Rally Italia Sardegna Preview: WRC1

The 2023 World Rally Championship season continues this weekend with the sixth round Rally Italia Sardegna. 

Drivers’ Championship Rundown

Reigning WRC Drivers Champion Kalle Rovanperä would take first in the Drivers’ Championship after winning Vodafone Rally De Portugal last month. Rovanperä now holds the largest points lead in the top five of the championship so far this season. As Rovanperä now leads Ott Tänak by 17 points heading into Rally Italia Sardegna. Tänak would move from fourth to second after finishing fourth at Vodafone Rally De Portugal last month. Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans who were tied for first heading into Rally Portugal have fallen to a tie for third. With both drivers having 69 points under their belts. Thierry Neuville rounds out the top five in the championship, sitting a mere point behind Ogier and Evans. Neuville’s teammate Esapekka Lappi sits sixth in the championship, 19 points behind Neuville. This gives Neuville a decent gap between him and sixth place, but this is rally and 19 points isn’t a lot. As one retirement from an event can make that 19-point gap turn into some amount of points behind. All of the drivers in the top five will be competing at Rally Italia Sardegna this weekend. 

Championship Points Heading Into Rally Italia Sardegna 

1. K. Rovanperä 98
2. O. Tänak 81
3. S. Ogier 69
4. E. Evans 69
5. T. Neuville 68
6. E. Lappi 49
7. D. Sordo 36
8. T. Katsuta 20
9. C. Breen 19
10. G. Greensmith 16

Teams Rundown

Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team

The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team will have four cars competing this weekend. That list of drivers includes two World Champions in Kalle Rovanperä and Sebastien Ogier. Joining Rovanperä and Ogier will be Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta. Toyota will look to continue the success they’ve had so far this season this weekend. Toyota has won 4 out of 5 events so far this season. With Sebastien Ogier winning two of those and is so far the only driver to win more than one event this season. 

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team

The Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team will look to get back on track in the drivers’ championship. As the three Hyundai drivers sit fifth, sixth and seventh in the championship. With the team as a whole sitting second in the Manufacturers’ championship, 32 points behind Toyota. Hyundai is also the only team to not have a driver win an event so far this season. This isn’t much different from last season for Hyundai however. As last season Hyundai also hadn’t won an event before Rally Italia Sardegna. The team would take their first win of the season at the event last season. Unfortunately, there is one major difference for Hyundai between this season and last. The driver who won the event for Hyundai last season now drives for M-Sport and their name is Ott Tänak. Hopefully, this won’t make much of a difference for Hyundai and they can take their first win of the season this weekend. 

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team

The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team will come into this weekend sitting third in the manufacturers’ championship. The team sits 35 points behind the Hyundai crew. This may seem like a large gap, and it is, but it’s also impressive how close it is as they’ve only had one driver scoring substantial points this season. Ott Tänak will come into the event looking to take his second straight win at the Rally Italia Sardegna, and his second win of the season. Pierre-Louis Loubet will look to build off what would’ve been a strong Vodafone Rally De Portugal if he wasn’t forced to temporarily retire from the event.