The Sardinia Rally is not a “ford”

As surprising as it may seem in 2023, the Rally1, these machines packed with hybrid technology, have shown themselves to be particularly reluctant to cross fords. Two drivers had to stop their day and several incidents occurred, including one for Sébastien Ogier.

Published on 03/06/2023 à 19:10

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Crossing the numerous fords poses a headache for the WRC teams

At the end of the reconnaissance, several competitors indicated that they had never seen as many fords in Sardinia as this year. The rains of recent weeks have not only created several very muddy sections, but they have also swollen the rivers making them very difficult to cross.

The phenomenon practically went unnoticed on the first day. Only one or two crews, including Pierre-Louis Loubet, reported problems after crossing the rivers on Friday.

This manifested itself as a loss of power, an engine hiccuping and being very close to shutting down. The problems became more serious on Saturday.

The first victim was Takamoto Katsuta. Plunging at full speed into the first ford of SS8, the Japanese severely damaged the front of his Yaris and was even forced to retire.

Later, it was the turn ofOtt Tänak to “drown” in SS9. In addition to time lost in the special, the Estonian was forced to stop with an electrical problem. Rally1 0, Sardinian Fords 2.

While the Hyundai semblaient mieux supporter ces bains forcés, les autres Toyota by Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier encountered identical problems.

The Welshman had two scares (SS10 and SS13) from which he narrowly managed to escape. The eight-time world champion was also very close to stopping twice (SS12 and 13) even though he approached the difficulty with caution.

This will undoubtedly give engineers something to think about, although it is true that this type of challenge does not occur on every round. The large quantity of water in the riverbeds contributed to these incidents, but it is surprising that such sophisticated cars are slowed down and even stopped by such obstacles.

History repeats itself however since in 1985 during the participation of Stig Blomqvist in the rally from Argentina with the monstrous Audi Quattro S1, the front shovel of his Gr B had exploded during ford crossings.