From 1–4 October, the FIA World Rally Championship returns to the Coral Coast for the tenth time. The event organised by the Automobile Club d’Italia will be the penultimate round of the season and the final European stop. Alghero will host the rally headquarters, with the Service Park on Lungomare Barcellona. Fans will also have the last chance to see Rally1 cars in action in Europe.

Alghero (SS), 11 February 2025 – The 2026 edition of Rally Italia Sardegna will take place from 1 to 4 October, with Alghero as the event base. Organised by the Automobile Club d’Italia with the support of the Regione Sardegna, the rally will be the penultimate round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship and the final European event on the calendar.

It will mark the return of WRC to the Riviera del Corallo at such an advanced point in the season, following the 2020 edition also run in autumn in the Catalan city under Covid restrictions. This year, the move back to Alghero comes as part of the rotation with Olbia, which hosted last year’s edition.

The 23rd running of the event will also represent a symbolic milestone for Alghero, which will host Rally Italia Sardegna for the tenth time as rally headquarters. A tradition that began in 2014 and has grown over the years, with a striking setting: the finish ceremony beneath the bastions and the Service Park just steps from the sea on Lungomare Barcellona.

The autumn slot will be the fourth in the rally’s history. The inaugural 2004 edition was held in Olbia on the very same dates, followed by 2012 and, again, 2020. A return that echoes key chapters of Italian rallying tradition, while offering a fresh and evocative view of Sardinia.

The 2026 route will therefore be subject to a targeted revision, retaining the rally’s most representative sections on the island while meeting the logistical requirements linked to the Alghero base. The special stages could prove decisive in the title fight, in a technical context made more demanding by autumn conditions and potentially variable weather. For fans, it will also be the last opportunity to see Rally1 cars in action in Europe, as from 2027 the championship’s technical regulations will introduce a new top-category car concept.

Full details of the sporting programme and the accompanying events will be announced in the coming weeks via the official website rallyitaliasardegna.com and the rally’s official channels.

The event organised by Automobile Club d’Italia with the support of the Regione Sardegna will take place from 1 to 4 October. The rally will be the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Sardinia is preparing to welcome the FIA World Rally Championship for the 23rd time. The Italian round, organised by Automobile Club d’Italia with the support of the Regione Sardegna, will be the penultimate event of the WRC season and the final European round, bringing the spotlight back to the island’s gravel roads from 1 to 4 October 2026.

The return to the island at such an advanced stage of the season significantly increases the sporting importance of the event, which could prove decisive in the fight for the world title, more than ever before. It will be the fourth autumn edition of Rally Italia Sardegna, following those held in 2004, 2012 and 2020. A calendar position deeply rooted in Italian rally tradition, capable of offering particularly evocative autumn scenery as well as more demanding technical conditions, with a higher likelihood of variable weather and tricky surfaces.

In 2004, the first edition was held, inheriting the traditional Sanremo date scheduled for the first weekend of October. In 2012, a calendar reshuffle brought the Italian round back to autumn, in an edition that could have crowned Sébastien Loeb world champion, were it not for his off at Monte Lerno, which postponed the title decision to Corsica a few weeks later. In 2020, amid the pandemic, the event took place in the second week of October.

Full programme details will be announced in due course via rallyitaliasardegna.com and the event’s official channels.

No one like him, Sebastien Ogier is the winner of 2025 Rally Italia Sardegna, securing his fifth victory in the race organised by Automobile Club d'Italia in collaboration with the Region of Sardinia, which brought the FIA World Rally Championship back to the island for the 22nd time. The eight-time world champion, driven by Vincent Landais, showed all his experience in managing the race. He had a careful first day of the rally, he dominated the second and raced like only a real champion can do, on the final day, despite a small mistake on the final Power Stage that could have changed the outcome of the race.  The Frenchman kept his nerve, reversed after touching a bush and threw himself downhill towards Porto San Paolo, where he secured his 64th career victory, his fifth in Sardinia . This victory that was so desired, fought for and meticulously planned is a success that makes him the only driver in the world to have won Rally Italia Sardegna five times, setting a new record.

“I'm really happy, I'm struggling to find words. This  race suits my style: you need speed and to be precise, but also consistency to manage the tyres. With Ott, it's always a close battle right to the end, but I think I built my advantage little by little, day after day. The decisive moment came this morning when we managed to increase our lead. In the last stage, I had to reverse: I knew I had lost  few seconds, but I still managed to maintain control. Sardinia has always been good to me, and winning here for the fifth time is really special," said Ogier at the finish line.

This time, the top two positions on the podium were reversed compared to last year. Ott Tänak and Marin Järveoja,  finished second, perhaps regretting a slow puncture that slowed them down during Saturday's stage on SS9 ‘Tula-Erula’. Tänak lost a few seconds at that point but managed to get through it. 

"I don't  think I gave it my all, also because you can only do that when you have everything under control and can push to the limit, but we struggled a bit this weekend. It was very challenging, but we still tried to get the most out of it. We did some testing, but the range in which the car works well is very narrow, so we try to get the best out of it every time, but we're second and that's fine," said Tänak.

