Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier is on course for a third consecutive World Rally Championship win after Hyundai instructed Ott Tanak to “be safe” on Rally Sardinia’s rough gravel stages.
Tanak headed into the afternoon stages with a 3.5s lead over part-time driver Ogier, but ended the day trailing the eight-time world champion by 17.1s. The Estonian revealed he’d received a team order to back off with the manufacturer’s championship in mind, after team-mate Thierry Neuville retired from third on stage eight. Ogier’s lead secured 18 provisional championship points, with Tanak set to gain 15 points if they both complete Sunday’s four stages.
M-Sport driver Adrien Fourmaux, who rejoined the rally after an alternator issue on Friday, also left the tyre fitting zone six minutes late following repairs to his Puma's brakes. This did change the road order, with Munster opening the road ahead of Evans. At the front, the rally swung back to Ogier after winning the stage by 6.8s from Tanak, who had been asked by his team “to be safe and not push it,” according to the Estonian. As a result, Tanak’s 3.5s lead quickly turned into a 3.
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