Italy (WRC) - 2-5 Jun 22

Rovanperä bids to maintain untouchable form at Rally Italia Sardegna

Posted: June 1, 2022 5:20 PM

Kalle Rovanperä hunts for a fourth consecutive victory at this weekend’s Rally Italia Sardegna (2 - 5 June) as his Toyota Gazoo Racing squad bids for back-to-back wins on the tough Mediterranean event.

Rovanperä arrives at the championship’s fifth round in fine form. He recorded victory on snow, asphalt and gravel at the three previous three rounds and carries a hefty 46-point advantage as the championship approaches its halfway point.

While the Finn doesn’t have great memories of the Italian island due to retirements in the previous two years, his team-mate Sébastien Ogier - who is absent this weekend - won last season’s edition.

He will have to open the road on Friday, ploughing a line through loose gravel which will become progressively cleaner and grippier with the passage of each car.

“Sardinia will be another tough rally,” acknowledged Rovanperä. “The stages there have been tricky for me in the past, but last year I had a better feeling even though we had some issues during the weekend.

“If the conditions are hot and dry like normal, I think it could be more difficult for us to fight for the win from first on the road than in Portugal, but the target will be the same: to do the best job we can.

“We go there knowing that we have a good base with the car on gravel and although we need to focus on making it even better, we are already in a good place,” he added.

One man who won’t be worrying about sweeping the road is Hyundai Motorsport’s Dani Sordo. The Spaniard is sharing the team’s third i20 N Rally1 car with Oliver Solberg this season, and starts eighth in the running order.

Sordo has made his name as a Sardinia master and claimed back-to-back victories across 2019 and 2020. He joins second-placed title contender Thierry Neuville as well as Ott Tänak in the Korean manufacturer’s line-up.

Rovanperä’s GR Yaris colleague Elfyn Evans needs a strong result to continue getting his season back on track. The Welshman is down in fifth after going off the road in Monte-Carlo and Sweden, although he recovered to take second at Vodafone Rally de Portugal last month.

Esapekka Lappi replaces Sébastien Ogier to drive Toyota’s third car, while Takamoto Katsuta will pilot a similar machine less than a fortnight after Sordo denied him a podium result in Portugal.

M-Sport Ford fields a four-strong hybrid-powered Puma Rally1 entry led by Craig Breen who sits sixth in the drivers' standings. Young chargers Gus Greensmith, Adrien Fourmaux and Pierre-Louis Loubet will each bid for their maiden WRC podiums.

The rally base has switched back across the island to the west coast town of Alghero after spending 2021 in Olbia, although the fast and narrow roads - many lined with trees and bushes - will be familiar.

After Thursday night’s start, competitors face 21 speed tests covering 307.91km.

PRIDE OF PUMAS PREPARED FOR ROUGH AND TOUGH SARDINIA

Posted: June 1, 2022 5:17 PM

Only one week since the tough conditions of Rally de Portugal, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team prepares to launch again on Rally d’Italia Sardinia. The Italian classic is a famously tough event, featuring tight and technical rough gravel roads blanketed with thick dust clouds and extreme temperatures.

M-Sport’s fleet of Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1s showed promising performance in Portugal, despite misfortune for some crews, the raw pace of the all-new car on gravel has highlighted the team’s potential. The team has won the event three times since its introduction to the world championship, with the most recent victory coming in 2017 when Ott Tanak claimed his maiden WRC victory, in M-Sport machinery.

The rally starts in Olbia on Thursday evening for an exciting Super Special Stage to bring the action in front of the Italy’s passionate fans before moving closer to its base in Alghero for the remainder of the rally. Saturday’s Monte Lerno stage brings some classic rally action with the iconic ‘Micky’s Jump’, while Sunday’s Sassari stage on the island’s west coast acts as the all-important final Power Stage.

Ambient air temperatures often exceed 30 degrees during Rally d’Italia which make for tough conditions for the crews. The challenge of Rally d’Italia is further compounded by a continually developing surface as the soft and sandy top surface covers a very hard and immovable bedrock. It results in an unstable surface that is ravaged by the powerful Rally1 cars digging up ruts and rocks – particularly on the second pass of each stage.

Crews are usually faced with two options for their rally strategy: an intense pace to stretch out a comfortable advantage which runs the risk of not finishing the rally or drive to the limits of the road and make up ground stage by stage. The winning strategy is usually a good balance between the two, by way of identifying the right areas to push and not push throughout the rally.

In the WRC2 category, Jari Huttunen returns to M-Sport in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 to continue his 2022 WRC2 campaign after an exceptional result on the rally last year which saw him claim a stunning fifth overall in Rally2 machinery.