Third place goes to young talent Kalle Rovanperä with Jonne Halttunen. The 2022 and 2023 world champion repeated his best result in Sardinia, achieved in 2023, he was the protagonist of a wild Sunday where he won the Power Stage and Super Sunday, scoring very important points for the championship.It's not a rally that I particularly like, but at the end we managed to find a good rhythm. I think that after starting from a better position yesterday, we managed to make the difference today. I tried to attack and we managed to score some great points for the team and for the championship,’ Rovanperä said

Great celebration on the podium in Olbia, staged at Isola Bianca, The winners were welcomed by a cheering crowd of fans and the event's patron, Federica Pellegrini. The Italian olympic champion once again experienced the thrill of co-driving over the weekend, climbing into a Rally1 car for an experience that she described as ‘something I don't think I'll forget very easily’.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT completed the top five, extending their lead  of the World Championship manufacturers' standings. Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin are still leading the drivers' standings, finishing fourth despite a significant gap, which was increased by both starting first on Friday and a puncture on Saturday. Fifth place for Takamoto Katsuta, with Aaron Johnston, who was also slowed down by a puncture during the tough second day, which featured the most famous special stages.

Oliver Solberg and Elliot Edmonson, on Toyota GR Yaris, won the Rally2 classification at the end of a race full of twists and turns, with sixth place overall. Right at the start, Solberg made a mistake on SS2, hitting a wall, but he managed to close the gap during the rest of the race until a puncture for Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov allowed him to gain a position on the leading crew. Between them,  Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen finished in the overall standings, with Marko Salminen . Pajari seemed to have the pace to finish further up but a puncture and a collision in the first stage on Sunday forced him to drop a couple of positions, ending up seventh, just ahead of Gryazin. Both Solberg and Gryazin were not running for points 

DAPRA' Wins WRC2
The Italian national anthem echoed through Olbia in WRC2, marking a special moment in the history of Rally Italia Sardegna, where Italian drivers got some big wins in front of their home crowd. Roberto Daprà and Luca Guglielmetti, claimed the first WRC2 world success. It was a thrilling victory that rewarded their determination, considering that before the final special stage, three drivers were fighting for victory within just 4.8 seconds of each other.

At the end, he not only maintained his lead but also extended it, finishing 5.8 seconds ahead of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak and 10.9 seconds ahead of Martin Prokop and Michal Ernst. Daprà also had the satisfaction of finishing in ninth place overall. "I really don't know what to say. Thanks to everyone who believed in me from the beginning. Thanks to ACI Team Italia, Delta Rally. Now I just want to enjoy the party," said an overwhelmed Daprà.

 ITALY IS IN WRC3 WITH FONTANA
 Another thrilling Italian win in WRC3 for Matteo Fontana and Alessandro Arnaboldi, 
The Italian driver after some issues  got back into the race, holding off his rivals and winning by 24.5 seconds ahead of Nataniel Bruun and Argentine Pablo Olmos, and  Andrè Martinez with Matias Aranguren.

ENVIRONMENT AND SIDE EVENTS 
As always, the focus was on the environment, especially given the special relationship with the Sardinian territory and the hard work to get and keep the three stars in the FIA Environmental Programme, which rewards events that are most aware.

A key moment on Sunday morning was the planting in front of the Archaeological Museum in Olbia. The ceremony was a symbolic moment that anticipates the “Un pilota, un albero” (One driver, one tree) that involves the planting of 138 trees to represent all the crews competing in Rally Italia Sardegna.

This year's rally had many  side events  with Italian radio RDS and   DJ sets by Francesco Cadente, Rino de Niro and Claudio Guerrini on stage.  Friday, over 5,000 people flocked to the free concert of pop band The Kolors.

The success is also in the numbers: more than  4 million views of content on official channels on the major social networks, while total coverage provided by Rally.tv supported by RAI Sport reached over 80 million people, underlining the rally's strong appeal.

RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA 2025 - STANDINGS
1.Sébastien Ogier–Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 3:34:24.5; 2. Ott Tänak–Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +7.9; 3. Kalle Rovanperä–Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +50.5; 4. Elfyn Evans–Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +5:05.7; 5. Takamoto Katsuta–Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +7:29.6; 6. Oliver Solberg–Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +8:32.9; 7. Sami Pajari–Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +10:29.0; 8. Nikolay Gryazin–Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +10:58.7; 9. Roberto Daprà–Luca Guglielmetti (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +12:15.3; 10. Kajetan Kajetanowicz–Maciej Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +12:21.1.

RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA 2025 - STANDINGS WRC2
1. Roberto Daprà–Luca Guglielmetti (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 3:46:39.8; 2. Kajetan Kajetanowicz–Maciej Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +5.8; 3. Martin Prokop–Michal Ernst (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +10.9; 4. Jan Solans–Rodrigo Sanjuan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +45.3; 5. Romet Jürgenson–Siim Oja (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +53.5.

RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA 2025 - STANDINGS WRC3
1. Matteo Fontana–Andrea Arnaboldi (Ford Fiesta Rally3) 4:03:55.4; 2. Nataniel Bruun–Pablo Olmos (Ford Fiesta Rally3) +24.5; 3. Andrés Martinez Merizalde–Matías Aranguren (Ford Fiesta Rally3) +17:26.0; 4. Timo Weigert–Jasmin Weigert (Renault Clio Rally3) +30:05.0; 5. Kerem Kazaz–C. Silvestre (Ford Fiesta Rally3) +31:32.4.