Sebastien Ogier holds a solid lead after the opening day of Rally Italia Sardegna – Round 7 of the FIA World Rally Championship.
Ogier is 46s up on Citroen’s Mikko Hirvonen who produced a clean run on the opening day to hold second place overnight.
“That was a very good first day for us, but we’re still only half way through Rally Italy,” said Ogier.
“The Polo R WRC is running like a dream, and we didn’t have a single problem with it today.”
Qatar M-Sport driver Thierry Neuville sits third after his Ford team-mates Mads Ostberg and Evgeny Novikov both crashed out on Friday’s opening leg.
Ostberg rolled on the final stage of the day with Novikov crashing out early on in SS2, also due to a roll under the slippery conditions.
Unfortunately for Novikov, the damage proved too severe and he will not restart for tomorrow’s final day.
Jari-Matti Latvala was dealt a cruel blow with a puncture on Friday’s opening stage but powered his Polo R WRC back into contention with two stage wins to sit fifth overall.
Former F1 star Robert Kubica leads the way in the WRC2 category despite losing nearly a minute of time when he was blinded by dust, catching the competitor in front due to one minute running gaps in the class.
Results after SS8
| Pos | Driver | Time | Diff |
| 1. | S. OGIER | 1:40:47.3 | 0.0 |
| 2. | M. HIRVONEN | 1:41:33.9 | +46.6 |
| 3. | T. NEUVILLE | 1:41:37.0 | +49.7 |
| 4. | D. SORDO | 1:42:06.7 | +1:19.4 |
| 5. | J. LATVALA | 1:42:31.3 | +1:44.0 |
| 6. | A. MIKKELSEN | 1:42:42.7 | +1:55.4 |
| 7. | M. PROKOP | 1:45:37.7 | +4:50.4 |
| 8. | M. KOSCIUSZKO | 1:47:12.9 | +6:25.6 |
| 9. | E. EVANS | 1:47:21.8 | +6:34.5 |
| 10. | R. KUBICA | 1:49:22.6 | +8:35.3 |
VIDEO: Morning stages
VIDEO: Afternoon stages
