The heat of Italian gravel reached boiling point as Oliver Solberg unleashed a blistering pace to claim the fastest time on SS9 at Rally Sardinia 2026. This stellar charge successfully slashed his deficit down to a mere 3.3 seconds behind Hyundai rally leader Thierry Neuville.
Despite topping the time sheets in the morning stage, Solberg remained surprisingly self-critical about his cockpit execution. He openly admitted that his run felt far from perfect and insisted that he is fully capable of extracting even better performance as Saturday's demanding itinerary rolls on.
Meanwhile, Neuville confessed to battling significant visibility and traction issues as the gravel surface grew increasingly sandy and slippery. The experienced Belgian underlined the absolute necessity of maintaining a smart, composed approach rather than taking reckless risks while leading the pack.
The strategic chess match extends further down the order with Toyota veteran Sebastien Ogier holding firm in third position, roughly half a minute adrift of the lead battle. Behind them, Adrien Fourmaux and Sami Pajari continue their relentless push to salvage valuable championship points.
Title hopeful Elfyn Evans finds himself fighting to climb higher from sixth place as the gravel marathon approaches its critical phases. Four more demanding stages await the crews on Saturday before Sunday's final showdown crowns the ultimate victor.
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Drama SS8 Rally Sardinia warnai awal hari Sabtu saat Adrien Fourmaux alami kebocoran ban, membuka jalan bagi Thierry Neuville memimpin klasemen.
Elfyn Evans akui Oliver Solberg sebagai ancaman terbesar dalam perebutan gelar juara reli dunia WRC setelah pertarungan ketat di hari pembukaan.
Jari-Matti Latvala beri lampu hijau kepada Sami Pajari untuk menyerang di Rally Sardinia. Simak strategi Toyota dan peluang Pajari di sisa lomba.
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