Craig Breen, said:
“Really looking forward to Sardinia, it hasn’t been very long since the rally in Portugal but I’m happy with what we learned there, I think we’ve learned a lot during the weekend and it’s given us food for thought. I’m hoping that we can put that into practice already early on in Sardinia, we have a better road position starting on Friday, so let’s try to make the biggest advantage we can of that.

“It’s a rally I haven’t done for a few years, but the stages are a mix of old and new, but I like what I’ve seen from the onboards, and I think it’ll be a rally that’ll suit us. Let’s attack it as best we can, we obviously want to get ourselves back on track again and gain some good points, and start making some more inroads into our championship progress.”

Gus Greensmith, said:
“It’s a very quick turnaround between Portugal and Sardinia, so it’s a nice feeling to get back on the road and get out to Sardinia. It’s a very similar rally to Portugal, probably more on the rougher side, but we’re expecting temperatures to be very high.

“All should be good, the cars are set up very well I think, we’re not doing a test, but its not the most critical of the year. I’m really looking forward to it, hoping to make the most of a good weekend and get a good result.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet, said:
“I’m really happy to be going to Sardinia, its one of my favourite rallies and one of my favourite places and it’s very close to home. We hope to have the same pace we had in Portugal on the Friday, with a pace like this I think we can hope for a good result, and to continue to build the confidence for the rest of the season, and tackle it step-by-step.”

Adrien Fourmaux, said:
“I’m very happy to be back in Sardinia, it will be my fourth time doing the rally, but the first time competing in a top-level WRC car. So it’ll be quite a big challenge for me, but we’ve taken the experience from Portugal and the feeling with the car was good. We hope to get a better result and score some points on this rally, and of course enjoy our time on such a beautiful island.”

Jari Huttunen, WRC2, said:
“I’m looking forward to getting out on the roads in Sardinia, I enjoy gravel events and we had a good result on the event last year, so hoping to do the same again. It is a challenging event, and my first gravel event this season with M-Sport, but I am happy to be back and hope we can score some good points for the championship.”

Rich Millener, Team Principal, said:
“It has been an incredibly tight turnaround to get the cars ready for Sardinia, and the team has done an exceptional job. Portugal was a very tough event, and Sardinia is often even tougher, but we have seen some strong pace from this car and our crews over the past events and there is no reason we can’t be competitive this week.

“All our drivers are growing in confidence, and all of them have proven their comfort in the Puma. The temperatures this week will be high, and it’ll be a real challenge, but we will give it everything we’ve got, and I’m looking forward to getting out there and putting some pressure on the other teams.”

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing targets gravel double in Sardinia

Posted: June 1, 2022 5:14 PM

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team aims to continue the winning run of the GR YARIS Rally1 at Rally Italia Sardegna on June 2-5: The second part of a double-header on rough and rocky gravel roads in southern Europe.

The trip to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia comes hot on the heels of last week’s Rally de Portugal, where the team claimed a one-two finish in the first gravel event of the hybrid Rally1 era. After three consecutive wins on three different surfaces, Kalle Rovanperä leads the championship by 46 points, with Elfyn Evans up to fifth in the standings after taking second place in Portugal. Esapekka Lappi returns to action in Sardinia where he finished on the podium with the team in 2018. Takamoto Katsuta will once more line up for TGR WRT Next Generation, having climbed to third in the points when he narrowly missed out on a podium in Portugal.

Sardinia’s stages are characterised by fast but narrow tracks which are lined with bushes, trees and rocks, leaving little margin for error. The sandy surface gets swept away by each passing car to expose a rocky and abrasive base, which can combine with some of the highest temperatures of the season to provide a tough test for cars and tyres.

The service park returns to the seafront in Alghero on the island’s northwest after one year in Olbia in the east, which will still hold the start of the rally on Thursday evening complete with a new mixed-surface super special stage. Friday and Saturday are made up of familiar roads from recent years, with one pair of stages run to be run twice in the morning before another two tests are repeated in the afternoon. Saturday’s leg will be tackled without a midday service, which has been replaced by a tyre fitting zone. For Sunday’s conclusion there’s a comeback after a year’s absence for the Cala Flumini and Sassari – Argentiera stages on the coast north of Alghero, with the latter once again hosting the rally-ending Power Stage.

Quotes:

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“Portugal was a fantastic first event on gravel for the GR YARIS Rally1 and the team can go to Sardinia knowing it has built a fast and reliable car. But we know it won’t be easy to achieve a similar result. In Sardinia we can expect higher temperatures and the road surface is harder with lots of loose rocks. The road-sweeping effect is usually greater and will probably penalise us more than it did in Portugal. But Kalle is obviously in incredible form at the moment and I’m sure that Elfyn will also feel a boost to his confidence after his drive last weekend. Finally, Esapekka returns to our line-up and has gone well in Sardinia in the past, so with a good road position I’m sure he will be fast too.”

Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It was good to get a strong result on the board in Portugal and although I wasn’t fully satisfied with the weekend, it gives us something to build on in Sardinia. As a team we showed that we have a great starting point with the car on gravel and I think we can still improve some things for the next event. It helps to have two rallies in succession that are relatively similar in character, although the roads in Sardinia tend to have a harder base than the typical stages in Portugal. The weather is likely to be even hotter, so it is going to be a challenging weekend for the cars and the drivers.”

Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“Sardinia will be another tough rally. The stages there have been tricky for me in the past but last year I had a better feeling even though we had some issues during the weekend. Hopefully this year we can enjoy the stages and be fast. If the conditions are hot and dry like normal, I think it could be more difficult for us to fight for the win from first on the road than in Portugal, but the target will be the same: to do the best job we can. We go there knowing that we have a good base with the car on gravel and although we need to focus on making it even better, we are already in a good place.”

Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm
Esapekka Lappi (Driver car 4)
“It was great to see the performance of the GR YARIS Rally1 on gravel in Portugal and this has certainly made me more excited for next week. Of course I’ve not had as much time in the car on gravel as the others but the feeling has been good so far and it looks like the team has done a really good job. I’ve always liked going to Sardinia; the location and the weather is really nice and I had some good rallies there when I was last with the team. So I’m really looking forward to it. Our starting position will be good for the Friday and I hope we can fight for the top four or even a podium.”

Hyundai Motorsport Preview: Round 5 – Rally Italia Sardegna

Posted: June 1, 2022 5:11 PM

Hyundai Motorsport heads to Rally Italia Sardegna, the fifth round of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), with its sights set on turning the team’s promising pace into a strong result.

As the second consecutive gravel rally on the calendar, the Italian event presents another gruelling test for the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 and its experienced collection of crews. To achieve a strong result on the challenging terrain, both speed and consistency will be key.

Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe, Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja and Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera will take on the gravel at Rally Italia Sardegna in Hyundai’s hybrid-powered challenger. All three crews showed the potential of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 to compete at the front of the field during the previous round, Rally de Portugal, with the Spanish crew finishing on the podium in their first event of the season.

Hyundai Motorsport boasts a roster of success at Rally Italia Sardegna, having won four of the last six outings. Sordo and Neuville have claimed two victories apiece, while the team has celebrated ten podium finishes at the event. Tänak has also stood on the top step in Sardinia in 2017. This experience, combined with the performance demonstrated at Rally de Portugal, puts the team in a confident position as it travels to the Italian island.

The seaside rally returns to Alghero for 2022 and begins on Thursday with Shakedown, followed by a brand-new single super special stage in the evening. Friday will see crews tackle two passes of four stages, including the rally’s longest, totalling 133.56km in distance. Saturday’s itinerary is similar in length, covering a distance of 131.82km across eight stages. The event will wrap up on Sunday with four final stages, including the Power Stage, which offers additional points to those who finish in the top five.

Deputy Team Principal Julien Moncet said:
“In Portugal all three of our crews showed that our Hyundai i20 N Rally1 is competitive on gravel and our third place with Dani proved that. Now our goal for Rally Italia Sardegna is to increase our performance and get on the top step of the podium. The entire team is working tirelessly to further improve the car in terms of speed and consistency. We know that we are close to where we want to be, we just have to put everything together over a weekend to achieve the results we deserve. Hopefully this will happen in Sardinia and we can be fighting for the win until the very end.”

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Crew aiming to bounce back after challenging weekend in Portugal
Neuville targeting third victory in Sardinia

Neuville said: “Having claimed a couple of wins in Sardinia, it is always an event I enjoy. The Hyundai cars have been strong there in the past and hopefully this year we can repeat this form. You must expect anything and everything from this rally; it’s quite tough on the cars when it is hot, and there could be some rain occasionally, which might help us. It is a very demanding event with long days, where we will be waking up very early and finishing late, so it will be challenging. It is one of the most technical gravel rallies in the calendar: the roads are quite narrow and twisty. There is no room for mistakes, so you have to be really on it and keep the car on the clean line. The grip can be quite high, especially on the second pass, but also the road conditions can be rough.”

