road and got stuck into a ditch. The whole right side suspension was damaged. Retired
Day 4, FIA World Rally Championship
Review, Hyundai Motorsport
Review, M-Sport
Review, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC
Highlights, DirtFish
Day 4, Rallyciak
Belgian star Thierry Neuville vaulted from fifth to second in the provisional FIA World Rally Championship standings after clinching a long-awaited victory on Rally Italia Sardegna at the wheel of a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid.
Co-driven by compatriot Martijn Wydaeghe, Neuville headed Esapekka Lappi by 33.0s in a Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team one-two to become the fourth winner in six rounds and triumph for the 18th time in his career.
The result, the first victory for Neuville, Wydaeghe and Hyundai since Rally Japan last November, helped Neuville close to within 25 points of defending champion and provisional title leader Kalle Rovanperä, while Hyundai is now 23 points behind Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT in the provisional Manufacturers’ championship standings.
During the fast and furious Mediterranean island fixture, the lead changed hands a whopping nine times before Neuville seized the initiative when Sébastien Ogier went off the road on Saturday’s rain-hit penultimate test aboard his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid.
He overtook Lappi, who celebrated his third-consecutive top-three finish, in the same stage and managed a comfortable margin through Sunday’s four-stage final leg.
“Obviously it was a challenging weekend,” said Neuville, who is now a three-time winner in Sardinia. “We came here with the belief that we could fight for victory but the first day was challenging and we lost a bit of time. Yesterday we found ourselves in the lead and we had to manage it until the end. It’s the first victory for the team this year, it’s a 1-2, and the first win for our team principal [Cyril Abiteboul] as well. Craig Breen is in our memories also – we wanted the win in Croatia for him, but we got it now.”
Rovanperä completed the podium in third overall, his best result out of five Rally Italia Sardegna attempts.
Although he trailed fellow Finn Lappi by 1m22.3s at the finish, the high rate of attrition meant he ended up a sizeable 3m25.2s clear of fourth-placed Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans.
Evans struggled to get into a rhythm in his GR Yaris and dropped around three minutes on Saturday when his car’s radiator sustained damage in a water crossing.
Dani Sordo almost made it three Hyundais in the top five but retired after the today’s second stage due to exhaust failure. It brought an early end to what been a turbulent weekend for the Spaniard, having previously rolled his i20 N on Friday morning.
His exit paved the way for Toksport Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Andreas Mikkelsen to claim fifth overall as well as taking a surprise victory in FIA WRC2. He had trailed Adrien Fourmaux by more than half a minute before the rain-hit Wolf Power Stage but the Frenchman slid off the road 1.4 kilometres after the start and was forced out with damage to the right-rear corner of his M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Teemu Suninen completed the top six for Hyundai Motorsport N with FIA WRC2 Challenger winner Kajetan Kajetanowicz coming home one place behind. PH Sport’s Yohan Rossel finished eighth in his Citroën C3 Rally2 with Miko Marczyk and Erik Cais completing the top 10.
Roope Korhonen made it three FIA WRC3 wins out of three starts, while William Creighton won for the second time this season in FIA Junior WRC. Johannes Keferböck was the comfortable FIA WRC Masters Cup winner.
The 2023 WRC season continues with the legendary Safari Rally Kenya in Naivasha from June 22-25.
RESULTS
| ENTRANT (TEAM) | DRIVER/CODRIVER | NAT. | NR | CAR | GR | TIME | |||
| 1 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe | B | 11 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | 3:40:01.4 | M |
| 2 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm | FIN | 4 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | 3:40:34.4 | M |
| 3 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen | FIN | 69 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | 3:41:56.7 | M |
| 4 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | GB | 33 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | 3:45:21.9 | M |
| 5 | Toksport WRT 3 | Andreas Mikkelsen / Torstein Eriksen | N | 23 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 3:49:34.7 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 6 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula | FIN | 25 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 3:51:50.3 | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 7 | (RaceSeven) | Kajetan Kajetanowicz / Maciej Szczepaniak | PL | 29 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 3:52:47.5 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 8 | PH Sport | Yohan Rossel / Arnaud Dunand | F | 20 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 3:52:54.9 | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 9 | (RaceSeven) | Mikołaj Marczyk / Szymon Gospodarczyk | PL | 37 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 3:55:35.2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 10 | Yacco ACCR Team (Orsák Rallysport) | Erik Cais / Petr Těšínský | CZ | 41 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 3:56:50.8 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 11 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Grégoire Munster / Louis Louka | LUX/B | 30 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 3:57:25.4 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 12 | (RaceSeven) | Lauri Joona / Tuukka Shemeikka | FIN | 39 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 3:58:08.4 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 13 | (BRR) | Martin Prokop / Michal Ernst | CZ | 46 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 3:59:23.9 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 14 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais | F | 17 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | 3:59:51.8 SR | M |
| 15 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Josh McErlean / John Rowan | IRL | 38 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:00:49.6 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 16 | (Balbosca) | Matteo Gamba / Nicolò Gonella | I | 57 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:12:17.4 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 17 | (RedGrey Team) | Robert Virves / Hugo Magalhães | EE/P | 40 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:13:11.3 SR | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 18 | (Rautio Motorsport) | Roope Korhonen / Anssi Viinikka | FIN | 65 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 4:14:20.0 | WRC3 |
| 19 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | William Creighton / Liam Regan | IRL | 66 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 4:15:11.5 | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 20 | (M-Sport Poland) | Diego Dominguez Jr. / Rogelio Peñate | PY/E | 68 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 4:16:57.4 | JWRC |
| 21 | (Team Autoservice Sport) | Nicola Tali / Massimiliano Frau | I | 58 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:18:19.7 SR | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 22 | (Keane Motorsport) | Johannes Keferböck / Ilka Minor | A | 50 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:20:03.1 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 23 | (MAPO Motorsport) | Eduardo Castro / Fernando Mussano | PE/RA | 48 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:22:20.5 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 24 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Fabrizio Zalvidar / Marcelo Der Ohannesian | PY/I | 31 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:25:59.1 SR | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 25 | (RedGrey Team) | Georg Linnamäe / James Morgan | EE/GB | 36 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:26:57.9 SR | |
