Ogier holds a slim advantage of just 11.1 seconds over Hyundai’s Ott Tänak — a negligible margin in Sardinia, where drama has been plentiful over the first two days with tyre failures and offs dominating the headlines. With four stages remaining on Sunday, a fierce showdown is on the cards.
And Sunday won’t be a relaxing cruise to the finish. The final day includes nearly 78 kilometres of competitive stages, and based on the crews’ reconnaissance, the conditions are expected to be brutal. Ogier also led in Sardinia last year before the final day, with a 17.1-second gap over Tänak — who went on to win by the narrowest margin in WRC history: 0.2 seconds.
“Especially the long one going is to be difficult. I mean the stage is new as well. It’s going to be interesting to watch tomorrow. I’m sure not only between us but on Sundays everybody is pushing these days because a lot of points to catch for the championship. We need to sleep well and prepare as good as we can, because it’s going to be intense,” Ogier said.
Saturday once again brought numerous punctures, but the leading trio of Ogier, Tänak, and Kalle Rovanperä managed to avoid trouble. Ogier admitted that rallying in Sardinia isn’t always a pleasure.
“It’s not the most enjoyable one to drive with the roughness, but I knew Ott would push, so for sure we had to respond. The good thing is this weekend I think we have response. In Portugal we were missing speed. I think here we are a bit more response. So it’s nice for the fight,” Ogier summed up.
Ogier managed to steer clear of the worst hazards while still maintaining stage-winning pace.
“I think always my approach has been not to go for crazy risk everywhere, but it’s definitely not easy. Here you have some smooth sections, very enjoyable. And then suddenly you come again on much more stony places where it’s easy to get a puncture or get some damage. I’m quite happy with the way we manage today. It’s not a huge lead but it’s still a lead so we’ll take it.”
