Rally Sardinia – Trouble-free morning for Ogier, Hyundais in difficulty

Calm as Seb Ogier ! At the end of this SS9 and this first loop of the day on Saturday in Sardinia, the eight-time world champion is in the lead of the Rally Italian, giving the impression of not forcing his talent. Slowed down in SS8 by Fourmaux and the dust that his car generated, the Haut-Alpin, who had temporarily given up the lead in the general classification to Ott Tänak, logically recovered it after the decision of the commissioners.

In experience, the pilot Toyota remained calm despite this setback. This didn't stop him from crushing this ninth special of the weekend! Indeed, he won with a 10-second lead over Kalle Rovanperä and Ott Tänak! In the provisional general standings, Ogier now has a comfortable cushion of 15 seconds over the Estonian and more than 37″ over the Finn!

During this ES9, the driver Hyundai may have said goodbye to his hopes of success on Sardinian soil. He suffered a slow puncture on the rear left tire while he was ahead of Rovanperä's times. Ultimately tricky, these first three special stages of the day could still hold some surprises this afternoon.

Fourmaux in Rally1, and Rossel in Rally2 lose everything in Sardinia

Within the South Korean team, he is not the one who lost everything. On Friday, Thierry Neuville had to abandon the day prematurely after an accident. His car, after hitting a wall on the left side at high speed, was too damaged to continue. This Saturday, in Sardinia, the disappointment this time is for Adrien Fourmaux.

Indeed, while he was second overall, 2″ behind Ogier this morning, the French driver punctured on SS8 and lost too much time, first by driving slowly. Then by stopping to change the tire. By the end, that had meant more than 3'50 spent on the lead… Then on SS9, he came close to a penalty. Thus, in a tight bend, the Frenchman went straight on before lightly hitting a tree. Fortunately, nothing serious. But at the end of this special, that still meant 45 seconds lost to Ogier.

In the provisional general classification, he is now 7th, more than 4'45 behind his compatriot... Unfortunately, he is not the only unlucky Frenchman this weekend on the sandy Italian roads. In WRC2, still on this famous SS8, Yohan Rossel hit a tree in a bend while he was approaching quite fast. Consequence for the Citroën driver: a puncture and 45″ lost on the lead.

The Frenchman did not start SS9 and was forced to retire from the second day due to a broken steering rod, a result of the same incident. Leading the WRC2 before this round in Sardinia, Yohan Rossel will therefore be dropping some big points on his way to the championship…

WRC – Rally of Sardinia
ES9 – Special stage classification

General classification after SS9

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