Ogier Leads Rally Italia Sardegna

Sébastien Ogier delivered a standout performance on Friday, leading his rival Ott Tänak of Hyundai Motorsport in the first stage of Rally Italia Sardegna. Taking advantage of the increased traction from his late starting position, Ogier won two of the four gravel speed tests, gaining an early 4.5-second lead over Tänak.

The only setback for Ogier was a too cautious drive on the first run through Sedini-Castelsardo, where he yielded 5.9 seconds to Tänak while trying to conserve his tires. However, Pirelli's hard compound tires held up well to the heat and rocky roads of the Mediterranean island.

Tänak set the fastest time in SS2 and, despite losing hybrid boost on two occasions, finished the day in second place, marking his best start to the season. His teammate Dani Sordo completed the podium, 28.7 seconds behind, after taking advantage of a tire problem for Adrien Fourmaux of M-Sport Ford Puma, who later retired due to an electrical issue.

While fourth place went to Takamoto Katsuta of Toyota, championship leaders Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans faced a tough afternoon, placing fifth and sixth respectively after starting first and second on the sandy roads. A leaking tire on his GR Yaris during SS1 compounded Evans' day, finishing almost a minute behind the leader.

"It has been the hardest day one could imagine to open the road in Sardinia," commented Neuville, who led Evans by 24 points in the drivers' standings before this round. "A tough day for us, but we carry on."

Grégoire Munster placed seventh, 11.9 seconds behind Evans, while Sami Pajari leads the WRC2 category and is in eighth overall.

Saturday's Challenges

Saturday will be the longest stage with 149 km of competition and no opportunity for midday service. The morning will feature two runs through Tempio Pausania and Tula, while the afternoon will include stages in Monte Lerno, featuring the famous Micky's Jump.

The island event is trialing a condensed format, packing competitive action into 48 hours. The pre-event shakedown took place on Friday morning before the rally began in the afternoon, with two passes through a pair of stages on the northern coast, totaling 77.82 km of competition, using the same tire package.

Ogier continued his recent winning streak from Croatia and Portugal, starting strong in the Osilo-Tergu stage, the longest of the weekend at 25.65 km, being 7.7 seconds faster than his competitors. Although he lost some ground in Sedini-Castelsardo, he regained it in the repeat through Osilo. A solid time in SS4 allowed him to finish the day with a 4.5-second lead over Tänak.

Takamoto Katsuta, in fourth place, made a consistent start and is just 1.3 seconds away from Dani Sordo. Elfyn Evans, in sixth position, completed the loop without a usable spare tire after sustaining damage to one at the end of SS1.

Sébastien Ogier's Comments

"We are leading tonight, so it has been a positive start. It has been tough: we expected a difficult loop with some abrasive sections that would be hard on the tires, especially in the first stage, Osilo-Tergu. It was also my first time driving this stage in that direction. Still, we went with an aggressive choice of five tires for the afternoon, and I had to take care in some sections to manage it, but it's nice to be in the lead. We made a positive step today that gives us the optimum start position for tomorrow, but the gap to second place is close, so it will be an intense fight."

Upcoming Stages

Saturday will head further east and will include more than half of the competitive distance, with 149 km to be driven without midday service. Two stages will be run twice in the morning, followed by a tire fitting zone and another two stages, including the famous Monte Lerno, tackled twice in the afternoon.