Toyota’s Elfyn Evans set the fastest time on the final stage of the day. Evans’ weekend has been challenging, and he is no longer in contention for the rally win without issues for others.
“We’ve been helped a lot by our rivals with how things have been this weekend, fourth place is fine but not where we want to be fighting,” Evans said.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak had a strong day, but he encountered problems on the last special stage of the evening. He was the third fastest on the final stage, losing 1.3 seconds to Evans’ fastest time, and continues to sit in second place overall.
“I expected that this second half of the day wouldn’t be so complicated, but I do like these stages. Let’s see one more day, but this was a long, long day. They are two very different roads tomorrow, one quite wide and one quite narrow,” Tänak summed up his day.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier also had a good day, although he couldn’t top it off with the fastest time on the final stage. However, Ogier leads the rally heading into the overnight break with a 17.1-second advantage over Tänak.
“It’s been a positive day, even more positive afternoon. The morning stages I didn’t like the most, but the afternoon was fun,” Ogier said.
Sami Pajari, driving Toyota’s Rally2 car, is impressively in sixth place overall. The Finn dropped behind Gregoire Munster after the final stage of the day but had a very strong day overall.
“This time we got through without a puncture. It’s nice to be in the lead after today,” commented Pajari,” who leads the WRC2 class.
Sebastien Ogier took the largest provisional points haul. He received 18 points, while Tänak earned 15 points. Dani Sordo, in third place in the rally, collected 13 points, and Evans reduced his gap to the crashed Thierry Neuville with 10 points. Sami Pajari also secured provisional WRC points, taking eight points with him.
Four more special stages remain in the Rally Sardinia tomorrow, Sunday
Rally Sardinia standings after SS12/16:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:39:43,2 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +17.1 |
| 3. | Dani Sordo | Hyundai | +2:12.8 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2:43.3 |
| 5. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +5:28.2 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +5:38.5 |
| 7. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +6:45.2 |
| 8. | Jan Solans | Toyota | +6:45.2 |
| 9 | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Skoda | +8:12.1 |
| 10 | Martin Prokop | Skoda | +8:22.1 |
Itinerary for Rally Sardinia (CET):
Friday 31.5. 08.01 Shakedown: Ittiri (2,08 km) 14.33 SS1: Osilo - Tergu 1 (25,65 km) 15.33 SS2: Sedini - Castelsardo 1 (13,26 km) 17.33 SS3: Osilo - Tergu 2 (25,65 km) 18.35 SS4: Sedini - Castelsardo 2 (13,26 km) Saturday 1.6. 07.41 SS5: Tempio Pausania 1 (12,03 km) 08.49 SS6: Tula 1 (22,61 km) 10.41 SS7: Tempio Pausania 2 (12,03 km) 11.49 SS8: Tula 2 (22,61 km) 14.05 SS9: Monte Lerno - Monti di Ala 1 (25,33 km) 15.05 SS10: Coiluna - Loelle 1 (14,53 km) 17.05 SS11: Monte Lerno - Monti di Ala 2 (25,33 km) 18.05 SS12: Coiluna - Loelle 2 (14,53 km) Sunday 2.6. 08.00 SS13: Cala Flumini 1 (12,55 km) 09.05 SS14: Sassari - Argentiera 1 (7,10 km) 11.00 SS15: Cala Flumini 2 (12,55 km) 12.15 SS16: Sassari - Argentiera 2 (7,10 km) *Power Stage
