Belgian driver heads Hyundai 1-2 as Sébastien Ogier goes off the street on breathless Saturday.
Thierry Neuville sits on the point of his first triumph in 2023 having taken management of Rally Italia Sardegna on an exhilarating Saturday which noticed the downfall of eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier.
Neuville had trailed Ogier and Esapekka Lappi in third place for the reason that begin of this sixth spherical of the season – however a heavy downpour within the penultimate Erula – Tula take a look at brought on utter chaos and turned the rally on its head.
Ogier, looking down a file fifth Italian win in a Toyota GR Yaris, entered the stage clinging onto a slender general lead. Nevertheless, in a shocking coincidence, the Frenchman’s fortunes took a dramatic downturn when he understeered off the street, veering down an embankment simply 1.4km after the beginning.
Lappi decreased his assault upon seeing Ogier’s stricken automotive, inadvertently dropping over half a minute to i20 N team-mate Neuville, who was unaware of the drama unfolding behind him on the street. The Belgian climbed from third to first general because of his cost and heads the Hyundai 1-2 by 36.4sec approaching Sunday’s four-stage finale.
“I’m relieved to be on the end,” admitted Neuville, who has not received a rally since Japan final yr. “It was a troublesome day on the market however the feeling was getting higher and higher with the automotive. We realized rather a lot, that’s essential, however it’s nonetheless not all the time excellent but and we are able to nonetheless enhance.
“Tomorrow is a brief however difficult day,” he added. “We have to have a intelligent drive by means of and attempt to deliver house the 1-2 for the crew.”
Championship chief Kalle Rovanperä was elevated to 3rd after his team-mate’s retirement, though the Finn is unlikely to have the ability to bother the frontrunning pair on outright tempo alone. He trailed Lappi by 1min 14.3sec at shut of play after being hampered by extreme tyre put on within the afternoon.
Perseverance paid off for Elfyn Evans, whose day was crammed with setbacks. The Welshman’s Toyota sustained radiator injury in a water crossing on SS10 and he leaked nearly three minutes limping again to service.
Historical past threatened to repeat itself later within the day when Evans’ automotive momentarily misplaced energy whereas negotiating one other water splash. The misfire cleared itself shortly afterwards and he reached the end nearly 4 minutes behind Rovanperä in fourth general.
Ott Tänak and Takamoto Katsuta weren’t as fortunate and each suffered water-induced retirements. A defective electrical sensor was in charge for M-Sport Ford man Tänak’s demise whereas Katsuta bowed out with radiator injury.
Their respective disappointments enabled Dani Sordo, recovering from a Friday morning roll, to climb to fifth general. He headed WRC2 chief Adrien Fourmaux whereas Andreas Mikkelsen, Teemu Suninen, Emil Lindholm and Kajetan Kajetanowicz – all contesting WRC2 – accomplished the leaderboard.
Main positions after Saturday:
1. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N 3h 10m 36.9s
2. E Lappi / J Ferm FIN Hyundai i20 N +36.4s
3. Okay Rovanperä / J Halttunen FIN Toyota GR Yaris +1m 50.7s
4. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris +5m 36.5s
5. D Sordo / C Carrera ESP Hyundai i20 N +6m 27.9s
6. A Fourmaux / A Coria FRA Ford Fiesta Rally2 +8m 11.7s
