Lappi concludes the first stage of the Sardinia Rally in the lead just ahead of Ogier

Ranking Rally of Sardinia 2023 Stage 1:

• The first stage of the 2023 Sardinia Rally caused damage this Friday June 2. Punctuated by two passages in the terrible Monte Lerno special (49,9 km!), the day allowed two men to stand out: Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai) and Sébastien Ogier (Toyota).
• Both drivers performed as well as each other; proof is that the Finn is ahead of the eight-time world champion WRC French by only a tenth!
• « These are difficult conditions, frankly, Ogier said. Once again, I'm happy to be at the end. I didn't try to take too many risks, but to drive carefully. »
• « It was quite a tricky stage and we also had a puncture on the left rear, so it started to penalize me a bit, indique Lappi. But here we are, everything is fine and we are looking forward to tomorrow. »
• Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport Ford) had a good first day; 3rd overall at midday, the Corsican then lost ground, primarily due to defective equipment (gearbox selector failure). The Habs, who left with a 3-minute penalty, finished the stage on the side of the road following an exit from the road.
• In the hunting group, Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford) suffered a water pump failure, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) complained about his handbrake and Dani Sordo (Hyundai) lost 3 minutes following an accident.
• In WRC2, the advantage goes to the French Adrien fourmaux (M-Sport Ford). The Habs took advantage of the broken shock absorber of Oliver Solberg (Skoda) as well as the accident of Gus Greensmith (Skoda, co-driver injured in the back) to take the lead. In the final special of the day, he took the liberty of dropping Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda).
• The second stage of the Sardinia Rally will begin on Saturday from 8:05 a.m. The event will be followed in live text on AUTOhebdo.fr

ALSO READ > The program for the 2023 Sardinia Rally