| 26 | (DreamOne Racing) | Mauro Miele / Luca Beltrame | I | 47 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:27:01.0 SR | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 27 | Gianpietro Bendotti / Giuliano Vaerini | I | 78 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:27:03.1 | ||
| 28 | (Munaretto s.r.l.) | Pablo Biolghini / Stefano Pudda | I | 59 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:29:10.7 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 29 | Toksport WRT | Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen | FIN | 32 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:31:18.4 SR | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 30 | Castrol Ford Team Türkiye | Ali Türkkan / Burak Erdener | TR | 63 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 4:34:08.7 SR | WRC3 |
| 31 | (M-Sport Poland) | Roberto Blach / Mauro Barreiro | E | 71 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 4:34:15.1 SR | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 32 | (M-Sport Poland) | Laurent Pellier / Kévin Bronner | F | 67 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 4:36:15.1 SR | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 33 | (Sarrazin Motorsport) | Nicolas Ciamin / Yannick Roche | F | 28 | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:36:18.2 SR | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 34 | Toksport WRT 2 | Nikolay Gryazin / Konstantin Aleksandrov | RUS | 24 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:37:34.0 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 35 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja | EE | 8 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | 4:41:00.8 SR | M |
| 36 | (Eurosol Racing Team Hungary) | Daniel Chwist / Kamil Heller | PL | 53 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:42:43.3 SR | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 37 | RACB National Team (M-Sport Poland) | Tom Rensonnet / Loïc Dumont | B | 70 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 4:44:09.5 SR | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 38 | (Calm Competició) | Alexander Villanueva / José Murado | E | 52 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:45:25.8 SR | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 39 | (HMI Motorsport) | Matteo Fontana / Alessandro Arnaboldi | I | 80 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | 4:45:52.3 SR | |
| 40 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | J/IRL | 18 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | 4:50:12.4 SR | |
| 41 | (Delta Rally) | Carlo Covi / Andrea Budoia | I | 61 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:50:50.9 | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 42 | Giuseppe Dettori / Carlo Pisano | I | 56 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 4:53:06.9 SR | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 43 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | Eamonn Kelly / Conor Mohan | IRL | 72 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 4:53:47.2 SR | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 44 | (Toksport WRT) | Oliver Solberg / Elliot Edmondson | S/GB | 22 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 5:03:53.6 SR | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 45 | (Topp-Cars Rallye Team) | Zoltán László / Gábor Zsiros | H | 75 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 5:07:23.3 | (DM) |
| 46 | Michele Liceri / Salvatore Giulio Mendola | I | 84 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | 5:08:38.9 | ||
| 47 | (M-Sport Poland) | Raul Hernandez / Rodrigo Sanjuan | E | 73 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 5:10:47.7 SR | JWRC |
| 48 | (JME Rally & Racing) | Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah / Giovanni Bernacchini | QA/I | 55 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 5:11:43.2 SR | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 49 | (Fabio Schwarz Motorsport) | Fabio Schwarz / Bernhard Ettel | D/A | 79 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 5:13:50.3 SR | |
| 50 | (M-Sport Poland) | Hamza Anwar / Adnan Din | EAK | 74 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 5:22:22.6 SR | JWRC & WRC3 |
| 51 | Giuseppe Pozzo / Pier Paolo Cottu | I | 77 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 5:24:24.3 SR | ||
| 52 | Stefano Marrone / Claudio Mele | I | 81 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | 5:26:54.2 SR | ||
| 53 | (LMP Racing) | Filip Kohn / Tom Woodburn | CZ/GB | 64 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | 5:36:58.0 SR | WRC3 |
| 54 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Patrick O’Brien / Stephen O’Brien | IRL | 49 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | 5:51:29.7 SR | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) |
| 55 | Fabrizio Schirru / Fabio Salis | I | 85 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | 5:55:56.6 SR | ||
| 56 | Maurizio Morato / Andrea Dal Maso | I | 60 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | 6:19:12.4 SR | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 57 | Gianluca Mara / Veronica Cottu | I | 86 | Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | Rally4 | 6:26:57.0 SR | ||
| 58 | Davide Biancu / Luigi Pittalis | I | 82 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | 6:38:40.7 SR | ||
| 59 | Marc Dessi / Mattia Pastorino | MC/I | 88 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 | 7:17:41.4 | ||
| SS | ENTRANT (TEAM) | DRIVER/CODRIVER | NAT. | NR | CAR | GR | CAUSE | ||
| 17 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera | E | 6 | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | M | |
| 8 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | J/IRL | 18 | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | radiator | |
| 7 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Pierre-Louis Loubet / Nicolas Gilsoul | F/B | 7 | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | Rally1 | accident | M |
| 6 | Toksport WRT 3 | Gus Greensmith / Jonas Andersson | GB/S | 21 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | accident | WRC2 (T) |
| 14 | (Toksport WRT) | Oliver Solberg / Elliot Edmondson | S/GB | 22 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | mechanical | WRC2 (D/C) |
| 15 | Toksport WRT | Emil Lindholm / Reeta Hämäläinen | FIN | 26 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | rear suspension | |
| 19 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | F | 27 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | accident | WRC2 (T/D/C) |
| 4 | (Sarrazin Motorsport) | Nicolas Ciamin / Yannick Roche | F | 28 | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 5 | Hyundai Motorsport N (2C Compétition) | Fabrizio Zalvidar / Marcelo Der Ohannesian | PY/I | 31 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) | |
| 11 | Toksport WRT | Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen | FIN | 32 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | wheel bearing | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 7 | (Toksport WRT) | Bruno Bulacia / Axel Coronado | BOL/E | 34 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | mechanical | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 4,10 | (Sports & You) | Alejandro Cachón / Alejandro López | E | 35 | Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 5 | (RedGrey Team) | Georg Linnamäe / James Morgan | EE/GB | 36 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | ||
| 14 | (RedGrey Team) | Robert Virves / Hugo Magalhães | EE/P | 40 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | accident | WRC2 (DC/CC) |
