Oliver Solberg suffered a major setback on SS2 of Rally Sardinia, Friday (7/6). The Swedish driver suffered a puncture towards the end of the 18.77-kilometre Tula stage, losing 11.2 seconds to Sami Pajari, who set the early pace among the Toyota drivers.
Solberg, who was fastest on Thursday's opening stage, started the morning loop with two spare tyres. That decision initially seemed wise, but luck was not on his side. "I lost a lot of time, but there was so much dust. My driving was really poor. I did not see where I got the puncture, but I certainly felt it," Solberg said.
Pajari, second in the WRC standings, initially set the fastest time on SS2, beating his team-mate by 2.7 seconds. "It was OK. It was really slippery, and a couple of times I had to slow down a lot because the visibility was very poor. On the other hand, I hope it does not improve for those behind because we have to clean the road," the Finn commented.
However, Pajari's hopes were dashed when two drivers behind him, Sebastien Ogier and Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux, beat his time. Fourmaux, chasing his first Rally1 victory, was 1.5 seconds faster than Ogier. The two Frenchmen now occupy first and second overall, with Ogier leading by 0.7 seconds.
"The main objective is to enjoy the driving and push hard – we will see where that takes us. It is not easy; the grip conditions are challenging, and the dust does not give you confidence," Fourmaux said. "In some places you have to brake because of the lack of visibility. But I am happy. You do not need to win every stage to win the rally, but you do have to win some of them," he added with a smile.
Meanwhile, WRC leader Elfyn Evans struggled with his road-sweeping role. Evans, carrying only one spare tyre, had a tough time and had to settle for fourth overall, 3.8 seconds behind Ogier. "Quite challenging. Extremely slippery, with rough sections and big jumps. I took it a little cautiously, but it still felt quite hard on the car," Evans said.
The top five in the standings are completed by Hyundai's Thierry Neuville in fifth, 4.1 seconds adrift, followed by Takamoto Katsuta in sixth, 10 seconds back. Solberg had to settle for seventh, with Martins Sesks, Josh McErlean, and Dani Sordo rounding out the top ten.
Five more stages will be contested at Rally Sardinia on Friday, and the rally concludes on Sunday. The competition at the top is intensifying, and with challenging road conditions, any mistake could be costly. Fans can look forward to more thrilling action as drivers push to the limit in the remaining stages.
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