The second day of Rally Italia Sardegna has come to an end. Sebastien Ogier extended his event lead during the day’s six stages.
Morning Loop (Stages 7-9)
Sebastien Ogier extended his lead during the first three stages of the day. Ogier won two stages to extend the lead to 15 seconds over Ott Tänak. Both Adrien Fourmaux and Ott Tänak suffered a puncture during the loop. Fourmaux lost at least three minutes on SS8 due to the puncture. Whilst Tänak had a slow puncture near the end of SS9.
Afternoon Loop (10-12)
Ott Tänak cut into Ogier’s lead during the afternoon loop of stages. Ogier now only leads by 11.1 seconds heading into the final day of the event. Tänak won two stages during the loop while Ogier won a single stage. Takamoto Katsuta suffered a puncture on SS10. Adrien Fourmaux rolled and subsequently retired for the day on SS11. Finally, Sami Pajari lost time due to a puncture on SS11.
Quotes
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“We can be happy with the position we’re in at the end of the day. There has again been plenty of drama with the tough conditions, and a few of our drivers had to stop in the stages, but luckily that didn’t really affect our positions too much. It’s been amazing to see the performance of Seb; he has been able to manage the lead really well. Nothing is decided yet though because Sunday is going to be a tough day with some new stages, and the first pass of those could already be quite important for the results. Kalle has made good steps to get up into third, with Elfyn now only one place behind and I’m sure they will both be trying to take as many extra points as they can tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“Conditions were tough today like always here in Sardinia. We were just trying to drive at a good pace and with a good feeling in the car and trying to stay out of trouble. The puncture this afternoon was not ideal – it was an exposed rocky place that I tried to avoid, but in doing so I perhaps made it worse for myself – but with Sami losing more time than us we were able to gain a place. Fourth is not a bad position but attention turns to trying to score some extra points tomorrow. It won’t be easy with the strong pace of the guys ahead, but we’ll give it a go.”
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“Today we continued with the better feeling that we had in the car yesterday afternoon, and that together with the better starting position was making a big difference on the first pass. The morning was surprisingly rough already, so we were expecting the afternoon to be tough and it definitely was. There were quite a few surprises, so I’m happy to finish the day without any issues. Tomorrow won’t be easy at all with the new stages and it could be quite rough again, but let’s see what we can do.”
Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“I’m happy with how we managed today. It was a long and demanding day with rougher sections than yesterday, especially this afternoon. The lead is not a huge one but we will certainly take it. It’s always nice to fight with Ott and we know that he always pushes hard, so we will have to be at our maximum tomorrow if we want to win. It’s a long final day with new and difficult stages and we need to prepare as well as we can because it’s going to be intense. Everyone will be pushing hard for points so I’m sure it will be interesting to watch.”
Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“Today I was focused on getting a good feeling in the car and trying some different things with the setup. Unfortunately we had to stop and change a tyre in the first stage of the afternoon, but after that the pace was pretty good and I felt quite confident with the car. I didn’t expect that I could set those kind of times from my starting position. Tomorrow’s stages are a bit different to today’s, so I will need to find the right compromise in the setup and my driving.”
Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“This morning I was expecting a big push from Kalle and from the top three. The feeling for me wasn’t too bad, but I was probably a bit on the safe side and could have been quicker. Still this afternoon we were having quite a nice flow until we got the puncture. At first I tried to continue carefully, but then it started making a lot of noise and we stopped to change it and not damage the car. In the end, it wasn’t so bad, we just swapped places with Elfyn. Then I was careful on the last stage, but I hope to find a good flow again tomorrow.”
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT
Ott Tänak
“Today has been all about managing the tyre wear but also the risk of punctures. The roads have been very punishing with a lot of loose stones and bedrock, as well as many surprises, so it has been quite the challenge today. We were trying to keep a good rhythm, as well as a good gap to Kalle behind us. Now our aim is to continue that tomorrow, although the nature of rallying means it is very difficult to forecast what will happen next. Tomorrow is a very different day, and we don’t expect it to be easy, but we will give it our best.”
Thierry Neuville
“It was hot and exhausting out there, but it was a clean run through the stages for us. We tried some new settings to see if we could find something interesting for tomorrow, as we have everything to play for. Obviously, our new road position will help after we managed to catch Jourdan Serderidis, but we didn’t expect our team-mates to crash out and to gain a place as a result. It’s going to be tough with two brand-new stages and a lot of cleaning expected, but anything is still possible. I’m looking forward to the challenge. ”
Adrien Fourmaux
“On approach to a corner that was tightening, I confused two trees and missed the braking point, which was enough to go wide and cause the car to roll. I think the car can be repaired, but we won’t know until we have a proper inspection. It was a shame to end the day like this, as I already knew Elfyn had a puncture on the stage, so decided to go with higher tyre pressures to avoid one myself, but I should have also avoided missing the braking point. ”
Pablo Marcos – Team Manager
“As is always the case in Sardinia, it has been a long and tough day. We managed to keep Ott in the fight for victory; it has not been easy for him, but he has fought very well all day with little to choose between him and Ogier. We have a lot of options for Sunday, where we will focus on scoring maximum points and winning the rally. Thierry was back on the road after a great effort from our mechanics to repair the car last night, and he safely navigated the stages to be in the best position for Sunday. Sadly, a difficult day for Adrien ended in retirement. It was certainly not the plan, but now we will do everything we can to recover the car for tomorrow.”