Rovanperä had already found good settings for the car during Friday afternoon’s loop, and the strong pace continued immediately on Saturday morning. Rovanperä’s team-mate Sébastien Ogier set the fastest time on the Coiluna – Loelle stage, just over 21 kilometres long, but the gap between the two team-mates was only 3.1 seconds.
Considering his starting position, Rovanperä’s performance was excellent. The Finn is now in the kind of form we’ve grown accustomed to in recent years.
“It went okay. I feel much better now with the car settings and also with the starting position,” Rovanperä commented after the stage.
Rovanperä was then asked what kind of changes he had made to the car.
“Secret ones,” Rovanperä laughed.
The leading group had their own pace. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak and Adrien Fourmaux also delivered strong performances. Tänak was 3.7 seconds off Ogier’s benchmark, and Fourmaux was 5.3 seconds behind.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari also showed good pace right from the morning. The Finn was 11.8 seconds off the lead. Pajari was not surprised by the front-runners’ strong pace.
“I was expecting quite a big push from Kalle and the top three. This went okay, I still wasn’t really pushing,” Pajari commented.
In the overall standings, Ogier’s lead has now grown to 7.4 seconds over Fourmaux. Tänak remains third, the Estonian now 11 seconds off the lead.
Rovanperä passed Pajari on the leaderboard and is now up to fourth. The Finn is 25.9 seconds behind the leader.
Pajari has now dropped to fifth (+28.6), and championship leader Elfyn Evans is sixth (+1:27.5).
Five more special stages will be run on Saturday in Rally Sardinia. The event will conclude on Sunday.
Rally Sardinia standings after SS7/16:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 1:24.10,6 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +7.4 |
| 3. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +11.0 |
| 4. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +25.9 |
| 5. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +28.6 |
| 6. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1:27.5 |
| 7. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +2:53.6 |
| 8. | Nikolai Grjazin | Skoda | +3:14.7 |
| 9. | Emil Lindholm | Skoda | +3:18.5 |
| 10. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +3:37.9 |
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
