Fourmaux had already lost any hope of a top result on the middle stage of the loop, after suffering a puncture. But on the final stage of the morning loop, he faced more trouble.
Fourmaux went off the road and spent a long time driving through a field after his car veered off the stage following a crest. With the throttle fully open, he managed to keep going alongside the road before eventually returning to the stage.
But that was not the end of it. Near the end of the stage, Fourmaux ran very wide on a corner, but fortunately avoided contact with the trees. However, he lost nearly a minute as a result.
Fourmaux has now dropped to ninth overall, nearly five minutes off the lead.
“We have a lot of dust coming into the cockpit. Then I made a mistake. It has been a really difficult morning for us,” Fourmaux said.
Rally leader Sébastien Ogier was in a class of his own on the Tula-Erula stage, setting the fastest time by ten seconds over Kalle Rovanperä. Ogier was also awarded a time correction from the previous stage, where he had been forced to drive for a long time in the dust kicked up by Fourmaux.
Ogier now leads overall by 15 seconds from Hyundai’s Ott Tänak, who lost a few seconds on Tula-Erula with a puncture.
“The previous stage was a bit disturbing, but we tried to stay calm,” Ogier said.
Rovanperä is holding a solid third place, 37.5 seconds behind the leader. Behind him is Sami Pajari, 17.9 seconds adrift of his team-mate.
“There was a lot of cleaning to do, and it was also a tough stage for the car. We hit something near the start of the stage. I don’t know if it was loose rocks or something else, but I couldn’t see it. After that, the car was making some noises and strange sounds, so I drove carefully to the finish. The main thing is that we are here,” Rovanperä summed up.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans is running fifth overall, two minutes off the lead. He is followed by Takamoto Katsuta, meaning all five Toyota drivers are inside the top six.
Three more stages remain to be run on Saturday afternoon at Rally Sardinia after the service break. The rally will conclude on Sunday.
Rally Sardinia standings after SS9/16:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 1:51:52.2 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +15.0 |
| 3. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +37.5 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +55.4 |
| 5. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2:00.7 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +3:34.4 |
| 7. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +4:23.2 |
| 8. | Emil Lindholm | Skoda | +4:38.8 |
| 9. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +4:46.6 |
| 10. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +4:56.0 |
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
