Thierry Neuville has taken control of Rally Italia Sardegna after a dramatic opening day, moving ahead of Hyundai team-mate Adrien Fourmaux on the final stage. Oliver Solberg produced a strong recovery drive to finish Friday third, keeping his hopes of securing a maiden WRC drivers’ title firmly alive.
Neuville’s late charge proved decisive on the final test. Having started the afternoon 4.7 seconds behind Fourmaux, the Belgian won both closing stages and overturned the deficit to establish a narrow 0.4 second advantage overnight.
Fourmaux had looked set to finish the day in front after an impressive performance on Sardinia’s rough gravel. The Frenchman claimed two stage victories during the day and managed the increasingly demanding roads well, but Neuville’s tyre strategy ultimately gave him the edge.
The Hyundai pair now head a closely packed leaderboard, with Solberg only 12.3 seconds behind the rally leader.
Solberg’s day was far from straightforward. The Toyota driver lost valuable time with tyre damage on the opening stage, but responded immediately by attacking the following tests.
He took victory on SS4 and continued to build momentum through the afternoon, ending the day as the leading championship contender.
The result is particularly important for Solberg’s title ambitions. The Swede began the final round 21 points behind Elfyn Evans, but has now opened a significant gap over his two Toyota rivals. Sami Pajari sits fourth, 27.9 seconds behind Solberg, while Evans is another 56.6 seconds further back in sixth.
With 35 points still available this weekend, the championship remains wide open.
For championship leader Evans, Friday proved to be a much tougher proposition. Running first on the road meant the Welshman faced the worst of the loose gravel, while the changing surface and increasingly rough conditions made it difficult to find confidence in his Toyota.
Evans nevertheless remains in a position to fight for the championship. He holds a 17 point advantage over Pajari and 21 points over Solberg heading into Saturday. With two full days of competition remaining, there is still plenty of opportunity for the standings to change.
Standings at the end of Friday
