Relive the first day of the Sardinia Rally with live commentary

Follow the first day of the Sardinia Rally (Italy), sixth round of the 2024 WRC season, live with commentary on AUTOhebdo.

Published 31/05/2024 à 17:00

Dorian Grangier

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Relive the first day of the Sardinia Rally with live commentary

© DPPI

Le WRC travels to Italy for Rally of Sardinia, sixth round of the 2024 season. On this event with an idyllic setting, the discipline will adopt a shorter rally format than usual, with only 266,48 kilometers on the program. Consequence of this reduction in distance: the rally will take place over three days with a first special scheduled for this Friday afternoon, and only 16 SS on the program this weekend.

Friday May 31 (77,82 km)
14h33 – SS1: Osilo-Tergu 1 – 25,65 km – Sébastien Ogier
15h33 – SS2: Sedini-Castelsardo 1 – 13,26 km – Ott Tänak
17h33 – SS3: Osilo-Tergu 2 – 25,65 km – Sébastien Ogier
18h35 – SS4: Sedini-Castelsardo 2 – 13,26 km – Thierry Neuville

> You can follow the live evolution of the ranking via the official WRC Live Timing, available here.



Sardinia Rally

Follow SS4 live with commentary

19h08 – 👋 Thank you for following us and see you tomorrow, at 7:40 a.m., for the second stage of this Sardinia Rally! Good evening to you !

Ogier and Tänak neck and neck on the Sardinia Rally after four stages

19:06 – SS4: 🏁 Grégoire Munster is the last of the Rally1s to finish this SS4, and sets the 7th time at 20″3 behind Thierry Neuville. Sébastien Ogier is therefore leader of the Sardinia Rally at the end of the first day, with a slim lead of 4″5 over Ott Tänak !

ES4 – Ranking

General ranking after ES4

19:03 – SS4: ⏱️ 11″8 behind for Dani Sordo at the finish of SS4, the Spaniard retains his 3rd place overall by 1″3 ahead of Takamoto Katsuta!

19:00 – SS4: ⏱️ Takamoto Katsuta finishes this 4th special 10″8 behind the benchmark set by Thierry Neuville.

18:58 – SS4: 🔎 Sébastien Ogier claims to have lost a little time by overtaking Adrien fourmaux. Could it be recredited by a few seconds by the commissioners?

18:57 – SS4:If Sébastien Ogier fails to beat Thierry Neuville's time, 3″9 behind, he manages to stay in the lead of the Sardinia Rally by only conceding two tenths to Ott Tänak at the finish of SS4. The Frenchman has a 4″5 lead over the Estonian overall.

Ogier Sardinia Rally WRC

© Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT

18:53 p.m. – SS4: ⚠️ Adrien Fourmaux has not yet left, but was able to move to clear the way for Sébastien Ogier.

18:51 – SS4: ⏱️ Ott Tänak also concedes 3″7 to Thierry Neuville on this 4th special. The Belgian set a very good time!

18:50 – SS4: ⚠️🛠️ Adrien Fourmaux is at a standstill! Electrical problem a priori for the French!

18:48 – SS4: ⏱️ Elfyn Evans lost another 11 seconds at the finish against Thierry Neuville, the Welshman finished the day 20 seconds behind his championship rival.

18:45 – SS4:Thierry Neuville crossed the finish line in 9'32″9, which is 25 seconds faster than this morning!

Neuville Sardinia Rally WRC

© Nikos Katikis / DPPI

18:41 p.m. – SS4 : 🔎 On the first pass through this special, Ott Tänak set the best time in 9'57″9.

18h35 – ES4: 🢢 The last special of the day begins with the departure of Thierry Neuville.

18h22 – 🔎 The start of the SS4 (Sedini-Castelsardo 2 – 13,26 km) will be given at 18:35 p.m.

18:18 – SS3: 🏁 Grégoire Munster crosses the line 13″7 behind Sébastien Ogier at the finish of this SS3. The Frenchman regains a little margin in front of Ott Tänak in the general classification, now 4″7 ahead of the Estonian. For Adrien Fourmaux, on the other hand, the puncture will complicate his task…

ES3 – Ranking

General ranking after ES3

18:14 – SS3: ⏱️ Better for Dani Sordo on this SS3: the Spaniard signs the 3rd provisional time, 8″8 behind Sébastien Ogier, and climbs to 3rd overall!

18:11 – SS3: ⏱️ 14″1 late for Takamoto Katsuta at the finish of this 3rd special.

18:10 – SS3: ⚠️ Yohan Rossel was announced arrested at the start of the special, but the Frenchman was able to leave. He was in 4th place in WRC2. He lost almost two minutes in his mishap.

18:08 – SS3: New best time for Sébastien Ogier in 16'43″9! The eight-time world champion widens the gap with Ott Tänak in the general standings, now 4″7 ahead.

Sardinia Rally WRC ES3

© Nikos Katikis / DPPI

18:06 – SS3: ⚠️ Adrien Fourmaux lost a lot of time at the end of the special, the left rear tire was delaminated! The Frenchman lost 36″5 on this SS3! “Slow puncture, 20 kilometers from the finish. It’s going to be a long rally”, confides the pilot M-Sport, disappointed.

