Sébastien Ogier has retaken the lead of Rally Italy Sardinia on Saturday’s second stage as his battle with Ott Tänak intensifies.
Toyota’s part-time world champion put the hammer down on the 14.0-mile Tula stage and went 2.3s faster than Tänak, giving him a 2.2s rally lead.
That fightback came after a puncture on the opening test had erased his 4.5s overnight advantage and turned it into a 0.1s deficit. The puncture also meant his morning is somewhat compromised, following his decision to carry only one spare tire.
“Obviously a tough start of the day with a puncture,” Ogier said at the end of stage six. “We tried to fix it but we are not 100% sure we can still use it. Honestly, it’s a shame because it was nothing special, just on the line and I didn’t feel anything. The wheel is bent a little on the inside and is leaking.”
Tänak set the second-fastest time on Tula, but admitted he was still being cautious following an issue with a hood catch on the first stage: “I was a little bit careful in the rough places because of the bonnet and I don’t want to break it again. But otherwise, no we had a clean stage.”
An issue with a hood pin on Ott Tänak's Hyundai was resolved with a route-one duct tape fix
Thierry Neuville has consolidated his podium position, having passed both Takamoto Katsuta and Dani Sordo on the day’s opening stage. He was 3.2s slower than Ogier through Tula and now leads Katsuta by 23.0s.
It was another great effort from Neuville, but the Hyundai driver is still concerned by the conditions: “Car was working well, I felt comfortable I had a good stage but it was more abrasive than I expected and hot towards the end.
“A lot of loose obviously but at the same it’s quite abrasive underneath so at the end I had to slow down a bit because of the tires. I didn’t have the same bite anymore, they were just overheating.”
Katsuta was unhappy following Saturday’s opening stage, complaining of a lack of grip. While the Toyota driver fell behind Neuville on the opening stage, by virtue of being 5.8s quicker than Dani Sordo, he effectively nullified the loss to remain fourth.
On the second stage, Katsuta extended his lead over Hyundai’s third driver to 8.9s, but was trying to avoid a repeat of his Portugal accident: “I was not pushing a lot but I really cannot go any faster, as it would have been huge, huge risk.”
Dani Sordo was at a loss to understand how he was losing time hand-over-fist despite a strong road order position
It was a bad morning for Sordo, who dropped from third to fifth on the first stage having only managed the eighth fastest time, 16.1s slower than Tänak’s benchmark. He was sixth-fastest on Tula and had no answer for his lack of pace: “I don’t have an explanation. I would like to help you and help me [by explaining it], but I don’t understand, no way.”
Elfyn Evans continues to struggle to match the leading pace. Starting third on the road following a disappointing Friday meant more road sweeping for the Toyota driver. He dropped a further 2.3s to Sordo, meaning he is now 24.9s behind and a massive 1m35.3s off the rally lead.
Grégoire Munster continues his learning journey; the M-Sport driver was slower than the WRC2 cars of Sami Pajari, Pierre-Louis Loubet and Jan Solans on Tula but remains in eighth place.
First-on-the-road Adrien Fourmaux was slow out of the blocks on Saturday as he cleaned the road following retirement on Friday’s final stage. He was 27s off the pace on the opening stage but set the fifth-fastest time on Tula and appeared to be taking the positives after a disappointing first day: “I’m just trying to be driving and enjoying and driving fast and learning first about opening the road. It’s still a good practice but it’s not easy.”
Sami Pajari is starting to pull away from his WRC2 rivals
In WRC2 Sami Pajari remains in the lead and is currently running seventh overall, ahead of Munster’s Puma Rally1.
The Toyota driver was 4.6s slower than pace-setter Yohan Rossel through Tempio Pausania but was still six seconds quicker than second-place Pierre-Louis Loubet, who could only manage the fourth-fastest time. Pajari then went fastest on the second stage, beating Loubet by 2.9s to extend his WRC2 lead to 27.2s.
Jan Solans, who is lucky to still be in the rally following suspension damage on the final stage on Friday, remains third. He was only seventh-fastest on stage five, 14.5s slower than Rossel, but set the fourth-fastest time on stage six. He is 14.3 behind Loubet and sits tenth overall.
