Hyundai dominated Friday’s action on the Sardinian gravel, with Neuville ending the day just 0.4 seconds ahead of Fourmaux. Solberg sits third, 12.3 seconds off the lead, heading Toyota’s charge, while Evans manages his championship advantage. Greensmith leads WRC2, with Daprà fourth.

Alghero (SS), Friday 2 October 2026 – Rocks, jumps, dust and punctures. Friday at Rally Italia Sardegna delivered plenty of action for the huge crowds of fans, with six special stages and almost 120 competitive kilometres bringing the event organised by the Automobile Club d’Italia, with the support of the Regione Sardegna and the Comune di Alghero, to life. The FIA World Rally Championship action got underway early in the morning with the 18.77 km “Tula – Erula 1”, a demanding test for both cars and crews, with punctures as constant threat. It was there that the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars began to set the pace. Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria claimed the stage win after a rapid run through the dust, also making the most of their favourable road position. The frenchman moved into the overall lead and remained there throughout the morning loop. Then it was his teammate Thierry Neuville who took centre stage. Together with Martijn Wydaeghe, the belgian won both “Su Filigosu – Lerno” and “Monti di Alà – Sa Conchedda – Lerno 2”. Smart tyre choices and a well-executed strategy allowed Neuville to claw back the time lost earlier in the day and move into the lead of the 23rd Rally Italia Sardegna, ending Friday just 0.4 seconds ahead of Fourmaux.

Behind the two Hyundai crews, Oliver Solberg leads the charge among the World Championship title contenders. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver, who arrived in Sardinia with the biggest points deficit of the three title contenders, was fastest on SS4 alongside Elliott Edmondson. At the end of Friday, he remains the closest challenger to the leading Hyundai pair, 12.3 seconds behind Neuville.

Friday also brought plenty of drama, with punctures playing a major role throughout the day. Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais were among the first crews to suffer one, but still managed to fight their way back to fourth overall, 37.4 seconds off the lead. Just 2.8 seconds behind them sits his young teammate Sami Pajari, fifth at the end of the day. The finnish title contender, co-driven by Marko Salminen, enjoyed a relatively trouble-free run but was unable to find the pace needed to make significant inroads into his 17-point deficit to World Championship leader Elfyn Evans. The Welshman, partnered by Scott Martin in the third Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 still in contention for the title, knows he has a significant championship advantage to manage. Running first on the road also left him with the difficult task of sweeping the loose gravel for those behind, and Evans eventually ended Friday in sixth place, more than one minute off the lead. Armstrong, Katsuta and Sesks were among the other drivers hit by punctures during the day, losing several minutes after having to change tyres on the stages and dropping behind the Ford Puma Rally1 of McErlean-Treacy.

There was just as much drama in WRC2, particularly during the afternoon loop, when rougher road conditions put both cars and tyres under increasing pressure. Punctures affected several of the leading crews, including newly crowned WRC2 champion Robert Virves, who was forced to stop on Tula to change a tyre, effectively ending his hopes of fighting for victory in Sardinia. At the end of Friday, Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson lead the category in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, just 2.2 seconds clear of Finnish crew Roope Korhonen and Anssi Viinikka in another Toyota. Emil Lindholm and Gabriel Morales hold third place, 1:17.9 off the lead, after a strong start to the afternoon loop, although they remain some way behind the leading pair.

It was a more frustrating afternoon for ACI Team Italia representatives Roberto Daprà and Luca Guglielmetti. Their Delta Rally-prepared Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 suffered a puncture on the final stage of the day, denying them the opportunity to move into the podium positions before returning to Alghero. They end Friday fourth, 1:49.9 behind Greensmith, with plenty still to play for over the remaining two days. The other ACI Team Italia crew competing in WRC2, Giovanni Trentin and Pietro Ometto, showed podium-level pace but unfortunately lost more than 20 minutes due to a technical issue.

Saturday 3 October will be the longest day of the rally in terms of competitive distance, with 123.66 kilometres of special stages. The action will begin with the 24.14 km “Lerno – Sa Conchedda – Monti di Alà”, featuring the famous Monte Lerno jump and scheduled to run twice during the day. Crews will then tackle the high-speed “Coiluna – Loelle”, extended to 24.83 kilometres, before facing the only completely new stage of the 2026 edition: the 12.86 km “Solorché”, near Pattada. An old-school test on narrower forest roads, the stage will finish with a spectacular section through the Pattada racecourse, including a jump that promises to be one of the highlights of the day.

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER FRIDAY: 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.