18:03 – SS3: ⏱️ And as at the start of the afternoon, Ott Tänak beats the time of these two predecessors by a large margin: the Estonian sets the provisional best time in 16'46″8, that’s 13″0 faster than Elfyn Evans.

18:00 p.m. – SS3 :It was beaten by Elfyn Evans who finished this special in 16'59″8, or 1″2 better than Thierry Neuville.

17:58 p.m. – SS3 : 🔎 Thierry Neuville's time on SS3 is 17 seconds faster than the best time on SS1! “It’s much cleaner, but more abrasive, especially in the second part. I managed my tires throughout, I don't know if it was too much, not enough or just enough. I didn't expect it to be so abrasive.", underlines the Belgian.

17:57 p.m. – SS3 :Thierry Neuville, first to start and first to finish this SS3 in 17'01″0. The Belgian made a mistake by carrying too much speed into a hairpin and lost a few seconds.

17:45 – SS3: During the first pass on this long 25-kilometer special, it was Sébastien Ogier who set the best time in 17'18″6.

17h41 – ES3: 📸 Who says Sardinia says sea, stones... and dust! And beautiful photos, too!

17h39 - ES3: 🢢 After a slight postponement of a few minutes, SS3 is finally underway with the departure of Thierry Neuville!

17h31 - ⚠️ The information has just reached us, the start of SS3 has been postponed by a few minutes. The reason is still unknown.

17h25 – 👋 We are back for the second loop and the last two special stages of the day. Departure from SS3 in less than 10 minutes! 

16h32 - 🔎 The start of the SS3 (Sedini-Castelsardo 1 – 13,26 km) will be given at 17:33 p.m.

16:31 – SS2: 🏁 Here is the general classification at the end of this second special after the passage of WRC2. Pierre-Louis Loubet achieved a great time among the Rally2s and takes the lead in the category, ahead of Sami Pajari.

16:05 – SS2: 🏁 Grégoire Munster arrives 20″8 behind Ott Tänak, who responds to Sébastien Ogier by winning the scratch on this SS2! The Estonian, despite his problem with the hybrid system, is 1″8 behind the Frenchman overall!

16:02 – SS2: ⏱️ Dani Sordo, double winner of the Sardinia Rally, is in difficulty this Friday afternoon: the Spaniard concedes 7″9 on Ott Tänak at the finish, and sets the 6th and penultimate provisional time.

15:59 – SS2: ⏱️ After a difficult first special, Takamoto Katsuta recovered well and set the 4th provisional time, 4″6 behind Ott Tänak’s time.

15:56 – SS2: ⏱️ More difficult stage for Sébastien Ogier, who finished 5″9 behind Ott Tänak at the end of SS2. The Frenchman would have had a warning in the link between the two stages, but assures that he played caution in this stage. He retains the lead of the rally by 1″8 ahead of the Estonian. “I think everything is fine, we just have to be a little more careful on this stage. It's a long loop, but the tires are good so it's not a big problem. »

15:53 – SS2: ⏱️ Adrien Fourmaux concludes this special 1″9 behind Ott Tänak’s best time. The French duo is worried about a rear puncture…

15:50 – SS2:Ott Tänak achieves the new best time in 9'57″9, 1″2 better than his teammate at Hyundai. The Estonian claims to have lost the hybrid at the start of the special!

15:47 – SS2: ⏱️ Elfyn Evans crossed the line 12″3 behind Thierry Neuville’s time. “Difficult, I didn't expect something this bad to be honest, concedes the Welshman. The performance was not good, a lot of things were bad. Was it a bold choice to only take one spare wheel? Now, obviously yes. »

15:44 – SS2:First reference time in this SS2 in 9'59″1, signed Thierry Neuville. “I attacked very hard, there was a little less sweep in this one, but still, declared the Belgian upon arrival. In the last section the climb is so slippery. I tried lowering the engine speed, but it's impossible to find any grip anywhere. »

© Nikos Katikis / DPPI

15:43 – SS2: As we could have feared for Elfyn Evans, the Toyota driver preserves his mount and is already 6″6 behind Thierry Neuville in 3rd intermediate. It could be a long afternoon for the Welshman…

15:40 – SS2: ⏱️ In SS1, Sami Pajari has just concluded the special and taken 6th time… in the general classification! The Finn, aboard his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, was faster than Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville in the first special! He logically takes the lead in the WRC2 category.

15:38 p.m. – SS2 : 🔎 Elfyn Evans takes her turn. The Welshman, victim of a puncture in SS1, no longer has a spare wheel at his disposal. Will he already roll over the economy or continue to attack?

15:36 – SS2: 📺 Dani Sordo had a big scare during SS1, but the Spaniard made up for it!

15:33 – SS2: 🢢 Thierry Neuville takes the start, let's go for SS2 of the Sardinia Rally!

15h25 - 🔎 The start of the SS2 (Sedini-Castelsardo 1 – 13,26 km) will be given at 15:33 p.m.

