Leading the championship, Neuville went off the road on Saturday and had to retire, which meant he didn’t get any points from Saturday. Therefore, Neuville’s only hope is to go flat out on Sunday, with a maximum of 12 points up for grabs.
Neuville is the first car through Sunday’s special stages. Usually, the driver opening the roads suffers from their starting position, but for Neuville, it was an advantage on the opening stage of Sunday, as other drivers struggled with the dust in the air.
Neuville set the fastest time.
“Today it’s about the extra points. The beginning was good, but the ending was cleaning a lot. Nothing is over. Before Portugal we had only a 6 point lead, one rally it changed a lot. Season is still long,” Neuville said.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak was second on the Cala Flumini stage, 4.6 seconds behind Neuville’s fastest time. This brought Tänak to within 13.1 seconds of rally leader Sebastien Ogier, who finished fourth on the stage.
However, Tänak isn’t thinking about the overall victory at all.
“The rally was finished yesterday. We went for the points. Like the regulations say – the rally win is not important any more,” Tänak pointedly remarked.
Ogier, who is only competing in some of this season’s rallies, has a slightly different mindset.
“Trying to make the best of the day. Maximum points for the team if I can,” Ogier said.
Hyundai’s Dani Sordo remains in third place, ahead of Toyota’s Elfyn Evans. Sami Pajari, who leads the WRC2 class, is sixth overall, right behind M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster.
Three more special stages remain in the Rally Sardinia on Sunday.
Rally Sardinia standings after SS13/16:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:47:58.3 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +13.1 |
| 3. | Dani Sordo | Hyundai | +2:18.4 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2:40.8 |
| 5. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +5:58.1 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +6:00.2 |
| 7. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +6:57.0 |
| 8. | Jan Solans | Toyota | +7:03.5 |
| 9. | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Skoda | +8:47.7 |
| 10. | Martin Prokop | Skoda | +8:56.7 |
Super Sunday standings:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 8:06.5 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +4.6 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +6.1 |
| 4. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +8.6 |
| 5. | Dani Sordo | Hyundai | +14.2 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +19.7 |
| 7. | Jan Solans | Toyota | +26.9 |
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