| 11 | (BRR) | Armin Kremer / Timo Gottschalk | D | 45 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | broken rim -> brake disc | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 4 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (PCRS Rallysport) | Patrick O’Brien / Stephen O’Brien | IRL | 49 | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (T/DC/CC) | |
| 7 | (Calm Competició) | Alexander Villanueva / José Murado | E | 52 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) | |
| 13 | (Eurosol Racing Team Hungary) | Daniel Chwist / Kamil Heller | PL | 53 | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | P2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) |
| 12 | Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah / Giovanni Bernacchini | QA/I | 55 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DCM/CC) | ||
| 4 | Giuseppe Dettori / Carlo Pisano | I | 56 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | ||
| 7 | (Team Autoservice Sport) | Nicola Tali / Massimiliano Frau | I | 58 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 5 | Maurizio Morato / Andrea Dal Maso | I | 60 | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | ||
| 1 | (Calm Competició) | Francesco Tali / Chiara Corso | I | 62 | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | Rally2 | WRC2 (DC/CC) | |
| 10 | (LMP Racing) | Filip Kohn / Tom Woodburn | CZ/GB | 64 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | WRC3 | |
| 14 | (M-Sport Poland) | Laurent Pellier / Kévin Bronner | F | 67 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | JWRC & WRC3 | |
| 14 | RACB National Team (M-Sport Poland) | Tom Rensonnet / Loïc Dumont | B | 70 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | JWRC & WRC3 | |
| 7 | (M-Sport Poland) | Roberto Blach / Mauro Barreiro | E | 71 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | JWRC & WRC3 | |
| 4 | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy (M-Sport Poland) | Eamonn Kelly / Conor Mohan | IRL | 72 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | JWRC & WRC3 | |
| 11 | (M-Sport Poland) | Raul Hernandez / Rodrigo Sanjuan | E | 73 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | wheel bearing | JWRC |
| 2 | (M-Sport Poland) | Hamza Anwar / Adnan Din | EAK | 74 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | JWRC & WRC3 | |
| 11 | (Fabio Schwarz Motorsport) | Fabio Schwarz / Bernhard Ettel | D/A | 79 | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | Rally3 | ||
| (HMI Motorsport) | Matteo Fontana / Alessandro Arnaboldi | I | 80 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 4 | Stefano Marrone / Claudio Mele | I | 81 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 2,10 | Davide Biancu / Luigi Pittalis | I | 82 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 4 | Jacopo Bergamin / Nicolò Ventoso | I | 83 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 10 | Fabrizio Schirru / Fabio Salis | I | 85 | Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 4,10 | Gianluca Mara / Veronica Cottu | I | 86 | Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | Rally4 | |||
| 18 | Slaven Šekuljica / Damir Petrović | HR | 87 | Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | Rally5 | accident | ||
| STARTERS 74 (38 WRC2, 33 WRC2 Challenger, 7 WRC Masters, 9 WRC3, 8 JWRC) | FINISHERS 59 (29 WRC2, 25 WRC2 Challenger, 5 WRC Masters, 9 WRC3, 8 JWRC) | WINNER´S AVER. SPEED | kph | ||||||
| RALLY LEADERS | SS 1 Lappi, 2 Ogier, 3 Lappi, 4-6 Ogier, 7 Lappi, 8 Ogier, 9 Lappi, 10-13 Ogier, 14-19 Neuville | ||||||||
| WRC2 & RC2 | SS 1-2 Solberg, 3 Mikkelsen, 4-6 Suninen, 7-8 Pajari, 9-1 Fourmaux, 19 Mikkelsen | ||||||||
| WRC2 Challenger | SS 1-3 Marczyk, 4-10 Pajari, 11-19 Kajetanowicz | ||||||||
| WRC Masters | SS 1-2 Kremer, 3 Villanueva, 4-13 Miele, 14-19 Keferböck | ||||||||
| WRC3 & RC3 | SS 1-2 Korhonen, 3 Pellier, 4-7 Korhonen, 8-12 Creighton, 13-19 Korhonen | ||||||||
| JWRC | SS 1 Creighton, 2-6 Dominguez, 7-12 Creighton, 13 Dominguez, 14-19 Creighton | ||||||||
| RC4 | SS 1-6 Fontana, 7-8 Liceri, 9-19 Fontana | ||||||||
| STAGE POSITIONS | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | THE ROUTE | SS | DISTANCE, km | |||||
| Thierry Neuville | 6 3 5 1 3 0 | ||||||||
| Esapekka Lappi | 3 5 4 2 3 2 | ||||||||
| Dani Sordo | 1 3 0 1 2 2 | ||||||||
| Kalle Rovanperä | 2 1 2 4 2 1 | ||||||||
| Elfyn Evans | 0 2 1 2 6 0 | ||||||||
| Sébastien Ogier | 3 2 3 4 1 1 | ||||||||
| Takamoto Katsuta | 2 1 2 2 0 3 | ||||||||
| Ott Tänak | 2 2 0 1 0 3 | ||||||||
| Pierre-Louis Loubet | 0 1 1 2 0 1 | ||||||||
| Sami Pajari | 0 0 0 1 1 0 | ||||||||
| Adrien Fourmaux | 0 0 0 0 0 4 | ||||||||
| Andreas Mikkelsen | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Teemu Suninen | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| WRC2 | |||||||||
| STAGE POSITIONS | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | ||||||||
| Oliver Solberg | 5 2 3 2 0 0 | ||||||||
| Adrien Fourmaux | 4 4 3 4 0 0 | ||||||||
| Teemu Suninen | 3 2 5 1 2 1 | ||||||||
| Andreas Mikkelsen | 2 6 2 5 1 1 | ||||||||
| Sami Pajari | 2 2 2 0 2 1 | ||||||||
| Nikolay Gryazin | 1 0 2 1 1 2 | ||||||||
| Grégoire Munster | 1 0 1 0 1 0 | ||||||||
| Yohan Rossel | 0 1 1 1 4 1 | ||||||||
| Mikołaj Marczyk | 0 1 1 0 1 0 | ||||||||
| Kajetan Kajetanowicz | 0 0 4 2 3 2 | ||||||||
| Robert Virves | 0 0 2 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Lauri Joona | 0 0 1 1 0 1 | ||||||||
| Martin Prokop | 0 0 1 0 1 2 | ||||||||
| Erik Cais | 0 0 1 0 0 3 | ||||||||
| Josh McErlean | 0 0 1 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Bruno Bulacia | 0 0 1 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Armin Kremer | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Mauro Miele | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Eduardo Castro | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Johannes Keferböck | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Alexander Villanueva | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Daniel Chwist | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Matteo Gamba | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Nicola Tali | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Pablo Biolghini | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Carlo Covi | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Fabrizio Zalvidar | 0 0 0 0 1 0 | ||||||||
| Alejandro Cachón | 0 0 0 0 1 0 | ||||||||
| Nicolas Ciamin | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| WRC2 Challenger | |||||||||
| SPECIAL STAGE POSITIONS | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | ||||||||
| Sami Pajari | 6 2 1 0 1 1 | ||||||||
| Kajetan Kajetanowicz | 5 4 1 2 1 1 | ||||||||
| Nikolay Gryazin | 2 3 3 1 1 1 | ||||||||
| Mikołaj Marczyk | 2 0 2 2 0 1 | ||||||||
| Robert Virves | 1 1 0 3 1 2 | ||||||||
| Grégoire Munster | 1 0 2 0 2 1 | ||||||||
| Martin Prokop | 0 2 3 1 2 3 | ||||||||
| Lauri Joona | 0 1 3 2 0 3 | ||||||||
| Fabrizio Zalvidar | 0 1 0 2 4 2 | ||||||||
| Nicolas Ciamin | 0 1 0 1 0 1 | ||||||||
| Josh McErlean | 0 1 0 0 2 4 | ||||||||
| Bruno Bulacia | 0 1 0 0 1 1 | ||||||||
| Erik Cais | 0 0 3 2 1 2 | ||||||||
| Alejandro Cachón | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Patrick O’Brien | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Mauro Miele | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Eduardo Castro | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Johannes Keferböck | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Alexander Villanueva | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Daniel Chwist | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Giuseppe Dettori | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Matteo Gamba | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Nicola Tali | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Pablo Biolghini | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Maurizio Morato | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Carlo Covi | 0 0 0 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| WRC Masters | |||||||||
| SPECIAL STAGE POSITIONS | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | ||||||||
