Neuville once again set the fastest time on the second special stage of the morning and is clearly aiming to take the full points haul from Super Sunday.
Points are crucial for Neuville, who went off the road on Saturday and didn’t score any points. Neuville beat his teammate Ott Tänak by 0.8 seconds and outpaced overall rally leader Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier by a remarkable 7.3 seconds.
“A bit too much cleaning in there. We had a good run. Car is working fine as well. Let’s see for the 2nd loop,” Neuville said.
Ogier is being surprisingly cautious, and Tänak has now reduced the overall gap to just 6.6 seconds.
For Super Sunday, Neuville leads by 5.4 seconds over Tänak. In terms of manufacturers’ points, Hyundai is in a very strong position.
“Not so enjoyable to drive. We do what we can. It’s very rough,” Ogier said.
Tänak agreed with Ogier’s assessment.
“Stage was tricky. Not too much to like about it, hard work and driving is rough,” Tänak said.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans is also in good form on Sunday, being the third fastest. He is 10.6 seconds behind the leader. Ogier has fallen 15.9 seconds behind the leader in Sunday’s times.
Sami Pajari, driving Toyota’s Rally2 car, continues to lead his class. The Finn is in sixth place overall.
“We had a good time. We are fighting,” Pajari summarized.
Two more special stages remain in the Sardinia WRC rally on Sunday.
Rally Sardinia standings after SS14/16:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:53:07.0 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +6.6 |
| 3. | Dani Sordo | Hyundai | +2:15.5 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2:38.0 |
| 5. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +6:10.5 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +6:20.4 |
| 7. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +7:09.0 |
| 8. | Jan Solans | Toyota | +7:14.1 |
| 9. | Martin Prokop | Skoda | +9:16.3 |
| 10. | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Skoda | +9:18.8 |
Super Sunday standings:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 13:07.9 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +5.4 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +10.6 |
| 4. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +15.9 |
| 5. | Dani Sordo | Hyundai | +18.6 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +22.3 |
| 7. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +43.6 |
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
