Neuville Leads Shakedown in Italy

Thierry Neuville, leader of the World Rally Championship (WRC), stood out in the shakedown of the Rally Italia Sardegna. Driving his Hyundai i20 N Rally1, Neuville outpaced Sébastien Ogier of Toyota Gazoo Racing by 0.5 seconds in the 2.08 km warm-up test in Ittiri. However, despite his 24-point lead in the championship, the Belgian driver anticipates difficulties in the afternoon's initial stage due to road conditions.

"To be honest, the afternoon looks like a disaster," commented Neuville. "The stages of Turgu and Castelsardo are always loose with a lot of surface cleaning. We knew it would be like this, but there's not much we can do."

Neuville mentioned that he might work with different tire compounds, although the abrasive and hard road complicates the situation. Dani Sordo, Neuville's teammate at Hyundai, finished third in the shakedown, followed by Ott Tänak. Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver Takamoto Katsuta placed fifth, while Pierre-Louis Loubet led in the WRC2 category.

The first stage of the rally officially starts in Alghero this afternoon, with two tough gravel stages run twice, totaling 77.82 km for the day.