Latvian driver Martins Sesks crashed heavily, smashing through a fence and rolling his car. The result was a retirement. Josh McErlean also damaged his car in an off and was forced to retire.
Sesks lost control of his car after a high-speed crest and went through a wire fence, after which the car rolled over. Both the driver and co-driver, however, climbed out of the car unaided.
And that was not all. Ford driver Grégoire Munster also damaged the right rear suspension of his car. Munster limped to the finish but lost nearly three minutes to the leaders. It is unlikely that the Luxembourger will make it to the finish of the third special stage of the morning loop.
For Hyundai’s WRC team, however, the second stage was a success. Ott Tänak was in dominant form and set the fastest time by 3.3 seconds ahead of team-mate Thierry Neuville.
Neuville moved into the overall lead by one second ahead of Tänak.
“It didn’t feel that good. I was definitely pushing more than usual. Still, I’m not enjoying the car at the moment,” Tänak said.
“The engine suddenly stalled and I lost a few seconds. There was no reason for it,” Neuville remarked in surprise.
Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux is sharing third place in the rally with Toyota’s Sami Pajari. Somewhat unexpectedly, Pajari is currently the fastest Toyota driver.
“It was a really technical stage. It was difficult to find confidence in the narrow sections. I just tried to drive cleanly through, as I didn’t have the confidence,” Pajari summed up.
Sebastien Ogier, who set the fastest time on the opening stage, lost significant time to Tänak’s benchmark. Ogier dropped to fifth overall, 6.1 seconds behind leader Neuville.
“It was really difficult. The stage is so narrow and there’s little grip,” Ogier commented.
In sixth place is Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, ahead of team-mates Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä. The Finnish driver is just two-tenths of a second behind Evans, so the top two drivers in the championship are having their own battle. Rovanperä’s gap to the leader is already 17.5 seconds.
“There was a lot of loose gravel. Most of the stage is really narrow. I just don’t have confidence in the car on those sections. The car doesn’t do what I want,” Rovanperä explained.
Roope Korhonen also went off on the second stage of the day, parking his Toyota Rally2 car in the bushes. Swedish hopeful Oliver Solberg also went off and afterwards broke into tears. However, Solberg was able to continue, though he lost a significant amount of time.
Four more special stages remain to be run in Rally Sardinia. The rally finishes on Sunday.
Standings of Rally Sardinia after SS2/16:
| POS. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 18:18.0 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +1.0 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +4.0 |
| 3. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +4.0 |
| 5. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +6.1 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +13.8 |
| 7. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +17.3 |
| 8. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +17.5 |
Rally Sardinia itinerary:
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
