Oliver Solberg was the quickest among the title contenders in the shakedown for Rally Italy Sardinia on Friday (4/10). Meanwhile, Thierry Neuville set the overall fastest time in the final shakedown of the Rally1 era.
The World Rally Championship title will be decided in Sardinia, now the season finale after Saudi Arabia was cancelled. Three drivers remain in contention: Elfyn Evans, Sami Pajari, and Solberg. Evans leads the standings by 17 points over Pajari and 21 over Solberg. However, Evans will face the worst road conditions on Friday if the weather stays dry as expected.
On the first pass of shakedown—considered the most representative—Evans was only seventh quickest. Pajari was even slower as he had to stop due to obscured vision caused by Evans' dust. “There was a lot of dust and I hope it won’t be this bad in the rally otherwise I will have no chance,” Pajari lamented. “It is going to be a very exciting rally. We will do the best we can. We still have some chances [in the title race]. We are looking forward.”
Pajari eventually set the sixth fastest time, 2.2 seconds behind Evans who was fourth. Meanwhile, Solberg showed promising pace. He was fourth fastest on the first pass, then second overall, just one tenth shy of Neuville. “It is going to be very exciting,” said Solberg. “The championship will be a long shot that is for sure but everything is possible. I took 20 points on Elfyn last rally and I’m only 21 points behind. There will be a lot of cleaning here I think. We will see.”
Another story came from Dani Sordo, returning for his first WRC start since June's Acropolis Rally Greece. The Spaniard carried too much speed into a tight right-hander, ran off the road, and hit a tree with the rear-left of his Hyundai. He completed the first pass but, with his rear suspension significantly damaged, was unable to return to the warm-up stage.
Hyundai teammate Neuville set the pace on both his and the team’s most successful WRC event. The other i20 driven by Adrien Fourmaux slotted into fifth, behind third-placed Takamoto Katsuta and reigning champion Sebastien Ogier. Evans was sixth, 2.2 seconds off the pace but just 0.3 seconds down on teammate Ogier. Martins Sesks’ M-Sport Ford split him and Pajari.
Sesks felt “rusty” on the first pass having not driven in any rally for two months, but eventually was the fastest Puma by 2.4 seconds over Josh McErlean. However, McErlean was second quickest overall after the first pass. Jon Armstrong propped up the top 10, half a second behind McErlean.
With a tight shakedown, Rally Italy Sardinia promises a fierce battle to the final corner. Differences in strategy and adaptability to road conditions will be key, especially for Evans who must sweep the road of gravel and dust.
Baca Juga
Sami Pajari siap habis-habisan di final WRC melawan Elfyn Evans. Tertinggal 17 poin, pembalap Toyota itu tak ingin menyesal karena tidak mencoba.
Oliver Solberg tercepat di shakedown Rally Sardinia, ungguli penantang gelar lainnya. Neuville tercepat keseluruhan, Evans tertinggal karena kondisi jalan.
Shakedown Rally Sardinia dihentikan sementara akibat debu tebal dan penonton di area berbahaya. Sami Pajari tertinggal 7,2 detik dari Elfyn Evans.
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