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The Star
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Rallying-Ogier, Tanak take Sardinia battle of champions into final day
(Reuters) - Sebastien Ogier will be determined to avoid more Rally Italy heartache when he and Ott Tanak, who seized victory by a whisker last year, again duel in Sunday's final stages in Sardinia. Toyota's eight-times world champion ended Saturday's penultimate leg 11.1 seconds clear of his Hyundai rival with four stages and a total of 77.7km remaining before the finish of the Olbia-based event. Last year the Frenchman had a 17.1-second lead at the same point but ended up losing by 0.2 seconds to the Estonian 2019 champion after a puncture in the final stage -- the joint closest finish in world rally championship history. Ogier started Saturday with a 2.1-second lead over Adrien Fourmaux but the Hyundai driver rolled out on the day's fifth of six stages over rocky and dusty roads in the north of the Mediterranean island. "It's been a long day," said Ogier, who won three of the stages. "The afternoon was rough. But I'm happy so far. Good race management." Toyota's double world champion Kalle Rovanpera moved up to third but 55.5 seconds off the lead, with championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans fourth and Sami Pajari fifth -- four Toyotas in the top five. Hyundai's world champion Thierry Neuville retired on Friday after hitting an earth bank and was 26th overall after returning on Saturday. Evans led Rovanpera by 30 points going into the season's sixth round, with Ogier third and Tanak fourth. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond)
Straits Times
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Rallying-Ogier, Tanak take Sardinia battle of champions into final day
FILE PHOTO: Rallying - World Rally Championship - Safari Rally Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya - June 23, 2022 - French Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Benjamin Veillas in action during side-by-side super special racing stage at Kasarani. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi/File photo Sebastien Ogier will be determined to avoid more Rally Italy heartache when he and Ott Tanak, who seized victory by a whisker last year, again duel in Sunday's final stages in Sardinia. Toyota's eight-times world champion ended Saturday's penultimate leg 11.1 seconds clear of his Hyundai rival with four stages and a total of 77.7km remaining before the finish of the Olbia-based event. Last year the Frenchman had a 17.1-second lead at the same point but ended up losing by 0.2 seconds to the Estonian 2019 champion after a puncture in the final stage -- the joint closest finish in world rally championship history. Ogier started Saturday with a 2.1-second lead over Adrien Fourmaux but the Hyundai driver rolled out on the day's fifth of six stages over rocky and dusty roads in the north of the Mediterranean island. "It's been a long day," said Ogier, who won three of the stages. "The afternoon was rough. But I'm happy so far. Good race management." Toyota's double world champion Kalle Rovanpera moved up to third but 55.5 seconds off the lead, with championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans fourth and Sami Pajari fifth -- four Toyotas in the top five. Hyundai's world champion Thierry Neuville retired on Friday after hitting an earth bank and was 26th overall after returning on Saturday. Evans led Rovanpera by 30 points going into the season's sixth round, with Ogier third and Tanak fourth. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Rallying-Ogier leads after tough first day in Sardinia
Toyota's Sebastien Ogier led Rally Italy in Sardinia on Friday after surging from third to first on the final stage of the first full day of action after rivals hit trouble. Hyundai's reigning world champion Thierry Neuville retired on stage five after taking the lead on the fourth stage of the Olbia-based rally in northern Sardinia and then hitting an earth bank. Adrien Fourmaux was in second place, 2.1 seconds behind eight-times world champion Ogier, with Hyundai teammate Ott Tanak third on the gravel tracks. Last year's winner Tanak completed the leg with a damaged shock absorber and 5.2 seconds behind Fourmaux. Toyota's double world champion Kalle Rovanpera was down in fifth place with championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans sixth after being the first driver to set out and effectively sweeping the road. "It's been a good day, for sure," commented Ogier. "I've done everything I could today, so I'm happy with that." M-Sport Ford's Martins Sesks rolled out while teammates Josh McErlean and Gregoire Munster retired with suspension damage in the morning action on the same new Telti-Calangianus-Berchidda stage that caught out Neuville later. M-Sport expected at least two of the three to resume on Saturday. "That stage where all the drama happened was very tricky,' said Ogier. "It's super narrow and extremely fast. It's always a surprise to see that many incidents, but it can happen very easily there." The rally, round six of the championship, continues on Saturday with more than 120km of timed action. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
