WRC Italy: Ogier beats Hyundai pair for victory

Sebastien Ogier took his fourth victory of the World Rally Championship(WRC) season at Rally Italia Sardegna, having overcome long-time leader Hayden Paddon on Saturday.

The Hyundai driver once enjoyed a 23 seconds lead before a spin in SS17 and an encounter with a rock in SS18 dropped him firmly down to second in the final classifications, over three minutes down on the two-time WRC winner.

Thierry Nouvelle inherited third place in the sister i20 after Mads Ostberg damaged the brakes of his Citroen by running off in SS20. Nouvelle had himself lost over 50 seconds on Friday, but was able to seal the final podium spot from the M-Sport of Elfyn Evans.

Jari-Matti Latvala lost time with two separate punctures and finished sixth while Andreas Mikkelsen retired with suspension problems, meaning only a single Volkswagen entry was represented on the podium.

That, however, played well into the hands of VW’s star driver Ogier, who now enjoys a commanding 66 points lead in the standings, after just six rounds of the WRC season.

Rally Italia Sardegna: Results (Top 10)

1. Sebastien Ogier (Volkswagen) 4h25m54.3s
2. Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) +3m05.4s
3. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) +4m 22.5s
4. Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) +5m 34.8s
5. Mads Ostberg (Citroen) +7m 50.1s
6. Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen) +8m 06.7s
7. Yuriy Protasov (Ford Fiesta RRC) +14m 57.7s
8. Paolo Andreucci Peugeot) +15m 03.3
9. Jan Kopecky (Skoda) +17m 41.7s
10. Khalid Al Qassimi (Citroen) +19m12.0s