| Mauro Miele | 7 6 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Armin Kremer | 5 0 0 1 0 2 | ||||||||
| Alexander Villanueva | 3 6 2 1 3 0 | ||||||||
| Johannes Keferböck | 1 3 9 3 0 0 | ||||||||
| Zoltán László | 0 1 2 6 5 2 | ||||||||
| Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah | 0 0 1 3 4 4 | ||||||||
| RC2 | |||||||||
| STAGE POSITIONS | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | ||||||||
| Oliver Solberg | 5 2 3 1 1 0 | ||||||||
| Adrien Fourmaux | 4 4 1 5 1 0 | ||||||||
| Teemu Suninen | 3 2 5 1 1 2 | ||||||||
| Andreas Mikkelsen | 2 6 1 3 2 1 | ||||||||
| Sami Pajari | 2 2 2 0 1 0 | ||||||||
| Nikolay Gryazin | 1 0 2 1 0 3 | ||||||||
| Grégoire Munster | 1 0 1 0 1 0 | ||||||||
| Yohan Rossel | 0 1 1 1 0 4 | ||||||||
| Mikołaj Marczyk | 0 1 1 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Kajetan Kajetanowicz | 0 0 4 1 3 2 | ||||||||
| Emil Lindholm | 0 0 2 1 3 2 | ||||||||
| Robert Virves | 0 0 2 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Lauri Joona | 0 0 1 1 0 1 | ||||||||
| Martin Prokop | 0 0 1 0 1 1 | ||||||||
| Erik Cais | 0 0 1 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Bruno Bulacia | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Josh McErlean | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Armin Kremer | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Mauro Miele | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Eduardo Castro | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Johannes Keferböck | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Alexander Villanueva | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Daniel Chwist | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Matteo Gamba | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Nicola Tali | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Pablo Biolghini | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Francesco Marrone | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Giuseppe Pozzo | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Gianpietro Bendotti | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Zoltán László | 0 0 1 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Gus Greensmith | 0 0 0 1 1 0 | ||||||||
| Georg Linnamäe | 0 0 0 0 2 1 | ||||||||
| Fabrizio Zalvidar | 0 0 0 0 1 0 | ||||||||
| WRC3 | |||||||||
| SPECIAL STAGE POSITIONS | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | ||||||||
| Laurent Pellier | 8 2 1 1 0 1 | ||||||||
| Roope Korhonen | 3 6 4 1 1 0 | ||||||||
| William Creighton | 3 3 5 3 1 0 | ||||||||
| Filip Kohn | 2 0 0 1 2 4 | ||||||||
| Ali Türkkan | 0 4 2 2 4 1 | ||||||||
| Eamonn Kelly | 0 1 3 5 3 2 | ||||||||
| Rober Blach | 0 0 1 1 0 4 | ||||||||
| Tom Rensonnet | 0 0 0 2 3 3 | ||||||||
| Hamza Anwar | 0 0 0 0 2 0 | ||||||||
| JWRC | |||||||||
| SPECIAL STAGE POSITIONS | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | ||||||||
| Laurent Pellier | 5 4 1 3 0 0 | ||||||||
| Raul Hernandez | 5 1 1 1 1 2 | ||||||||
| William Creighton | 4 3 4 2 2 0 | ||||||||
| Diego Dominguez Jr. | 2 5 8 0 1 0 | ||||||||
| Eamonn Kelly | 0 3 0 6 4 1 | ||||||||
| Rober Blach | 0 1 0 2 1 3 | ||||||||
| Hamza Anwar | 0 0 1 0 1 1 | ||||||||
| Tom Rensonnet | 0 0 0 2 6 6 | ||||||||
| RC3 | |||||||||
| STAGE POSITIONS | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | ||||||||
| Laurent Pellier | 4 5 1 0 0 2 | ||||||||
| Roope Korhonen | 3 2 2 3 3 1 | ||||||||
| Raul Hernandez | 3 2 1 2 0 0 | ||||||||
| William Creighton | 3 1 1 4 3 1 | ||||||||
| Diego Dominguez Jr. | 2 3 6 1 3 0 | ||||||||
| Filip Kohn | 1 0 1 0 0 2 | ||||||||
| Fabio Schwarz | 0 2 0 2 0 1 | ||||||||
| Eamonn Kelly | 0 1 2 0 2 4 | ||||||||
| Ali Türkkan | 0 1 1 4 2 0 | ||||||||
| Roberto Blach | 0 0 0 0 2 1 | ||||||||
| Hamza Anwar | 0 0 0 0 1 1 | ||||||||
| Tom Rensonnet | 0 0 0 0 0 3 | ||||||||
| RC4 | |||||||||
| STAGE POSITIONS | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | ||||||||
| Matteo Fontana | 15 0 0 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Fabrizio Schirru | 1 0 2 2 4 1 | ||||||||
| Stefano Marrone | 0 12 2 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Davide Biancu | 0 3 3 0 0 0 | ||||||||
| Michele Liceri | 0 2 6 5 3 0 | ||||||||
| Jacopo Bergamin | 0 1 1 0 0 1 | ||||||||
| Gianluca Mara | 0 0 0 0 3 5 |
2023 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DRIVERS AFTER ROUND 6:
| 1 | Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen | FIN | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | 118 |
| 2 | Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe | B | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 93 |
| 3 | Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja | EE | Ford Puma Rally1 | 85 |
| 4 | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | GB | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | 83 |
| 5 | Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais | F | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | 70 |
| 6 | Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm | FIN | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 67 |
| 7 | Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera | E | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 36 |
| 8 | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | J/IRL | Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 | 23 |
| 9 | Craig Breen / James Fulton | IRL | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 19 |
| 10 | Gus Greensmith / Jonas Andersson | GB/S | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | 16 |
| 11 | Oliver Solberg / Elliot Edmondson | S/GB | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | 15 |
| 12 | Andreas Mikkelsen / Torstein Eriksen | N | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | 14 |
| 13 | Pierre-Louis Loubet / Nicolas Gilsoul | F/B | Ford Puma Rally1 | 14 |
| 14 | Yohan Rossel / Arnaud Dunand | F | Citroën C3 Rally2 | 12 |
| 15 | Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula | FIN | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | 9 |
| 16 | Kajetan Kajetanowicz / Maciej Szczepaniak | PL | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | 7 |
| 17 | Emil Lindholm / Reeta Hämäläinen | FIN | ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 evo | 6 |
| 18 | Nikolay Gryazin / Konstantin Aleksandrov | RUS | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | 3 |
| 19 | Mikołaj Marczyk / Szymon Gospodarczyk | PL | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | 2 |
| 20 | Ole Christian Veiby / Torstein Eriksen | N | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 2 |
| 21 | Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen | FIN | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | 1 |
| 22 | Erik Cais / Petr Těšínský | CZ | ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2 | 1 |
2023 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MANUFACTURERS AFTER ROUND 6:
| 1 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT | TOYOTA | (Rovanperä,Evans,Ogier,Katsuta) | 235 |
| 2 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | Hyundai | (Neuville,Lappi,Sordo,Breen) | 212 |
| 3 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Ford | (Tänak,Loubet) | 148 |
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rally Italia Sardegna
Post-event Press Conference
Sunday 4th June
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team – Thierry Neuville (BEL), Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team – Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL), Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team – Esapekka Lappi (FIN), Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT – Kale Rovanperä (FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team – Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal
Q:
Guys, what a crazy end to what it has been a difficult weekend. Thierry, Martijn congratulations on the first win of the season under very difficult conditions. Thierry, tell me what it was like out there this weekend especially today?
