Adrien Fourmaux has moved into the lead of Rally Italy Sardinia to head a Hyundai 1-2 after a punishing opening loop that featured several punctures for World Rally Championship Rally1 crews.
Fourmaux was among those who managed to avoid tyre dramas and reached Friday’s midday service with a 4.6s advantage over team-mate Thierry Neuville.
Fourmaux claimed the opening stage of the day which moved the Frenchman from seventh to second, just 0.7s behind Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier. Pockets of hanging dust affected Fourmaux and the later runners on the stage, but a decision from the rally organisers to implement four-minute time gaps reduced the effect of the dust. Second quickly turned into the lead when Ogier picked up a front-right puncture in the following stage.
“It was a good morning, quite positive. No moment. Nothing. I'm avoiding the rocks. I'm very careful on my braking. I could brake later, I could brake harder, but I'm always trying to avoid punctures. I'm trying to be very smooth,” said Fourmaux.
Overnight leader Oliver Solberg emerged as the fastest of the three WRC title contenders and sat in third place despite suffering a puncture in the opening test of the morning. A sublime run through Monti di Ala' - Sa Conchedda - Lerno, the final test of the loop, helped Solberg climb back up to third, 8.1s from the lead. More importantly for his title hopes, the Swede ended the loop 2.6s ahead of fellow championship challenger Sami Pajari and 16.8s clear of championship leader Evans.
“Somehow we won the last stage. I don't know how because it was a lot of cleaning. But there was a good feeling in the car and not trying to take too much risk. And I think this afternoon will be even tougher. So just need to try to stay clean somehow and importantly be in a good position for the road tomorrow,” said Solberg.
Neuville moved into second place with a stage win on Su Filigosu – Lerno and remains firmly in contention, while Pajari sits fourth, 10.7s from the lead. The Finn was quicker than Evans on all three morning stages and admitted he was focused on maximising the opportunity presented by his later road position.
“At least we are faster than Elfyn but I’m worried it’s not enough. We knew this Friday morning will be really important so we will try to do all we can," said Pajari.
Running first on the road, Evans faced the worst of the loose gravel and reached midday sixth overall, 24.9s behind Fourmaux, but, as it stands, Evans remains on course to secure maiden world title.
“We didn't really have a clear plan, but only to drive as well as we could. I think on the whole, it's not been feeling too bad in the car. Some stages were worse than others in terms of cleaning effect,” said Evans.
“The last one especially was quite bad, it felt narrow, where you can't make use of the road and what have you. On the whole, it's fine.
“It’s [the punctures for others] not a surprise. But unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do about it. Of course, you can manage where you put your wheels, but half the time you don't know when these little surprises are coming.”
Ogier had briefly taken the rally lead after stage two before his puncture on the following test cost him more than 25s. He recovered with second-fastest time on stage four and held fifth overall, 23.0s from the front.
Punctures became a recurring theme as the morning progressed. Takamoto Katsuta, Jon Armstrong and Martins Sesks all stopped to change wheels on stage four, while Hyundai’s Dani Sordo had already lost around four minutes changing a damaged tyre on stage three.
Josh McErlean emerged seventh overall after a consistent morning, while Teemu Suninen led the WRC2 runners in eighth.
Crews will repeat the trio of stages this afternoon.
