Hyundai’s Lappi leads in Italy by 0.1 of a second over Ogier

An eventful opening day at Rally Italia Sardegna, the sixth round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), closes with Hyundai Motorsport’s Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm leading the rally by 0.1 seconds.

The #4 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crew were quick from the off, scoring their first of two stage wins of the weekend in Thursday evening’s super special stage. The Finns briefly sat atop of the classifications again on Friday morning after SS3 Terranova 1, and claimed it back on the final stage with a measured drive while battling a left-rear puncture.

Their team-mates Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe had a tentative start to the event as they struggled to find grip with their tyre choice. However, they soon found their rhythm in the afternoon loop, despite managing an intermittent handbrake issue, to climb from sixth to third overall.

Friday featured six Sardinian stages of varying profiles and conditions. The day opened with Tantariles 20RIS (10.71km), Terranova (8.41km) and Monte Lerno – Sa Conchedda (49.90km); the latter marks the longest stage the Rally1 cars have contested since their introduction in 2022. These were then repeated following midday service.

Although the heavens opened in the afternoon loop, the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid dominated the first two stages, with crews securing two 1-2 finishes. Lappi/Ferm set a blistering pace on SS5 Tantariles, which halved the deficit to the rally leader, with their Belgian team-mates setting the second fastest time. On the following stage, it was Neuville and Wydaeghe who topped the classification, closely followed by Lappi and Ferm.

Sadly, it was a day to forget for Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera. On the first run of the marathon Monte Lerno, the Spaniards rolled their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid towards the end of the super-sized stage. Although there was extensive damage to the front of the car, they were able to get the car back to service. The crew then went to work alongside their mechanics to help repair the car for the afternoon leg.  

Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid) 

• Crew enjoy slim lead after challenging opening day
• Finns claimed a stage win and six top-three stage during Friday’s running

Lappi said: “Today was a day of survival. There was a lot of surprises on that final stage with muddy braking points or corners that were hidden behind bushes. The mixed conditions meant you couldn’t really fully commit because you didn’t know what to expect, but on the other hand you had to commit in order to keep the speed, but we managed. You knew as soon as you entered the forest sections it was going to be muddy and slippery, but there were also some puddles in the open air which was a surprise – it was not easy at all. I hope to have a better start tomorrow than I did in Mexico, but first of all we have to make the right tyre choice in the morning. After that, we need to continue what we did today and see where we are after the final stage.”

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

• Belgians bounced back from tricky opening morning to sit third
• Stage win on SS6 secured second consecutive 1-2 for Hyundai Motorsport

Neuville said: “It was a bit of a struggle out there, the confidence wasn’t that high in the tighter corners but we managed to get into a good rhythm. I’m feeling a little bit better in the car as well in those conditions, and in the end we had some good stage times this afternoon to finish in third, which is a good position for tomorrow. The weather is going to make it challenging tomorrow as well; anything can happen and we’re going to see a lot of changes in the stage times for everybody. Today we were lucky that we all had more or less similar weather conditions, but with a few minutes’ gap between the cars it can be a huge difference. Our tyre strategy this afternoon was good, and it paid off.”

Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid) 

• Spaniards finished second in SS3 before rally-defining moment in Monte Lerno
• Disappointing day ends with crew down in 12th place

Sordo said: “It was a little bit difficult today, to be honest. On the first pass of the longest stage we went a bit safe with the tyres, and at one of the corners I went wide, and after that we rolled. We managed to bring the car to service and to the mechanics to repair it. There was not a lot of time, so Cándido and I did our best to help. I want to say thanks to them, they did an amazing job at midday, and I’m really sorry for my mistake. Thank you so much for your efforts. For sure it will be difficult now, there was some really tricky conditions this afternoon and it was challenging to drive, but let’s see what the weather does. If it rains a lot, we have an advantage with our early road order, but we have already lost a lot of time.

Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “Psychologically, it is good to be finishing the first day in the lead, but we’ve been there before and we all know it can change very quickly. It is good to enjoy the moment, and hat’s off to Esapekka and Janne as they have been driving extremely well. Thierry is also in the fight, but he also had some struggles today. He has been driving well today so let’s see what he can do tomorrow. I also want to praise Dani and Cándido, who were fantastic in helping their mechanics today. We’re limited in the amount of hands we can have on the car, and any help is welcome. They did a good job, skipping lunch to help the guys. They are a bit far from the podium, but anything could happen to promote them up the order. It is still Friday and we are yet to win this year, so let’s keep positive but also realistic and pragmatic.”

Saturday at a glance

• A mammoth Saturday in Sardinia will feature eight stages on the itinerary, with crews travelling a total of 426.80k in road distance alone
• The morning loop will feature Coiluna-Loelle (SS8/12, 16.28km), Su Filigosu (SS9/13, 19.57km) Erula – Tula (SS10/14, 21.92km) and Tempio Pausania (SS11/15, 9.04)
• Following midday service, all four stages will be repeated in the same order to round out Rally Italia Sardegna’s penultimate day.

Classification after Day One

1	E. Lappi	J. Ferm	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	1:31:48.8
2	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+0.1
3	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+18.6
4	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+46.1
5	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+47.4
6	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+1:05.6
7	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+1:09.8

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