TN:
First of all, happy to be back again on the first podium position. It has been a tough, challenging weekend out there as everybody could see, we have been involved from the beginning in a tough fight with some highs and lows the whole weekend, but always able to fight back due to a good attack, a better feeling in the car and quite a good tyre strategy, I think, while involved in a fight with Sébastien and Esapekka as well. At the end somehow the strategy paid off by putting on the pressure on Ogier who made a mistake and that gave us then a good opportunity for us and for the team to secure a double podium here this weekend. That is all what we were looking for, waiting for and that is what the people deserve as well in the team. So we are grateful for that and happy to be here.
Q:
I think a lot of people are quite surprised that your pace early on this morning, they thought that maybe you would have taken it a little bit easier out there but you seemed very much on it on the first two stages?
TN:
Actually I wasn’t I was just driving through and trying to keep a decent rhythm because we all know that once you drive too slow the car doesn’t work and it feels just horrible. I felt comfortable like this, but yes, the Power Stage was the worst to me. Obviously, it has been a long day, we left early, we did a lot of road sections, we had long waitings before TCs, long waitings in the regroups, just to wait and see if the rain was coming and the stage was getting very wet and in horrible conditions. I knew that my tyres were very bad for the last stage so yes it was very stressful at the end and so the target was just to get through. We knew as well that Kalle was going for the five points anyhow and even if I would have taken all the risks, I would have taken maybe one point maximum and I think even not so we had a quite good approach, we brought it to the finish and yes, that is it.
Q:
Martijn, Thierry says a stressful final day, the wait for the Power Stage which was in such a tough condition. How have you found the weekend out there in general, the weekend because it is unusual here in Sardinia, we had rain every single day, which has made it complex for you guys.
MW:
Yeah, exactly. The strategy was very important for the tyres and so on, but we worked very well as a team and it paid off at the end so yes, we are very happy with that.
Q:
Martijn, from your prospective out there co-driving-wise we had some new stages, we had the monster Monte Lerno stage which is two stages sandwhiched together with a little bit of something else as well, how difficult was that stage in particular from a co-driving perspective?
MW:
Yes, challenging but this is what I like and that is why I also like Kenya which is the next event: long stages, challenging, you need to stay focused for a very long time and try to give a good rhythm to the driver. And yes, this is the challenge and I like it.
Q:
Thierry, how important would you say now the win is for the championship because we have seen such great battles between all the drivers this year so far.
TN:
Yeah, it is definitely. I mean, for us it was quite important as we all know Kenya can be a good event, our car is quite reliable and strong in such rough conditions but we also know that Finland and Estonia aren’t my privileged surfaces and races in the calendar and they are definitely the ones where Kalle is going to be strong, so it was important to take some good points, but it is going to be even more important to have a good event in Kenya and grab some more points, especially more than Kalle on that event. The battle will be on there and it is going to be a tough challenge again as always, but I am really looking forward to that because I have a good feeling.
Q:
EP we could see you had a good feeling throughout the weekend, you have been leading the rally, battling against Sébastien Ogier, the pace has certainly been there. It is a brilliant result team-wise, another podium for you, consistency has been key so far this year. How do you feel about this result?
EL:
Well, in the end I am very happy and satisfied for sure. There have been a couple of podiums, third places, let’s say in the last three years I’ve been always third, so it is nice to be back on second place at least. As you said, it is a very good result for the team I think, after what has happened in the last two months, so this is the reward for everyone in the team.
Q:
What have you found the biggest challenge out there this weekend?
EL:
Twelve softs. I mean, you don’t do a rally with 12 tyres normally, okay we used 14 with the two hards, but I mean if you tell someone you do Rally Sardinia with 12 soft tyres, they are not gonna believe you. So, for sure this was the biggest challenge.
Q:
And talk to us about the fact that we headed into the day, you said at the end of the stages yesterday after you saw Ogier’s car off the road you backed off straight away, you knew it would be the case of holding position from then on. What was the approach out there today?
EL:
Very similar, I mean we had a big gap to Kalle so we just tried to drive smartly throughout the day and keep some speed as my tyres were finished already when I started this morning, so I couldn’t really push on the Power Stage and plus the weather was crazy so you need good tyres on that stage when it is muddy and I didn’t have them so pretty much Sunday cruise today.
Q:
Quick look ahead to Kenya because this is an event now which is going to be brand new for you. That is goning to be a challenge in itself, the guys all around you have the experience. Is this going to be a disadvantage do you feel or do you think going there with fresh eyes will be interesting, let’s say?
EL:
For sure it is interesting, I cannot say it is an advantage not to have been there so for sure it is a disadvantage, but yeah I guess the approach would be a bit different from my side. I need to be probably smart, not to push really hard, try to understand what I should do and how I should drive in these conditions, what we are facing. Like in Croatia I hope it pays off in the end.
