Sebastien Ogier takes record-breaking WRC Sardinia victory
Sebastien Ogier claimed a 3rd win of the World Rally Championship season after surviving a final-stage mistake to conquer a demanding Rally Italy Sardinia.
The part-time Toyota chauffeur and co-driver Vincent Landais avoided the risks of Sardinia’s 16 rough gravel stages to take an impressive win, as Toyota extended its 100% winning start to 2025.
Ogier was locked in a tense battle with Hyundai’s Ott Tanak for the majority of the rally before pulling clear of the 2019 world champion in Sunday’s all-new quartet of stages. A half-spin followed by a little touch with a tree in the last threatened to hinder his go to success, but Ogier hung on to win by 7.9 s.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera completed the podium in 3rd [+50.5 s], ahead of championship leader Elfyn Evans [+5 m05.7 s], who saw his points lead decline from 30 to 19 points over Ogier.
Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Image by: Toyota Racing Toyota expected an especially difficult obstacle to claim victory in Sardinia with Evans, Rovanpera and Ogier at the top of the roadway order in a rally where the road-cleaning impact is significant. The Japanese brand name likewise decided not to test before the occasion, unlike its rivals– including Hyundai, who had been defeated on the Italian island just twice since 2016.
Nevertheless, Ogier defied his roadway position to lead after the very first phase, only for the Frenchman to lose the advantage to Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville on the next test. But it was Adrien Fourmaux who took a 2.9 s lead over his team-mate at midday service. The lead then altered hands after each of Friday afternoon’s stages as Neuville ended up being the first of the title contenders to hit trouble.
Neuville slightly misjudged an incredibly quick and narrow section in the brand-new Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda phase that caught out 6 Rally1 crews. The impact ripped the left-rear wheel from his automobile, triggering an early retirement. Ogier inherited a 2.1 s rally lead from Fourmaux after stage six with Tanak lurking in 3rd 7.3 s adrift, after nursing a damaged damper.
Saturday was dominated by another intense Ogier versus Tanak scrap after a remarkable start that saw Fourmaux’s demise, which resulted in Ogier briefly losing the lead.
Fourmaux got a leak in the day’s very first phase and initially chose to continue before stopping to change the wheel, which cost the Hyundai driver practically 4 minutes. Fourmaux rejoined the stage but his dust significantly hampered Ogier’s exposure for a portion of the test, resulting in a time loss of 29s and the rally lead.
Toyota attracted the organisers, who provided Ogier with a notional time that put Frenchman into a 15.0 s advantage over.
Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Picture by
: Austral/ Hyundai Motorsport Tanak’s charge was dealt a blow by a leak in phase 9, although the loss was stymied to 10.5 s. Tanak won two of the 3 Saturday afternoon phases to trail Ogier by 11.1 s, which set up a grandstand finish on Sunday.
Ogier however could not be stopped, and in spite of a minute in the Power Phase, the Toyota motorist extended his benefit to take a 64th profession win from Tanak, who was unable to find the rate to challenge.
Like Ogier, Rovanpera was the only other Rally1 driver not to suffer a substantial issue. The Finn delivered a smart drive in a rally that does not suit his driving style, delivering a 3rd successive podium. Rovanpera scored the maximum 10 Super Sunday points underlined by a stunning Power Stage win by 8.1 s from Neuville.
Evans dealt with the worst of the conditions on Friday, opening the roadway– and paid the cost, losing more than a minute on Friday. Nevertheless, the Welshman took advantage of what showed to be a rally of attrition to end up 4th, regardless of picking up a leak on Saturday that needed a rapid wheel modification. Evans added three Super Sunday indicates his tally.
Takamoto Katsuta recuperated from a leak and slow-speed roll in the notorious Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda test to complete fifth. Toyota stablemate Sami Pajari ran as high as third, before a leak on Saturday and after that a spin after contact with a tree on Sunday dropped the Finn to seventh behind Oliver Solberg, the top Rally2 runner [albeit not registered for WRC2 points]
After retiring from the lead, Neuville handled to restore 5 Super Sunday points. Team-mate Forumaux wasn’t so lucky leaving the weekend empty-handed. A roll on Saturday afternoon after misjudging a braking point required the Frenchman to rejoin the rally on Sunday, when he was opening the road.
M-Sport-Ford sustained a dreadful rally losing its 3 works cars for Martins Sesks (roll), Josh McErlean and Gregoire Munster (suspension damage) in a matter of minutes on the Telti – Calangianus– Berchidda stage on Friday morning. McErlean and Munster rejoined the rally, which became a reliable test session for Castle Rally Greece later on this month.
Watch: Rally Italia Sardegna Sunday Morning highlights
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