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2025 World Rally Championship hots up as Sardinia hosts latest dust-up
As we enter into European summer - the FIA World Rally Championship title fight has begun to heat up ahead of its next round - Rally Italia Sardegna.
Picturesque mediterranean island of Sardinia plays host to theItalian round, and is the second in a trilogy of hot, dusty and demanding events with Rally Portugal laying the foundations in May.
The heat and intensity goes up a notch in preparation for the cauldron that is the Acropolis Rally later this month.
Last year, Rally Italia Sardegna was won by 0.2 of a second after three days of action and the gravel rally could well prove to be the lynchpin in the title aspirations for many of the drivers in 2025. We take a look at who needs this win the most from the championship protagonists.
Championship leader Elyn Evans was on the ropes during a difficult weekend in Portugal which saw his points lead slashed from 43 to 30 at the summit of the table. The British driver in his Toyota Yaris Rally1 car, had the unenviable task of running first on the road, thanks to his championship lead status.
DAZN
This high-speed road sweeping role - gave the advantage to his rivals behind - but Evans dug deep to come home sixth and salvage crucial points - which could well make a difference come the end of the year. He will have to do the same in Sardinia - but his Portuguese learnings should stand him in better stead here.
Hunting the Welshman down is Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanperä who was only just behind Evans on the road in Portugal.
Rovanperä looked out of sorts at the start of the season, but since the Canaries has really switched on his form - got his head around the new for 2025 Hankook tyres and is now delivering the pace from his title winning prowess of two seasons ago.
The double champion will be looking to make further inroads into Evans’ points lead here in Sardinia. Sébastien Ogier - the eight-time world champion who won last time out in Portugal has elected Sardinia as another round in his part season campaign.
Despite only doing selected rounds - the Frenchman in his Toyota is remarkably third in the standings and should never be discounted from the race to victory on any rally he enters.
Hyundai are in a buoyant mood, as they feel they have started to crack title rivals, as an upturn in pace from their i20 Rally1 cars on the gravel make them potential favourites heading into a string of gravel events on the WRC calendar.
WRC
Lead drivers Ott Tänak finished second in Portugal and reigning WRC champion Thierry Neuville, fourth - are both optimistic of another strong showing this weekend. The Hyundai pairing are on the coattails of inform Rovanperä in the points and an island escapade could well ignite their title hopes further.
One of the revelations from Portugal was rookie Josh McErelan who DAZN caught up with recently (LINK). The Irishman is punching above his weight in his first season in the top-flight and is leading the charge for THE private M-Sport Ford team. Adjusting to the Puma Rally1 car nicely, McErlean will be pushing for his first top six result of the season on the Italian gravel.
Finishing one place above the Ford driver on the results sheet on the last round was Sami Pajari who is driving for the Toyota WRT2 team. The young Finn is excelling in his first season in a Rally1 car - with the reigning WRC2 champion limbering up in Sardinia ahead of some favoured events later in the summer.
Several drivers all have a point to prove this weekend after a torrid start to the season, including Hyundai ace Adrien Fourmaux who has shown much promise - but missing the results to back up the pace.
The same could be said for Toyota star Takamoto Katsuta who equally has shown flashes of brilliance, but mechanical woes and lapses in concentration have been the Japanese drivers downfall.
Grégoire Munster and Mārtiņš Sesks bolster the M-Sport squad in Italy and both will want to put their star qualities on the map, and with the right conditions could challenge for an important top five result.
Gentleman driver Jourdan Serderidis is the final Rally1 entry and is using the Italian adventure in his Puma as valuable seat-time ahead of his home round in Greece later this month.
In the WRC2 support class, expect to see a battle enrage between Yohan Rossel (Citroen C3) and Oliver Solberg (Toyota Yaris) who sit just seven points apart in the standings.
Although they will be fighting each other on the stages for the class win - Solberg has not elected Sardina as one of his points scoring rounds, therefore putting the pressure well and truly onto the shoulders of Rossel.
The WRC2 entry is as popular as ever with 38 cars in the category entered into the class. DAZN picks out Italian driver Roberto Daprà (Skoda Fabia) as one to watch on his home event.
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