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Estonians on a mission for podium finish
Duo won two stages on gravel at previous event

Tänak said: “Sardinia is another tough gravel event, but one I am looking forward to taking on. Overall, it is quite demanding, with high temperatures and rough roads. The heat also makes it very hot in the car, so this is something we need to get used to as well. We have shown that we can compete for the podium if we can avoid issues and have a clean rally, so we are targeting a smooth weekend fighting at the front. Last year at Rally Italia Sardegna, we were battling for the win for most of the event, and we would very much like to be doing the same this time. We hope to use our learnings from Rally de Portugal to help us improve and get a strong result.”

Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Sordo has two previous victories at Rally Italia Sardegna
Crew looking for second consecutive podium after success in Portugal

Sordo said: “Rally Italia Sardegna is always a really nice event for me. I feel comfortable there; I like both the roads and the location. Last year we didn’t have a lot of luck, as I made a small mistake and we went off, but the previous year was strong and I hope this year will be the same. The rally has very narrow roads, and the outer line can also be slippery, so you have to be clever and careful to stay in the lines; if you go wide, you can hit some large stones. It’s also normal to adjust the set-up of the car between the first and second pass here because of the difference in grip – in the first it is low, in the second quite high. Having two rallies in quick succession is very demanding after my break in competition, but I am really motivated.”

WRC2 Overview
Following a disappointing end to a promising Rally de Portugal, Hyundai Motorsport N heads to Sardinia looking to capitalise on its performance with its Hyundai i20 N Rally2 crews in the FIA World Rally Championship 2 (WRC2).

Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula had claimed an impressive 12 stage wins to lead the WRC2 standings heading into the final stage, before a mistake on the wet gravel roads forced their retirement from the rally. The Finn has displayed strong form on the Sardinian roads in previous years: he secured victories in WRC3 in 2015 and WRC2 in 2016, and visited the podium in WRC in 2019.

Rally de Portugal was a character-building weekend for Fabrizio Zaldivar, who was forced to retire from Saturday’s running. He and his co-driver Carlos del Barrio returned on Sunday to salvage 14th in WRC2. Looking ahead to Rally Italia Sardegna, the Paraguayan finished second in the Junior WRC in Rally Italia Sardegna in 2020, while del Barrio is a two-time winner of the event with Sordo.

Suninen said: “Rally Italia Sardinia is one of the hardest gravel rallies on calendar. I would describe its nature as mid speed; the rhythm changes quite a lot as a result of a lot of junctions and we have to adapt to the different type of roads very quickly. Normally they are quite narrow and there is no room for any errors, as there is a lot of stones and trees just next to road. The gravel is quite abrasive and we have to manage tyre wear very well. The weather doesn’t make the challenge any easier – it can be really warm, sometimes above 35°C, which puts more stress on the car and the crews too.”

Zaldivar said: “Having now completed my first WRC2 event, the goal for Sardinia is definitely to continue to improve. I learned a lot in Portugal with the Hyundai i20 N Rally2; the car can be very competitive and reliable, which will be decisive in Sardinia. This weekend we will have our pre-event test in Italy. I think the kilometres we have done, many of which were in extreme conditions, gave us good information. Sardinia can be incredibly tough at times, with a mix of challenging stages, high temperatures and long road sections. Our category is incredibly competitive, but our objective is always the same: to improve our performance and scoring a lot of points for the team.”

Deputy Team Principal Julien Moncet said: “We saw the potential of the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 on the stages in Portugal, although it wasn’t reflected in the final results. Teemu and Mikko were immediately on the pace from the start, and Fabrizio and Carlos were gaining confidence in the car with every stage. We’re confident our WRC2 crews can demonstrate an improved performance at Rally Italia. The team learned a great deal in its first outing of the season, and we believe the crews will be able to fight for the top positions in this competitive category this weekend. There’s still everything to play for in the championship.”

Weekend at a Glance
Rally Italia Sardegna kicks off on Thursday with an evening super special stage: Olbia-Cabu Abbas (3.23km)
The Friday itinerary consists of two passes each of Terranova (14.19km), Monti di Alà e Buddosò (24.70km), Osilo – Tergu (14.63km) and Sedini – Castelsardo (13.26km)
Saturday’s running follows a similar structure, with the crews twice tackling Tempio Pausania (12.03km), Erula - Tula (15.27km), Coiluna – Loelle (21.60km) and Monte Lerno di Pattada (17.01km)
The event concludes on Sunday with two loops of Cala Flumini (12.55km) and Sassari – Argentiera (7.10km), with the second pass of the latter acting as the rally’s Power Stage.

Entry List

Posted: May 25, 2022 4:25 PM

Italy (WRC) - 2-5 Jun 22 - ENTRY LIST

Rally Guide / Details / Event Website

Posted: March 7, 2022 2:36 AM

Rally Italia