Q:
Kalle, let’s turn to you now. It was always going to be a tough weekend, wasn’t it. You came here as championship leader, you leave as championship leader, but first on the road in normal conditions here was always going to be tough. It was still tough on Friday, did you think in your mind you could get on the podium or is this a pleasant surprise at the end of it?
KR:
I think it is a bit of a surprise. I was not really hoping much from the weekend, from a rally which I don’t like in the calendar really at all. So it has always been a big struggle for me here. It just does not suit me so well. So definitely, I am quite happy how it came out at the end. Definitely the weather was helping us but still we lost a big chunk of time on the Monte Lerno on Friday when it was dry and after that we still have been trying to fight back a bit in places and also being clever to get the places that we can, let’s say staying there and waiting if something happens. We could not really fight back much, but I think we did a good job.
Q:
Obviously, maximum points on the Power Stage as well, which we have come to see as a regular from you, difficult conditions and maximum points go together on the Power Stage. You made reference though early on in the day to the fact that tyres’ saving on a Sunday is not fun for you guys, is not fun for us watching either, what is the solution?
KR:
I think it is quite clear, FIA has to make a rule to keep new tyres before the Power Stage. I think it is not a big add to the cost and it is quite easy to make a tyre fitting zone before the Power Stage. Like in Portugal it is the same thing, when there is no fight it feels bad for the fans. We are actually going very slow on the stage and you do it because everybody else do this also. It is not so nice for the fans and not for us either. I think that could be a solution.
Q:
Talk to us about Kenya, the next event. It is always a challenging event, but we wonder if this one would have been even more challenging maybe then Kenya: we do not know what the conditions are like until we get there but how much are you looking forward to that?
KR:
I have always liked the event in the two times we have been there. Last year it was good, 2021 was going good also until we had some issues and got stuck. But yes, I am quite happy to go there, let’s say. It is always depending a lot on the weather also because it can change completely from one rally to another so it is really a big challenge, but I think it suits us quite well. So of course we have to see what the conditions are and hopefully we can have a good race there again and good points.
Q:
Cyril on to you now, a Hyundai one-two, the first one of the season as well. It has been a really hard rally for every single team, driver and co-driver out there. It is your first win as well, I know it is a whole-team effort, what are the feelings at the end of it?
CA:
Exactly, it is a team effort. It is good to see, it is good to observe, it is good to lead, we have been doing motor sport for this moment. I have to say that I never won in Formula 1 so I am glad I found some place where I could win. Jokes apart, it has been great and very much deserved by the team. It has been close on occasions before. We have been very consistently on podiums before this season, but clearly there was a trend and I think we cannot deny there was a trend that Toyota was starting to chip away from us in the different championships so clearly that win today and this team result is important to the championship, but not just to the championship but to the whole dynamics. It is not just metal, it is also brain and heart and confidence and you know this has been changing a little bit things, changing the dynamic in particular before another tough one which will be Kenya is extremely important.
Q:
You mentioned changes, we have seen FX Demaison in the team, his first rally actually with you guys. He has a wealth of experience coming in as technical director. What is he going to bring to the team, Cyril?
CA:
We did not win because of him, just to be clear. He is not going to take all the glory and it is not because of me. Jokes apart, I think that was clear to me since joining that there was a big gap in the orchard in the absence of a technical director. Motor sport is about technology, including rally, we have got very good ingredients, we have an excellent powertrain, we have a very good chassis, a lot of effort in terms of data science, performance analysis and rally engineering, but at some point you need someone at the top which is giving a technical direction, happy to try and give some strategic directions to the team but you also need to provide strong technical leadership and make sure that we deliver. We have got a lot of good ideas, lots of excellent intuitions, but at some point we need to turn all of that into a realisation, concrete execution and this is very much what we will be focused on doing.
Questions from the floor:
Reiner Kuhn, Motorsport Aktuell (DEU)
Q:
A question to Kalle. How big was the risk on the Power Stage to maybe lose the position or the points. Did you have any moments or was it really, I would say, a confidence run?
KR:
It was not really a big risk, I think the tyre package was good, like few other drivers had. It was just, let’s say, a good run through, but nothing crazy. To be honest, nothing crazy.
Present:
FIA WRC2: Toksport WRT 3 – Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
FIA WRC2 Challenger: Kajetan Kajetanowicz (POL), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
FIA WRC3: Rautio Motorsport – Roope Korhonen (FIN), Ford Fiesta Rallly3
FIA Junior WRC: Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy – William Creighton (IRL), Ford Fiesta Rally3
FIA WRC Masters: Johannes Keferböck (AUT): Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo
Q:
Andreas, an unusual end for you as well for this rally although maybe similar vibes to WRC Spain a few years ago, when you heard on the stop line that you had won the event. It’s the win here, in WRC2, tough weekend out there. How are you feeling at the end of it?
AM:
We are feeling good. I am glad it is finished, because we had really, really tough work this weekend. Tricky conditions, the changing all the time of tyre choices: when to use the soft when not to use them. So, it’s been a tough weekend, quite tired but happy to go out from here with a win. Quite unexpected after the morning, Adrian [Fourmaux] was in full control basically, it was a bit surprising but at the same time no, the conditions are so difficult especially on that Power Stage little things could happen in the end he made a mistake, so good result for us. Happy with the weekend, our approach was quite sensible I would say because in these conditions to push to the maximum all the time something happens, so I think we went with the correct strategy and in the end it proved to be enough for a win.
Q:
How difficult was that final Power Stage, because it was heavy rain you could see the ruts were just full of mud and water, it looked you could be aquaplaning at any moment.
AM:
It was aquaplaning, it was changing because when we were starting the stage it was not raining on the first corner, I had a moment on the first corner and ‘ohi!’ it’s going to be this kind of stage and then a lot of rain and aquaplaning everywhere for the next two to three kilometres. The rain stopped suddenly, conditions were good again, so it was changing all the time, I mean we tried to drive fast but at the same time if you are lucky with the conditions, you will win the stages, in the end I didn’t take so much risk, because we had quite a lot of rain on that stage, so it was okay, in the end there were no points given out and it was like that.
Q:
What’s the plan now? Because we remember speaking to you in Portugal, and you said it was Portugal, then it was Sardinia, you weren’t sure what events were coming up next for you. Any other insights you can give us? Anything planned you want to tell us?
AM:
I have to sit down with my partners after this weekend, that was the plan, we do these two events and then we have a sit down and see what we do next and hopefully in a week or two I know what the next event will be.
Q:
The win is certainly going to help in that kind of discussion, right?
