The eight tests of the Sardinian round of the WRC almost always ended in the sign of a single driver: Ott Tänak. The Estonian of Hyundai in fact won six heats of the Rally d’Italia today, setting off at a decisive pace towards a victory that in Beautiful country he has missed it since 2017. All this, of course, except for particular twists and unpredictable events that were not lacking even today, in a 2022 edition that is giving very few guarantees.
Already during the tenth test, the first scheduled today after the cancellation of the SS8 and SS9 yesterday afternoon, Tänak’s most dangerous opponent, Esapekka Lappihad to contend with a accident which has irreparably damaged the front suspension of his Toyota, thus forcing the Finn to definitively give up the fight for victory. Already at that point, the Estonian took advantage of an excellent retirement to significantly strengthen his leadership, increasing his advantage over Breen also at the end of the SS11, once again won by the Hyundai standard bearer. The Irishman, however, allowed himself the great satisfaction of first stage victory in 2022 at the end of the SS12, characterized by another major knockout like that of Thierry Neuville, betrayed by the engine of his i20 N after a damage suffered earlier in the day. The morning, however, ended again with a smile for Tänak, winner of the 13th heat and leader of the provisional standings with a good 31 seconds ahead of Breen.
Nothing to do for the opponents even during the afternoon, with the success of the Estonian in three of the four scheduled tests. To underline, in the SS14 and SS16, the recovery of the world leader Kalle Rovanperä, returned for the first time to the virtual podium after two very disappointing days. The real general confusion, however, was created after the accident that occurred in Adrien Formauxwithout consequences for the French driver, which took place in SS17: the Race Direction, after having interrupted the session with the Red flag, allowed the resumption of the event, but in this juncture some marshals erroneously showed the same red flag to riders like Tänak, Breen and Sordo. An episode that rekindled the controversy after what happened yesterday, between the delays for the start of the SS5 and the cancellations of the SS8-SS9 for safety reasons. The fact remains that Tänak still leads the overall standings, with a 46-second lead over Breen.
Rally d’Italia / Ranking after SS17 – Top 10
POS. | PILOT | CAR | TIME / GAP |
1 | O. TÄNAK | Hyundai | 2: 43: 56.3 |
2 | C. BREEN | Ford | +46.0 |
3 | D. DEAF | Hyundai | +1: 06.8 |
4 | PL. LOUBET | Ford | +1: 31.8 |
5 | K. ROVANPERÄ | Toyota | +2: 32.3 |
6 | T. KATSUTA | Toyota | +3: 52.3 |
7 | G. GREENSMITH | Ford | +5: 03.3 |
8 | N. GRYAZIN | Skoda (WRC2) | +6: 09.2 |
9 | J. SOLANS | Citroen (WRC2) | +6: 54.1 |
10 | C. INGRAM | Skoda (WRC2) | +7: 09.4 |
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