15:22 – SS1: ⏱️ The first WRC2 drivers also completed this first special: after the passage of the first four, it is Yohan Rossel who is in the lead with 4″3 ahead of Jan Solans and Nikolay Gryazin. However, other favorites (Emil Lindholm, Pierre-Louis Loubet, Teemu Suninen, Sami Pajari…) will start much later.

15:12 – SS1: 🏁 Grégoire Munster closes the Rally1 ball and sets the 6th time of this first special, 24 seconds behind the best time. Sébastien Ogier therefore takes the first scratch of the day and takes the lead of this Rally of Sardinia, ahead of Ott Tänak! 

15:08 – SS1: ⏱️ The other freelancer in the Rally1 category, Dani Sordo (double winner of the event in 2019 and 2020), finished this SS1 with the 4th provisional time, 14″5 behind the reference established by Sébastien Ogier.

15:06 – SS1: ⏱️ Takamoto Katsuta, although fast on Fridays, already loses 14″8 on his teammate Sébastien Ogier, despite a more advantageous starting position.

15:03 p.m. – SS1 :Sébastien Ogier is already on the attack! The eight-time world champion sets the new best time in 17'18″6 and beats Ott Tänak with a 7″7 lead! “We tried to avoid some rocks, but the grip is getting better and better”, confides the Frenchman.

Ogier Sardinia Rally ES1 WRC

© Nikos Katikis / DPPI

15:02 – SS1: 💬 Adrien Fourmaux: “It’s difficult but the first pass is so enjoyable, it requires a lot of commitment. »

14:59 p.m. – SS1 : ⏱️ Adrien Fourmaux starts his day with the 2nd provisional time on SS1, 6″8 behind Ott Tänak. The Frenchman knows this event well, since it is his 6th participation in Sardinia.

14:56 p.m. – SS1 :Ott Tänak pulverizes the times of his two opponents and finishes the special in 17'26″3, 19 seconds better than Elfyn Evans!

14:55 – SS1:Elfyn Evans improved the best time to 17'45″3, 1″4 better than Thierry Neuville. However, theThe Welshman has (already) suffered a puncture!

14:53 – SS1: 💬 Thierry Neuville: “It’s very, very difficult. There is no grip at all. Behind, it will be much faster. »

14:51 – SS1:Thierry Neuville crossed the line and set the first reference time on this SS1, in 17'46″7. A time which should be beaten by its pursuers.

14:44 p.m. – SS1 : Thierry Neuville is halfway through this long special and visually, the Belgian seems to be in difficulty. The championship leader suffers when exiting corners and is struggling in the traction zones. Elfyn Evans and Ott Tänak are already well ahead of the first intermediates.

14:41 – SS1: 🔢 While the first three drivers (Neuville, Evans, Tänak) set off on this SS1, a quick reminder of the standings in the Drivers' championship: Thierry Neuville is still leader with 110 points, ahead of Elfyn Evans (86 points) and Ott Tänak (79 points).

14h36 - ES1 : 🔢 Hyundai is the favorite in Sardinia, with a statistic that speaks in its favor: the Korean manufacturer has won six of the last eight Sardinia Rally, including three victories for Thierry Neuville.

Who can beat Hyundai in Sardinia?

14h33 – ES1: 🢢 Let's go for this Rally of Sardinia with the departure of Thierry Neuville on the Osilo-Tergu SS1, 25,65 km long.

14h29 – 🔎 Here is the starting order for this first day. As usual, it corresponds to the current ranking of the Drivers' championship. Thierry Neuville will therefore open the road this Friday.

1) Neuville
2) Evans
3) Tanak
4) Fourmaux
5) Ogier
6) Katsuta
7) Sordo
8) Munster
9) Rossel (WRC2)
10) Gryazin (WRC2)
11) Ciamin (WRC2)
12) Solans (WRC2)

14h26 – 🔎 We know the tire choices for this first day of rallying in Sardinia: if all the drivers chose hard tires for the first four specials, four of them took only one spare wheel: Dani Sordo, Thierry Neuville, Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans.

14h23 – 🔎 Short format requires, the shakedown took place this morning, on the circuit rallycross of Ittiri. Thierry Neuville, championship leader at the start of this Sardinia Rally, set the best time in preparation.

14h20 – 🔎 A first special on Friday afternoon, this is not common in the WRC! And for good reason, this 2024 Sardinia Rally has a unique specificity: this is the first rally in a short format, condensed into 48 hours (over three days). A “Sprint” rally, if you will, which could perhaps shake things up this weekend.

Will the reduced format of the Sardinia Rally have an impact on the drivers?

14h15 – 👋 Hello everyone ! Welcome to this live commentary to follow together the first day of the Sardinia Rally (Italy), sixth round of the 2024 WRC season. The start of SS1 (Osilo-Tergu 1 – 25,65 km) will be given in a few minutes, at 14:33 p.m.!

Evans Sardinia Rally Shakedown WRC

© Nikos Katikis / DPPI

ALSO READ > The weekend TV program – May 31 to June 2

Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

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