Sebastien Ogier performed excellently once again and leads the rally after the first day of driving with a 4.5-second advantage over Hyundai’s Ott Tänak.
Takamoto Katsuta also had a good day and is in the fight for third place, but Elfyn Evans had a tough day. The Welshman suffered a slow puncture right at the start of the rally, losing a significant amount of time. With only one spare tyre in his kit, Evans had to drive the remaining stages of the day very cautiously.
“Elfyn’s situation was of course a bit unfortunate. He had a puncture right at the start and couldn’t pick up his pace after that. He was probably a bit cautious to avoid damaging more tyres. With only one spare tyre and that one already lost, it was a real setback. The time difference was quite considerable,” said Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.
Evans also encountered problems in Portugal, so the Welshman’s championship battle is in danger of becoming more difficult as we approach the midpoint of the season.
“Thierry (Neuville) is in quite a good rhythm and he’s starting to pull away in the standings. The points gap isn’t too bad yet, but if it keeps growing, the situation becomes more difficult and the pressure to perform and deliver results increases,” Latvala admitted.
Before Sardinia, the points gap between Evans and Neuville was 24 points, and now it threatens to grow even further.
“Let’s put it this way: if the gap grows to over 40 points, it becomes very difficult to close. That would require two failures in a row, and in the current championship, it’s rare to see two consecutive failures. One failure can still happen, but it’s rare to have two,” Latvala pondered.
Fortunately for Toyota, the 40-year-old rally veteran Sebastien Ogier has been in top form again. The part-time driver has been delivering results for the factory team this season, and the trend seems to continue in Sardinia as well.
“His pace is impressive, there’s nothing more to say. Despite his age, his speed hasn’t diminished,” Latvala praised and continued:
“Overall, I think this was a good day. Takamoto Katsuta drove well. He had a cautious start, but then he was able to pick up the pace and stayed in the fight for third place.”
After the interview, Latvala gave a fair recognition to Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who had come alongside. The Belgian had to clear the road as the first car, but he performed the task excellently. Neuville is fifth in the rally after the first day, 36.6 seconds behind the leader.
“I must say, you did very well today as the first car on the road,” Latvala called out to the Belgian.
