The fourth special of the Sardinia rally, 50 kilometers long and feared by all the drivers, was favorable to Sébastien Ogier, who took a good lead over his rivals.
It is very rare for the World Rally Championship to offer 50 kilometer specials, but this is indeed the case this weekend on the side of Sardinia. The drivers will cover the special between Monte Lerno and Sa Conchadda twice on Friday, and the first passage allowed Sébastien Ogier, the eight-time world champion present at half-time this season in the WRC, to widen the gap.
Winner of SS2 at the start of the day, which allowed him to take the lead in the general classification, before leaving it to Esapekka Lappi at the end of SS3, the French driver put the points back on the i’s by winning hands down this very long special. Ogier won 12″7 ahead of Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans, and 16″7 ahead of Lappi and his Hyundai.
« I like long challenges, I’ve already said that. It’s always a chance to make a difference – but I didn’t think it would be so important! It was not easy, it was super tricky in this last section, ”rejoiced the Gapençais, who now has a 16″3 lead over Lappi and 22 seconds ahead of another Frenchman, Pierre-Louis. Loubet (even if his engine once again stopped when he passed through a puddle), in the general classification.
Sordo, Katsuta and Rovanperä en difficultye
This 50 kilometer special, on the other hand, did not please Dani Sordo, victim of an accident and who lost more than three minutes, but managed to reach the finish, and Takamoto Katsuta, the winner of the SS3, which finished nearly 30 seconds after hitting a rock. In general, the drivers having fitted two hard tires (Lappi, Sordo, Loubet, Tänak who “feels like driving a tow truck”, Neuville, etc.) complained during this morning. Forced to open the road as leader of the world championship, Kalle Rovanperä also struggled (he even came across a cow on his way during SS4!) and found himself eighth overall., 50 seconds behind Sébastien Ogier. Three specials will be on the afternoon programme, including the second passage between Monte Lerno and Sa Conchadda.
Kalle Rovanperä avoiding a herd of cows that were in the stage 😅#WRCnaSportTV #WRC #RallyItaliaSardegna pic.twitter.com/gS1e0jAyec
— Let’s Talk about FUm 🏁🎙🔊 (@VamosFalardeFum) June 2, 2023
RALLY – WRC / SARDINIA
Ranking after 4 specials (out of 19) – Friday June 2, 2023
1- Sébastien Ogier – Vincent Landais (FRA / Toyota) in 46’54″4
2- Esapekka Lappi – Janne Ferm (FIN/Hyundai) à 16″3
3- Pierre Louis Loubet – Nicolas Gilsoul (FROM-BEL/Ford M-Sport) at 22″
4- Elfyn Evans – Scott Martin (GBR/Toyota) à 25″9
5- Takamoto Katsuta – Aaron Johnston (JAP-IRL/Toyoya) at 30′′1
…
Stage winners
Lapland : 1 (ES1)
Ogier : 2 (ES2 and ES4)
Cover : 1 (ES3)
