A dramatic penultimate day in Rally Italia Sardegna saw Hyundai Motorsport’s crews all run into trouble as they jostled for position at the front of the field. From chasing potential victory with two crews at the start of the day, it was all change by the end of Saturday’s 143.16km of special stages.
Beginning Saturday’s morning loop as rally leaders, Hayden Paddon and Seb Marshall scored their first stage win of the weekend in SS10 (Coiluna-Loelle) as they set about extending their advantage. With a 9.4-second gap to second place by lunchtime service, things were looking good as they began the afternoon loop. However, they clipped a bank before the first split in SS13 (Coiluna-Loelle 2), which caused damage to the #4 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. Despite completing the stage with a time loss of 1m20, Paddon was unable to continue.
“I am devastated,” commented PAddon. “It was such a schoolboy error, which caused us to break the rear wheel. I turned in too early and clipped a bank. That was that. There is no one to blame but myself, and I am hugely sorry for the team and all of our supporters. It’s important that I learn from this and do all I can to put things right at the next event. Things were going so well and we were maintaining our lead, which makes it even more frustrating.”
There was also drama for Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul as they looked to consolidate a podium place in the morning. Taking a stage win in SS11 (Monti di Alá), their second of the weekend, the Belgians then ran into difficulties on the first run through Monte Lerno (SS12) and the famous Micky’s Jump. Suffering from brake problems, they nursed their #5 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC through with a 1m10 time deficit, dropping to fourth overall. With Paddon’s retirement, they were promoted back into a podium position during the afternoon.
After their turbo dramas on Friday, Dani Sordo and Marc Martí were hoping to push on Saturday’s six stages. As first on the road, they were tasked with sweeping the dusty stages. Paddleshift issues in SS11 and a puncture in SS13 hampered their progress but they will be hoping to salvage some points from a tough weekend, as they begin Sunday in 14th place overall.
The final day of Rally Italia Sardegna takes in four stages – a repeat loop of the 14.06km Cala Flumini stage and the 6.96km Sassari-Argentieri test.
Just 42.04km of stages will be contested, offering all crews a final opportunity to shine under the Sardinian sun.
Overall Classification after Day Two
1 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja Ford Fiesta WRC 2:56:37.3
2 J.M Latvala M. Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC +24.3
3 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1:02.2
4 E. Lappi J. Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC +2:10.8
5 J. Hänninen K. Lindstrom Toyota Yaris WRC +2:42.1
6 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC +3:26.1
7 M. Østberg O. Floene Ford Fiesta WRC +3:56.0
8 A. Mikkelsen A. Jaeger Citroën C3 WRC +7:47.6
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