Østberg solid as a rock!

— Fifth at the start of the longest WRC leg since 2002, Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson ended the day on the provisional podium at Rally Italia Sardegna.
— Khalid Al-Qassimi and Chris Patterson enjoyed an error-free day, also making a fine fightback that sees them head into the final leg just outside the points.
— After rejoining under Rally2 regulations, Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle found the right balance between pace and control, enabling them to rack up additional, precious experience.

The coffee machine was running at full capacity when the teams left parc ferme bright and breezy this morning, bang on six o’clock. After retiring yesterday, Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle were the first to reach service. Faced with the unenviable job of running first on the road for this leg, the Irish pair were aiming to regain their confidence in the car, rack up as much experience as possible and try to get into a position to score a few points for the Manufacturers’ World Championship.

Fifth overall on Friday evening, Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson were feeling confident in spite of the mammoth challenge posed by today’s leg. The day’s nine stages added up to a lengthy total of 212.83km, a distance not seen in the WRC since the 2002 Safari Rally held in Kenya.

On roads that he particularly enjoys, Mads helped himself to a stage win on SS13, Coiluna – Loelle. His time enabled him to grab fourth place from Jari-Matti Latvala. The Norwegian then dropped around forty seconds on SS14 (Monti di Ala’) due to a slow puncture. He nonetheless managed to hold onto fourth position, heading for the midday service with renewed confidence.

The afternoon’s racing unfolded in more or less the same manner as in the morning for Mads and Jonas: a stage win on the second run on Coiluna, a slow puncture on Monti di Ala’ and one position gained during the loop. The no.4 DS 3 WRC ended this marathon leg of over fifteen hours on the provisional podium!

Despite feeling tired, Kris Meeke also had more to smile about at the end of a very positive day. Looking sharp on the second runs, the Rally Argentina winner finished consistently in the top three!

Sixteenth after making hard work of the first day, Khalid Al-Qassimi and Chris Patterson kept out of trouble Saturdays’ long leg. The regularly moved up the standings to make it back to parc ferme in Alghero in eleventh place, just outside the points!

Following two very full days, Sunday’s schedule may seem somewhat modest. Having already been sorely tested, the drivers and their cars nonetheless have to complete another four stages, covering a total of 45.8km.

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

Mads Østberg: “It was a difficult leg, with extremely rough road conditions. I think we managed our race well and I think it’s worth stressing how reliable the DS 3 WRC has been. We didn’t have any problems at all. I just lost time due to the wheel valves, which caused my two slow punctures. If I hadn’t lost those two minutes, I would be second tonight. We’re still in with a chance, but I really don’t know how much of a chance we’re talking about. Sometimes, this rally can be pretty gruelling!”

Kris Meeke: “Today was an interesting experience for me. We were first on the road for the wrong reasons, but one day I hope to be in this situation as leader of the World Championship! This morning, above all we were looking to get a good feeling in the car after not driving for most of yesterday. Gradually, the feeling came and we set some pretty decent times. On the second runs, I was able to push hard as the racing line was already swept clean. Although we had a few minor issues with the gearshift selector, we had four good stages, with times similar to the guys who are fighting for the win.”

Khalid Al Qassimi: “What an exhausting day! As well as the stages themselves, the road sections were long too and we needed a lot of coffee to make it through! After a pretty disastrous opening leg, things went a lot better today. Thanks to the hard work of the engineers, we managed to improve the set-up over the course of the stages. I was cautious, perhaps too much so, but that’s what enabled us to move up the standings.”

HOW THE ACTION UNFOLDED

SS11 – Ittiri Arena 1 (1.40km) – The crews set off on this relatively insignificant stage at the ungodly hour of 6.57am. Mads Østberg finished among the leaders, setting the fourth fastest time.

SS12 – Monti di Ala’ 1 (22.49km) – Latvala won the stage, ahead of Ogier, who cut Paddon’s lead slightly. Fifth fastest, Mads Østberg moved a few seconds further clear of Thierry Neuville, his direct rival in the overall standings.

SS13 – Coiluna – Loelle 1 (36.69km) – Drama aplenty as Mikkelsen and Prokop went off, Latvala picked up a puncture and Neuville ran into technical problems. Meanwhile, Mads Østberg secured his first stage win of the rally. The Norwegian moved up to fourth overall.

SS14 – Monte Lerno 1 (42.22km) – Having made a strong start to the longest stage of the rally, Mads Østberg ended up losing 40s due to a slow puncture. He nonetheless held onto fourth place, sandwiched between Tänak and Latvala, who won the stage.

SS15 – Ozieri – Ardara (7.23km) – Latvala went fastest once again, making up 4.9s on Mads. The Finn closed the gap to the DS 3 WRC driver to 7.8s. Having rejoined under Rally2 regulations in his DS 3 RRC, Stéphane Lefebvre was forced to retire before the start, due to an electrical issue.

SS16 – Ittiri Arena 2 (1.40km) – Thierry Neuville won the stage, ahead of Kris Meeke. No change in the overall standings on this short test.

SS17 – Monti di Ala’ 2 (22.49km) – Hayden Paddon span his car, losing around twenty seconds and allowing Sébastien Ogier to become the new rally leader! Ott Tänak had to stop due to mechanical problems, enabling Mads Østberg to climb into the top three. The Norwegian increased his lead over Latvala, who was having to tread carefully with his suspension.

SS18 – Coiluna – Loelle 2 (36.69km) – As on this morning’s run, Mads Østberg was unbeatable on this stage. He set the fastest time, trailed by Ogier and Meeke. Latvala lost over two minutes and dropped down to sixth overall.

SS19 – Monte Lerno 2 (42.22km) – History repeated itself, as Mads Østberg once again lost a minute due to a slow puncture on the second pass on this stage, but he made it to the end of the leg in third position overall! Thanks to Paddon’s problems, Ogier found himself with a comfortable lead of over two minutes at the end of day two.