Thierry Neuville snatched the Rally Italia Sardegna lead from Adrien Fourmaux on Friday’s final stage, while Oliver Solberg strengthened his WRC title bid with a charging drive to third.
Just 0.4sec separates the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars after a gruelling opening day on Sardinia’s rough gravel roads, with Solberg 12.3sec further back in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
Fourmaux had led since SS3 and looked set to carry a slender advantage into Saturday after managing the increasingly punishing afternoon roads. But Neuville had other ideas, winning both final stages to overturn a 4.7sec deficit and take the overnight lead.
“Our tyre management and our tyre choice paid off,” Neuville said. “I was tempted to make a similar choice to him [Fourmaux], but in the end I was pretty confident that my feeling was the good one, and I’m happy with that.
“It’s good for Hyundai and for Adrien as well, so it’s a nice battle and hopefully we can continue tomorrow.”
Fourmaux ‘very pleased’ with Friday
Fourmaux nevertheless delivered one of the strongest days of his Rally1 career. He won SS2 and SS5 and carefully negotiated the afternoon’s rock-strewn roads to remain firmly in contention for victory.
“Very pleased with the day,” he said. “We started off strong. I think it’s good also for the team.” (Article continues after the photo.)
Behind the Hyundai duo, Solberg continued to apply pressure in his pursuit of a maiden world title. After losing time to tyre damage on Friday’s opening stage, the Swede fought back to win SS4 before closing the day strongly. He is 27.9sec ahead of fellow title contender Sami Pajari and 56.6sec clear of championship leader Elfyn Evans.
Pajari was quicker than Evans on all six stages but sits fifth overall, 40.2sec off the lead, with nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier fourth between them.
Early puncture for Ogier, Evans in control of championship
Ogier’s victory hopes suffered a major blow when a front-right puncture on SS3 cost more than 25sec, although he recovered to remain 37.4sec from the lead.
Evans faced the toughest road position and struggled for confidence with his Toyota’s handling during the afternoon.
“We’re here. Let’s see,” said the Welshman after SS7. “I guess tomorrow will be the test of how we are going to respond to the road position.” The championship leader remains in control of the title battle, holding a 14-point advantage over Solberg overnight. (Article continues after the photo.)
Josh McErlean completed Friday in seventh for M-Sport Ford, while Dani Sordo’s difficult rally continued when he went off on the final stage. Sordo and new co-driver Patricia Sáiz were unhurt. Mārtiņš Sesks, Jon Armstrong and Takamoto Katsuta all suffered punctures, losing minutes as they changed tyres during the stage.
In WRC2, Gus Greensmith leads the field by a slender 2.2 seconds ahead of Roope Korhonen. Emil Lindholm sits in third, 1 minute and 15 seconds adrift of Korhonen.
Saturday features six stages and 123.66 competitive kilometres.
WRC Rally Italia Sardegna 2026 – O/A standings after SS7/17
| # | Drivers | Car | Time / Diff to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Neuville / Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 1:25:04.9 |
| 2. | Fourmaux / Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +0.4 |
| 3. | Solberg / Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +12.3 |
| 4. | Ogier / Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +37.4 |
| 5. | Pajari / Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +40.2 |
| 6. | Evans / Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1:08.9 |
| 7. | McErlean / Treacy | Ford Puma Rally1 | +1:21.1 |
| 8. | Armstrong / Byrne | Ford Puma Rally1 | +3:26.5 |
| 9. | Katsuta / Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +3:27.2 |
| 10. | Sesks / Francis | Ford Puma Rally1 | +3:39.9 |
Photos: Hyundai Motorsport, Toyota GAZOO Racing
