After rolling his car on Friday, the Toyota driver now suffered a puncture on SS10. The mishap cost him over two minutes and dropped him four places in the overall standings. Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, WRC2 leader Emil Lindholm, Nikolai Gryazin, and Oliver Solberg all moved ahead of the Japanese driver.
At the top, Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier maintained his lead despite a charge from Hyundai’s Ott Tänak. The Estonian took the stage win but only edged Ogier by 0.6 seconds. The Frenchman now holds a 14.4-second advantage.
“Good run, very clean. Very very hot. Now we have to go,” Ogier commented briefly.
“The grip is super low with the hard tyres. Very challenging and a lot of stones. I tried my best to drive around them. Reliability is the key at this point, so I took it really cautiously,” Tänak summed up.
Kalle Rovanperä continues to sit third overall. He had a slight moment on the stage, losing a few seconds. He was three seconds off the pace and now trails Ogier by 39.9 seconds. Sami Pajari remains just behind, 24.6 seconds off Rovanperä.
“Quite ok, I had one mistake on the narrow part going a bit wide. Lost 3-4 seconds there, but otherwise nothing dramatic. We try to keep in in one piece” Rovanperä said.
“Not so bad. Quite similar feeling, much cleaner than in the morning,” added Pajari.
Elfyn Evans is fifth overall, followed by Gryazin, Fourmaux, and Lindholm. Katsuta has dropped to ninth.
Two more stages remain on Saturday before Rally Sardinia concludes on Sunday.
Rally Sardinia standings after SS10/16:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:05:22.7 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +14.4 |
| 3. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +39.9 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:04.5 |
| 5. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2:13.8 |
| 6. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +4:52.5 |
| 7. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +4:53.4 |
| 8. | Emil Lindholm | Skoda | +5:11.5 |
| 9. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +5:24.9 |
| 10. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +5:56.4 |
Rally Sardinia itinerary (CET):
Thursday 5.6. 14.01 Shakedown: Olbia Cabu Abbas (2,19 km) Friday 6.6. 10.01 SS1: Arzachena 1 (13,97 km) 11.16 SS2: Telti - Calangianus - Berchidda 1 (18,43 km) 12.31 SS3: Sa Conchedda 1 (27,95 km) 15.05 Service (40 min) 16.31 SS4: Arzachena 2 (13,97 km) 17.46 SS5: Telti - Calangianus - Berchidda 2 (18,43 km) 19.01 SS6: Sa Conchedda 2 (27,95 km) Saturday 7.6. 10.05 SS7: Coiluna - Loelle 1 (21,18 km) 11.16 SS8: Lerno - Su Filigosu 1 (24,34 km) 12.31 SS9: Tula - Erula 1 (15,28 km) 14.20 Service (40 min) 16.05 SS10: Coiluna - Loelle 2 (21,18 km) 17.16 SS11: Lerno - Su Filigosu 2 (24,34 km) 18.31 SS12: Tula - Erula 2 (15,28 km) Sunday 8.6. 08.25 SS13: San Giacomo - Plebi 1 (25,19 km) 09.35 SS14: Porto San Paolo 1 (13,70 km) 11.50 SS15: San Giacomo - Plebi 2 (25,19 km) 13.30 Service (15 min) 14.15 SS16: Porto San Paolo 2 (13,70 km) *Power Stage