AM:
Certainly, let’s see what to the next event will be. I don’t know for the moment.
Q:
Kajetan, let’s turn to you now, WRC2 Challenger winner and like we said to Andreas what a tough weekend you guys had out there, you have been on a great battle throughout, you are on the podium as well, you must be happy with the result, yes?
KK:
Yes, of course, hello everyone it has been an amazing weekend, very tough like Andreas said, but we want more. Of course, I am really happy with the results, but maybe I didn’t deserve for this because for example Adrien [Fourmaux] in the last one, but that was my debut in this car, we did a big step in this weekend with my feeling in this car, but at the same time we need to do more, I mean I need to speak with my team because, of course I love them, and we did a good job, but sometimes our concentration has gone, so there are lots of small things that we can improve.
Q:
You seem to have some kind of technical problem today, what was that?
KK:
Many technical problems, but this is how it is. It wasn’t so bad, I mean if we are talking about stage times, so we are happy, yes, I am sure we can improve not our pace, because I’m not so happy with my driving style and with my feeling with the car, but also about teamwork. We need to do more. As I said, I love my team, they are working very hard, but we need to do more, we need to focus on our job as much as possible, but sometimes it is difficult. Andreas [Mikkelsen] said it was a tough weekend and tired, it’s not this, this is WRC, this is World Rally Championship, it’s always hard to be here four days, all weekend, seven days let’s say, but we love this job if we need to stay here, we need to work very hard.
Q:
Johannes, congratulations on the WRC Masters Cup win, what a wild weekend it has been in your category, talk about your result, because you just told us you haven’t done many gravel events in your career, only for previous, and they were smaller events and they were smaller than the ones we see here in Sardinia, so this must be a very special victory.
JK:
Thanks, last weekend I was a bit nervous about the rally, because my last rally was on gravel in Austria, I think it was 2021 and that was only a short rally. I was surprised when I saw the videos from the organisers about the stages and I spoke with my driving coach, my best driving coach that is Mads Østberg I work with him and he coached me very well. I think we have a perfect strategy for this rally, we had no damage on the car, no punctures, we went clear on the stages, I did not look the times because I know that the feeling on the gravel is not like on snow which I prefer. But it is big step for us, the team is working really well, we have fun all the time, so that is the key point.
Q:
That is the key point at the end of the day isn’t it, you spend so much time together, it is all working well, what has been the toughest aspect out there, what has been the toughest challenge of the event if you were to pick one thing out, Johannes?
JK:
The toughest thing is when you go on the stage which Andreas [Mikkelsen] says and it is rainy and it means you have grip and you haven’t, and always you have aquaplaning, big eyes to come in the corner, we have seen many cars out of the rally and our plan was to stay clear and go safely.
Q:
And your next event is going to be…?
JK:
We have the plan to go to Greece.
Q:
Roope Korhonen, WRC3 winner, congratulations on your result, I believe there are some stories to tell from your weekend, we saw you without windscreen at one point, tell us about your weekend out there?
RK:
This was a tricky, tricky weekend, almost crazy I have to say, Friday we broke wheel hub and we lost our brakes, after that we had one puncture and then Saturday morning we rolled but it was a smooth one and today we had some steering issues, but okay, we are here so, I am happy.
Q:
It’s good that you are at the end, so you were driving without your windscreen at one point with some googles on to protect your eyes, how difficult was that?
RK:
I think it was better, because it wasn’t so hot.
Q:
Nice hair conditioning, Roope, you’ve done so well so far this year in WRC3, you must be really happy with your performances?
RK:
Yes, of course, three rallies all new for me and three wins, so really good.
Q:
And where are you getting your advice from, I know you are much linked to Mr Kalle Rovanperä, you are good friends, is he giving you good advice?
RK:
Yes, some tips of course, but not so much.
Q:
And your next event is going to be?
RK:
Estonia.
Q:
William Creighton, winner in FIA Junior WRC, congratulations. Again, in your category this weekend it has been pretty insane, I think Friday everyone on the Monte Lerno test in the final pass had a massive issue, congratulations for taking the win, how are you feeling at the end of it?
WC:
Pretty tired like the rest of the guys, it has been such a challenge, probably the most difficult rally that Liam Regan and I have done, so just to get to the finish was really the plan and we thought if we could survive and we would be in the mix, thankfully we came out on the top step.
Q:
It has been about survivability, but also I know you are a bit concerned Laurent Pellier was starting to rack up stage wins, a reminder for you that you know, stage win points are available in the Junior category and they can be all important at the end of the season?
WC:
It makes it quite a difficult strategy, knowing what to do and today we didn’t really want to have to push, but of course the stage points, if Laurent got a few of those then it makes the points gap look not so good. I was just glad to get to the finish and a few of the other guys got stage wins and that helped as well. But I think in the JWRC everybody is a threat, because of the point structure and the double points in Greece anything can happen, so yes, it is just a big thanks from my side to the team and the Motorsport Ireland Rally Aacademy, everyone who is supporting me to be here and Liam as well everybody did a great job and puts a lot of effort in, so to repay them with a win is really good for me.
Q:
Absolutely it is, on a rally such as this, Will, can you say it at any point that you are absolutely on your limit out there, because you have to look after the car, to manage so much as well to keep a good pace, have you been on your limit this weekend or no point?
WC:
To be honest I don’t think so, I think everybody is in the same position though, if you push to the maximum the risk of something happening is too high, so we were always trying to survive and stay within the limit with what the conditions were, so sometimes it worked, sometimes it made no difference at all. We should have went flat out in some stages but all in all it has been a good way to finish the weekend, as I said is a good way to repay everyone for all the support to me.
Team Reviews
Manufacturers: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (FIN) / Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Pirelli)
69 Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (FIN)
33 Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (GB)
17 Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais (F)
18 Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston (J/IRL)
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team driver Kalle Rovanperä has added to his lead in the FIA World Rally Championship with a clever drive to the podium and a Power Stage victory on a tricky Rally Italia Sardegna.
Faced with sweeping loose gravel roads on Friday while running first on the road, Rovanperä ran as low as eighth overall before a characteristically strong drive in the rain to win the 50-kilometre Monte Lerno stage lifted he and co-driver Jonne Halttunen to fourth at the end of the day.
He was then one of only a few drivers to avoid trouble on an eventful Saturday in more wet weather conditions, gaining third overall while also having to manage the limited number of softer compound tyres made available on what is normally a hot and abrasive rally.
Able to conserve rubber through Sunday’s opening tests, Rovanperä then produced a typically attacking drive on a soaking rally-ending Power Stage, setting the best time by 4.7 seconds. Taking the maximum five bonus points to add to his third place overall means he increases his lead in the standings to 25 points.
