Sardinia Slam Dunk for Ogier

Sebastien Ogier claimed his third win of the 2024 World Rally Championship (WRC) season after a gritty performance at the Rally of Sardinia, held over the weekend in Olbia, Italy.

The eight-time world champion, driving for Toyota, led the rally going into Sunday with a 17-second advantage over Hyundai’s Ott Tanak. Despite a tense moment on the final stage where he failed to make a tight corner and had to reverse, Ogier held on to take the win.

“In the ruts, I just couldn’t turn the car,” Ogier explained. “There was no speed at all, so I didn’t try to force it. I preferred to stop and reverse. Not ideal. Still, it was enough to win.”

This marks Ogier’s fifth career win in Sardinia and his 64th WRC victory overall. The result pushes him to second place in the drivers’ standings, just 19 points behind leader and teammate Elfyn Evans.

Evans, who encountered a delay due to a wheel change on Saturday, finished fourth. Despite missing the podium, he remained upbeat: “We have to be satisfied with this weekend. We’re in the championship battle with these guys. They were very fast.”

Ott Tanak closed the gap on Ogier to just 8 seconds but had to settle for second, while Finland’s Kalle Rovanpera finished third, about 50 seconds behind the leader. Rovanpera now trails Ogier by a single point in the overall standings.

Toyota’s dominance continues with six wins in six rounds this season. The team also repeated its podium lineup from the previous rally in Portugal.

Takamoto Katsuta, also driving for Toyota, rounded out the top five. Meanwhile, reigning champion Thierry Neuville of Hyundai went off-road on Stage 5 and struggled to recover, ending the rally in 19th place and out of the points.

Next up for the WRC is the Acropolis Rally in Greece, scheduled for late June.