WRC – Kubica and Evans well placed in Sardinia

The Volkswagens and the Citroën DS3 WRC of Mads Ostberg seem out of reach on a regular basis, but Robert Kubica and Elfyn Evans can still aim for a good result for M-Sport (who experienced a trying start to the event with the retirement of Mikko Hirvonen) since the Pole is in fifth place, one minute behind the Polo R WRC of Andreas Mikkelsen, while the Briton follows in sixth position, 42 seconds behind his teammate.

“We had a pretty good first pass. I rode well without trying to take any risks”, explains Robert Kubica who notably set the fifth time of the long Monte Lerno special (SS11). “We had to be careful this morning so that we could adjust our notes and possibly improve our pace in certain sections this afternoon. I think we are driving well and I know I can do better with the car in the fast sections. It's just a matter of knowing when to attack and when to be cautious, but things are looking good at the moment. »

Elfyn Evans is also confident even if the M-Sport driver must not relax his efforts to resist Martin Prokop who remains 22 seconds behind. “The morning went well. The first special (SS10, 5th time) went rather well even if we suffered a little towards the end when the grip reduced. In the long special (SS11, 6th qualifying), I was perhaps thinking a little too much about the fact that I had been too aggressive on the brakes in the past. I was a little too defensive and maybe it wasn't the best approach in hindsight. We lost a lot of time against Robert (22 seconds) and I didn't really feel comfortable on this road. But we are reassured by the fact that we did not encounter the slightest problem with the brakes, which is progress. We'll see if I can be faster this afternoon. »

The crews will only compete in the second pass of the day's specials from 16:54 p.m. The videos of the event can be viewed on this link.