WRC
Tänak stays the course in Sardinia, Loubet dreams of Top 3
Ott Tänak is alone in the lead of the Sardinia Rally. ©DPPI/N. Katikis
Ce Rally of Sardinia is gradually turning to the advantage of Hyundai and more precisely toOtt Tänak. Neck and neck with Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) Friday evening on which he was 7 tenths behind, the Estonian started his Saturday perfectly with two entry scratches (SS10 and SS11) taking back control of the event ahead of his counterpart.
Everything then seemed to be heading towards a new close battle between the two men but that was without counting on a driving error on the part of Esapekka Lappi. In a narrow section of SS11, the Finn hit both sides of the road and ended up on the shoulder on the left, losing the entire left rear wheel, suspension included, in the process.
This was incredibly bad luck for @EsapekkaLappi 🤦️️#WRCLive | #WRC | #RallyItaliaSardegna | #JumpingInTheDust
- World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) June 4, 2022
His main rival on the mat was a boulevard that opened up in front of Ott Tänak, and for good reason. Behind, the gap had already widened with the rest of the peloton since his new runner-up Craig Breen (M-Sport) stood at 31“8 after the abandonment of Esapekka Lappi. Back at the Service Park, the world champion is 30” ahead of the Irishman and 9” ahead of Dani Sordo (Hyundai). Enough to start thinking strategically to ensure your first victory of the season.
General classification after SS13
Loubet, the podium in sight
Surprising since the start of the weekend where he made no mistakes, Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport) is in the running to achieve the best result of his career in WRC. A time on the provisional podium of the Sardinian round, the Corsican fell back to 4e behind Dani Sordo but is not decided to let go.
Author of a clean and solid morning, Pierre-Louis Loubet is 15 seconds behind the Spaniard who cannot afford a gap if he wants to preserve his property until the end of the day.
Pierre-Louis Loubet is not the only Frenchman to stand out in Sardinia. His teammate Adrien fourmaux also had a promising weekend and was ranked 5e position after 13 stages and is on track to grab a 3e Top 5 in career.
Neuville's setbacks
Already out of the race for victory due to mechanical problems and a faulty transmission on Friday, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) did not have a good Saturday morning. Yet on pace, the Belgian made a mistake and rolled shortly after the start of SS12.
🎥 @thierryneuville was determined to carry on, despite rolling 😱#WRCLive | #WRC | #RallyItaliaSardegna | #JumpingInTheDust
- World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) June 4, 2022
The consequences of this mishap are great since Thierry Neuville will not return to the road this Saturday. He must now hope that his team manages to repair his i20 to try to collect some points during the Power Stage this Sunday.
#WRC 🇮🇹 SS12 #Neuville
⚠️ UPDATEFollowing a strong performance on Saturday's opening stages, @thierryneuville & @MWydaeghe are forced to retire for the day after rolling on SS12 at Rally Italia Sardegna.#HMSGOfficial #RallyItaliaSardegna
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) June 4, 2022
Gonzalo Forbes
In charge of promotion formulas (F2, F3, FRECA, F4...). Carried by the grace of Franco Colapinto.
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