Three days of competition, heat, dirt and twists. The fifth round of the WRC and second of the season on gravel took place at the Rally Italia Sardegna from 2 to 5 June 2022. To win Tänak who seems to have found a feeling with his Hyundai Rally1, followed by Breen on Ford Puma and, to close the podium, a Sordo in form in two outings with the Hyundai Rally1 took home two podiums.
How did the race go
A rally that was not easy and full of pitfalls and where the watchword for many crews was to be careful and not to puncture.
Long and demanding special tests. But right away we saw who had the potential to be a protagonist. During the first day, two special stages were canceled and it ended with Lappi (Toyota) in the lead with a 0.7 second advantage over Tänak (Hyundai) and, third, Loubet (Ford). Saturday kicked off with a fit Tänak who won six of eight scheduled qualifying sessions and ended the day with a 46-second lead over Breen (Ford). The last day, Sunday, again saw Tänak protagonist by winning two of the four scheduled tests. But without giving the final paw in the power stage (a test that gives extra points to the championship to the top five), where he recorded the sixth time overall. Here it was Neuville (Hyundai) who won the extra 5 points followed by Rovamperä, Evans, Lappi and Katsuta.
Final classification of the race
The Rally Italia Sardegna ended with the victory of Tänak (Hyundai) followed after more than a minute by Breen (Ford) and Sordo (Hyundai). At the foot of the podium Loubet (Ford), Rovamperä (Toyota) who still maintains the lead in the drivers’ standings, Katsuta (Toyota), Greensmith (Ford).
Drivers and constructors standings after five races
At the end of the fifth round of the WRC, Rovamperä (Toyota) always leads the drivers’ standings with 120 points followed by Neuville (Hyundai) with 65 points, Tänak at 62, Breen (Ford) at 52 and Katsuta (Toyota) with 47 points .