by winning one of the toughest rounds so far this year, Rally Italia Sardegna
The Volkswagen Motorsport crew of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claimed their fourth FIA World Rally Championship victory of the season yesterday by winning one of the toughest rounds so far this year, Rally Italia Sardegna. Hayden Paddon and John Kennard, piloting the Hyundai i20 WRC, have however been the revelation of the event and New Zealander Paddon claimed his first-ever WRC podium, while fellow countryman Kennard celebrated his second when they took the runner-up slot. Amid more drama during the final day, Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul climbed the leaderboard to third, giving Hyundai a double podium celebration.
In the FIA World Rally Championship, misfortune for many of Ogier’s closest rivals has handed the Frenchman a 66 point advantage over second-placed Mads Østberg. Andreas Mikkelsen slips to third, but just another three points adrift. In the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Volkswagen Motorsport has a 64 point lead over the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.
Suday’s final day of competition was the shortest by far, with just four stages and 45.80 competitive kilometres. Such was Ogier’s overnight advantage, the Frenchman was able to control the pace and save his tyres for the all-important Power Stage, which he again won. Victory represents his third consecutive win on the island. Paddon had no intention of risking his second position, but nevertheless was fastest on the opening stage to finish just over three minutes adrift of Ogier, following his problems late yesterday. Mads Østberg looked secure in third but the Norwegian had an intercom problem in the first stage and as a consequence ran wide in a corner and went off the road. He lost the brakes and progressively slipped further down the field, ultimately finishing fifth. Thierry Neuville therefore climbed from fourth to an unexpected third to take his second podium of the season. Eflyn Evans also benefitted from Østberg’s problem and bounced back to finish fourth while Jari-Matti Latvala rounded off the top six.
Such was the rate of attrition, the remaining positions at the top of the leaderboard were claimed by FIA WRC 2 Championship contenders with Yurii Protasov seventh and winner of the category. Italian Rally Champion Paolo Andreucci finished eighth ahead of Jan Kopecky. Khalid Al Qassimi in a DS3 WRC rounded off the top 10. The FIA WRC 3 Championship for two-wheel drive cars was won by Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula in a DS3 R3T.
The seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship takes the crews to Mikołajki for Lotos Rally Poland (2-5 July).
Rally Italia Sardegna – Final Unofficial Results (subject to scrutineering)
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC 4hr 25min 54.3sec2. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard Hyundai i20 WRC 4hr 28min 59.7sec3. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 WRC 4hr 30min 16.8sec4. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta RS WRC 4hr 31min 29.1sec5. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson DS 3 WRC 4hr 33min 44.4sec6. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC 4hr 34min 01.0sec7. Yurii Protasov/Pavlo Cherepin Ford Fiesta RRC 4hr 40min 52.0sec8. Paolo Andreucci/Anna Andreussi Peugeot 208 T16 4hr 40min 57.6sec9. Jan Kopecky/Pavel Dresler Skoda Fabia R5 4hr 43min 36.0sec10. Khalid Al Qassimi/Chris Patterson DS 3 WRC 4hr 45min 06.3sec
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 6 of 13 rounds)Sébastien Ogier (FRA)133 pointsMads Østberg (NOR)67 pointsAndreas Mikkelsen (NOR)64 pointsJari-Matti Latvala (FIN)56 pointsElfyn Evans (GBR)53 pointsThierry Neuville (BEL)50 pointsKris Meeke (GBR)47 pointsDani Sordo (ESP)38 pointsHayden Paddon (NZL)32 pointsMartin Prokop (CZE)27 pointsOtt Tanak (EST)23 pointsKhalid Al Qassimi (ARE)9 pointsYurii Protasov (UKR)8 pointsAbdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)6 pointsNasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)6 pointsSébastien Loeb (FRA)6 pointsDiego Dominguez (PRY)4 pointsPaolo Andreucci (ITA)4 pointsNicolas Fuchs (PER)2 pointsRobert Kubica (POL)2 pointsGustavo Saba (PRY)2 pointsJan Kopecky (CZE)2 pointsJari Ketomaa (FIN)1 pointFIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 6 of 13 rounds)Volkswagen Motorsport 179 pointsCitroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 115 pointsHyundai Motorsport 113 pointsM-Sport World Rally Team 99 pointsJipocar Czech National Team 34 pointsHyundai Motorsport N 31 pointsVolkswagen Motorsport II 31 pointsFWRT srl 3 points
