This year’s Rally Italy in Sardinia will include a mammoth 50km (31 miles) stage as the rally has also moved back to Olbia for its 20th anniversary.
Sardinia took over from Sanremo as Italy’s round of the World Rally Championship in 2004 and has been a mainstay of the calendar ever since – only failing to appear on the WRC schedule once in 2010 when it was a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge instead.
Traditionally based in Olbia, the rally moved to Alghero (where it had also been based from 2014-2020) last year but has moved east once more to Olbia for 2023.
The rally organizer, Automobile Club d’Italia and ACI Sport, published ‘Rally Guide 1’ on Wednesday which revealed the rally route for the 20th edition of the event.
And the headline news is the 49.92km Monte Lerno stage – featuring the famous Micky’s Jump – which has more than doubled in length compared to last year.
The last time Monte Lerno was that long was back in 2014 when it was 59.13km.
But there are other changes too with Tantariles – the very first stage of the first Sardinian rally – kickstarting Friday’s loop before Monte Lerno and the Terranova test.
There will also be a brand-new powerstage called Sardegna on Sunday.
Rally Italy will be the sixth round of this year’s WRC on June 1-4, and the third round of this year’s Junior WRC.