Elfyn Evans ensured there were two GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID cars in the top four at the finish, recovering strong points together with co-driver Scott Martin after losing time on Saturday morning with damage from a deep watersplash. He set the fourth-best time in the Power Stage, claiming additional points for the manufacturers’ championship which TGR-WRT continues to lead by 23 points.
Sébastien Ogier was leading the rally with a strong drive before a series of unfortunate events on Saturday afternoon that culminated in him sliding off the muddy road in SS14. He returned to action on Sunday and took fifth in the Power Stage.
Takamoto Katsuta also restarted on Sunday morning in his TGR WRC Challenge Program-supported entry and resumed the good pace he showed on Friday, adding his second stage win of the weekend in the penultimate test and coming third in the Power Stage.
Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (TGR-WRT Chairman)
“I would like to send my appreciation for the hard work of all TGR-WRT members. It must have been especially tough for Kalle and Jari-Matti who travelled back and forth between Europe and Japan in a short period of time. I’m thankful to them for achieving the podium again despite such a busy schedule.
I was in Sardinia four years ago, and on the final day I was preparing to jump into the water with the team members. But unfortunately we were unable to do that in the end. I remember that I felt slightly relieved that I didn’t need to. Maybe because of that, our team became not so good at watersplashes… So I hope everybody including Seb, Elfyn and Takamoto turns the page and moves on to the next event. That said, I still hope I can jump into the water at Sardinia someday (although I heard it was not allowed this year). I believe the team will continue to improve the car for driving through watersplashes.
Safari Rally Kenya is in three weeks. Like Sardinia, it will be another tough rally but it seems that our team is very well liked by the animals there. So I’m sure that our team and crew will fascinate the people in Africa again this year.”
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“This rally last year was very difficult for the team in terms of our performance, but we came here this year and were looking much stronger and really fighting for the victory. There were many challenges with a lot of rain and slippery conditions which brought quite a bit of drama and unfortunately the weekend didn’t turn out to be as good for us as it maybe could have been. But today in the Power Stage we saw an excellent performance from Kalle to take the win there as well as third place in the rally, which is giving him more nice points for the championship. It’s good too that Elfyn was also able to secure fourth to get some important points for the team, and now we will look forward to the next event in Kenya.”
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“We had a good tyre package left for the final day and it was really nice that we could therefore push on the Power Stage and finally take the fastest time and five extra points. It was definitely not easy, with a lot of rain just beforehand which was easing up a bit for the last cars, but it was a proper challenge in the mud. This has always been a tricky event for me personally, and this weekend our plan was to try and be fast when we can be and take it steady when needed and I think we did that. We had quite good pace overall and stayed out of trouble and at the start of the weekend I really didn’t expect that we could end it with this many points.”
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“Today it was just a case of getting the car through the first three stages and trying to look after the tyres we had ready for the Power Stage. The conditions really changed quite a lot for the Power Stage, it was raining very heavily so it was pretty slippery but thankfully we managed to get through it OK. We would have liked to take some more points from there but a couple is still better than nothing. After everything that happened this weekend I think we have to be grateful to take fourth overall and some decent points even if we’re not really happy with how everything went.”
Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“Today we could get back out there and it was all about the Power Stage and trying to take some points for the team if we could. Again the weather made things quite tricky at the end of the rally, and the feeling was not really there to take too much risk in these conditions. We kind of finished with some decent speed but it was nothing crazy. So overall it’s probably not a weekend we will remember strongly but that’s the way it is sometimes in sport and you have to accept it. There’s still a lot of positives we can take with the speed that we had this weekend, and let’s hope that on the next one the luck will be back on our side.”
What’s next?
The legendary Safari Rally Kenya (June 22-25) is the only African round of the championship. Since returning to the championship in 2021, it continues to provide gruelling conditions on rough and rocky roads as well as high speeds across open plains.
Manufacturers: Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team (D) / Hyundai i20 N Rally1 (Pirelli)
11 Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe (B)
4 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (FIN)
6 Daniel Sordo / Candido Carrera (E)
Our team is celebrating our first victory of the season after a gruelling weekend at Rally Italia Sardegna, the sixth round of the 2023 WRC season.
Thierry/Martijn triumphed in their i20 N Rally1 Hybrid with team-mates Esapekka/Janne just behind them in second.
As a result of his win, Thierry has jumped to second place in the drivers’ standings.
Sixth top-step success in Sardinia
Victory was by no means an easy feat; uncharacteristic rain in Sardinia on Friday and Saturday exacerbated the difficult conditions on the stages, causing issues for many competitors.
Thierry and Martijn were a solid third after Friday, but it was Saturday where they came into their own. They found a steady rhythm that saw them claw back the gap to first place. Although the deficit doubled on SS10 Erula-Tula, the Belgians responded. After four stage wins and a spectacular drive on SS14, they inherited a lead they would never surrender.
“I’m really happy to be on the top step of the podium after such a challenging and incredible weekend,” summarised Thierry. “We had to manage the tyres throughout, and it was very tough on our cars but we had great reliability and it really paid off.”
Team work makes the dream work
Esapekka once again demonstrated rally-winning potential while battling for the lead against Sébastien Ogier for much of the event. Second place completes a hat-trick of consecutive podium finishes for the Finnish crew.
“A very important result for a team,” added Esapekka. “We really wanted to push for the victory as a team, and to come away with a 1-2 is very good.”
It was a weekend to forget for Dani and Cándido. On Friday’s first run of the rally’s longest stage, Monte Lerno – Sa Conchedda (49.9km), the Spaniards rolled their i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. Although they were able to return and recover to fifth on Saturday, the discovery of an exhaust failure after two stages on Sunday resulted in their retirement.
“This has been a difficult weekend for me in general,” admitted Dani. “I didn’t start it well, and I made a mistake on the first day that put us on the back foot for the rest of the event.”
Final thoughts
“We have been consistent podium finishers so far this season but we were yet to win, and we have done that in beautiful fashion,” said our Team Principal Cyril. “Although such a result in challenging conditions is always a team effort, our drivers need to be particularly praised.”
“I would also like to take a moment to mention Craig,” he added. “He remains a part of our team, and our success, and this win today is very much for him.”
WRC returns with Safari Rally Kenya, round seven of the 2023 season, from June 22-25.
Manufacturers: M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (GB) / Ford Puma Rally1 (Pirelli)
8 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (EE)
7 Pierre-Louis Loubet / Nicolas Gilsoul (F/B)
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Rally Paradise 