Afrigather Sardinia is famend for producing tough gravel levels however a revised route for this weekend’s Twentieth-anniversary occasion is ready to ship maybe the hardest circumstances of the season.
4-time Sardinia winner Sebastien Ogier, returning to the championship this weekend after sitting out Portugal, is anticipating a gruelling rally after likening the levels to these seen in Kenya, which has earned a fame as one of many hardest occasions in world motorsport.
“I assumed Safari Rally Kenya was in three weeks’ time however we’ve got a style of it already as a result of some sections are very tough,” Ogier informed Motorsport.com.
“Actually some sections do really feel like Kenya, there are many stones and principally there are some sections which can be tougher than numerous sections we undergo in Kenya.”
The tough levels would require loads of deal with automotive administration to succeed in the end based on reigning world champion and Ogier’s Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera.
“Among the new components they’ve used to attach the levels just like the lengthy one and the brand new stage on Friday morning are actually tough now, so I can not think about what will probably be like on the second move. It is going to be robust to maintain the automotive and the tyres in a single piece,” Rovanpera informed Motorsport.com.
“We might be managing the automotive on some components.”
Toyota struggled for outright tempo on tough gravel rallies final yr and significantly in Sardinia, with Rovanpera’s fifth being its greatest end result on the occasion 12 months in the past.
Elfyn Evans is nonetheless assured the Japanese marque has made enhancements to the GR Yaris that may convey the staff nearer to the pack this yr, however the Welshman is cautious that merely ending the occasion is a end result.
“I do not assume the automotive is a matter now to illustrate I feel the efficiency has been proved to be there in most of some of these rallies extra lately,” stated Evans.
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Workforce Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Picture by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport
“However in fact the occasion is a large problem I feel it’s most likely the roughest or harder Sardinia that we’ve got seen in fairly a number of years by way of a few of the roughness in locations
“It is a fairly excessive rally so ending is one thing right here and with a skinny area like we’ve got, there may be all the time respectable factors if we are able to get to the top.”
Friday’s schedule is tipped to be significantly gruelling, opening with the brand new Tantariles check, which is adopted by an prolonged 49.9km move by Monte Lerno.
Along with the tough roads, crews are anticipated to face changeable climate which can add to the problem.
When requested concerning the challenges of the Monte Lerno check, Evans added: “It’s a good distance and I actually assume you have to have an excellent rhythm. In case you have an issue there then undoubtedly the weekend is over. It’ll be a problem.
“I feel we’ve got been fortunate with the climate as a result of this time final yr we have been all panicking about cockpit temperatures and now we’ve got a 50-kilometre stage. Fortunately it isn’t so scorching.”
Rally Sardinia begins with an excellent particular stage in host metropolis Olbia this night. Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi topped the instances in at the moment’s shakedown with a 0.6s margin over team-mate Thierry Neuville, with Ogier third quickest forward of M-Sport’s Pierre-Louis Loubet.
