- Ce Rally of Sardinia quickly turned into a duel between two protagonists: Sébastien Ogier et Ott Tänak. The two drivers went blow for blow this Friday, for the first day of this event in the original format and condensed over 48 hours. The Frenchman, author of the best time on SS1 and SS3, remains under threat from the Estonian, who took the scratch during SS2. After four stages, the gap is slim since there are only 4″5 separating the two men.
Picking up where they left off 💪#WRC | #RallyItaliaSardegna 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/UDiNNCZrko
- World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) May 31, 2024
- Behind the leading duo, the other drivers follow the duel at a good distance. Third, Dani Sordo already has a significant delay of around thirty seconds. The Spaniard, double winner of the event, is also under threat from Takamoto Katsuta, who is 1″3 off the provisional podium. If the two drivers were not flamboyant this Friday, they were able to take advantage of a more advantageous starting position and the setbacks of their opponents...
- …with, as the first victim among the Rally1, Adrien fourmaux. The Frenchman, who got off to a good start on this Rally of Sardinia (3rd at the start of SS3), first suffered a puncture in SS3, losing around thirty seconds. On the following special, the driver M-Sport encountered an electrical problem with his Ford Puma. The reliability of the American mount, which had impressed since the start of the season, was lacking in Italy this Friday. Forced to retire, the Northerner will have to open the road tomorrow, during the eight special stages on the program.
- The two leaders in the championship, Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans, also suffered this Friday. The Belgian, who swept the road, had great difficulty finding grip in the first loop, before catching up at the end of the afternoon on the second pass by signing the scratch in SS4. He is in 5th place, 36 seconds behind Sébastien Ogier. The Welshman suffered a slow puncture on the first special. Starting with just one spare wheel, Elfyn Evans had to manage his mount all afternoon, and lost 57 seconds at the end of this first day.
- In WRC2 too, there were mishaps. Sami Pajari was very fast this Friday and leads the way in the category with his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, ahead of an offensive Pierre-Louis Loubet. Yohan Rossel suffered a puncture in SS3: forced to change his wheel during the special, the Frenchman lost almost two minutes against the leaders.
Sardinia Rally
General ranking after ES4
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