Recce report: Rally d’Italia Sardegna

Jari-Matti Latvala says stages two and four of Rally d’Italia Sardegna will pose the toughest challenge for crews contesting round five of the FIA World Rally Championship this week.

Speaking following the two-day reconnaissance, the Finn highlighted the Monte Grighini Nord and Monte Grighini Sud stages, which measure 21.32 kilometres and 19.66 kilometres in length respectively, as the most difficult of the Olbia-based event.

“They are the most difficult stages, especially stage number two and four,” said the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver. “They are very demanding, turning all the time and you don’t have any straights where you can relax a bit. Then you have a lot of Armco inside the corners so you can’t take a natural line - you have to stay out of the normal line and this makes it very demanding.”

Latvala, who was victorious when the WRC last visited the Mediterranean island in 2009, continued: “The Sunday stages are soft because of the rain there has been recently. Also, what I saw on Friday there’s less loose on the top - it’s more bound together because it’s been raining. Saturday you have most loose on the top and it won’t be easy for the first car on the road. But Friday and Sunday are not so critical for the road position.”

Kris Meeke, who will help to mark the world championship debut of the MINI John Cooper Works WRC in Sardinia, took part on the event last season when it ran outside of the WRC schedule. However, he said that hadn’t given him an edge over his rivals.

“I’ve only done one stage of the first leg [the 14.34-kilometre Alta Marmilla stage] so I only have 14 kilometres of notes for the first day,” said the Northern Irishman. “The rest, they’re all opposite directions or I’ve never seen them before so I don’t think I’ll have an advantage.

“The first stage on Friday [Lago Omodeo] was a bit like something you get in New Zealand, while Terranova on Sunday could be a sting in the tail. When we did the recce it was very slow with lots of technical bits and a lot of water and mud. Maybe it might be dry by Sunday but we don’t know.”

M-Sport Stobart driver PG Andersson said the Sardinian stages were the toughest he’d known: “They’re very rough this year I must say, tougher than I’ve ever seen it. Maybe the rain has had something to do with it. The stages on Friday are faster and more blind over the crests than last year.”