The WRC's gravel season is in full swing - this is all the key information you need for round six in Sardinia
Photography by Red Bull
Words by Mark Paulson
The World Rally Championship’s month of June spent on rough, southern European gravel starts this week on the Italian island of Sardinia.
And this one is likely to be real test of crews and their machines, as another large entry in the WRC’s top two tiers take on the sun-drenched Mediterranean stages.
Total 68 crews
12 Rally1
34 WRC2
8 WRC3
The three-year high of a dozen Rally1 cars that started Rally Portugal will be repeated in Sardinia, with only one change among the 12 drivers.
Toyota once again fields its five-car lineup – of Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanperä, Sébastien Ogier, Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari – for the third consecutive event.
Hyundai is also unchanged with its full-time trio of Ott Tänak, Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux. The single switch comes at M-Sport: alongside full-timers Grégoire Munster, Josh McErlean and six-round campaigner Mārtiņš Sesks, Greek privateer Jourdan Serderidis makes his third start of the season.
The WRC2 entry is not quite as large as featured on Rally Portugal but it still numbers a sizeable 34 crews, plus another nine Rally2 entries not competing for WRC2 points.
Among the latter camp is Portugal winner Oliver Solberg, while Safari victor Gus Greensmith is not in action at all as he’s soon to get married. But the rest of the top nine in the WRC2 standings will all be present and competing for points.
Series leader Yohan Rossel – runner-up in Sardinia last year – and his brother Léo head the Citroën runners. Fabrizio Zaldivar, Roberto Daprà and Mikko Heikkilä lead the way for Škoda, along with Lauri Joona and 2022 champion Emil Lindholm who makes only his second start since returning to the Škoda fold this year.
Among the Toyota-tooled hordes, Jan Solans (third last year), Alejandro Cachón and Roope Korhonen will look to ignite their challenges with a big score. Pierre-Louis Loubet and Romet Jürgenson carry the baton for M-Sport Ford.
Sardinia does not form part of the Junior WRC calendar, leaving the entry of Rally3 machinery thinner on the ground.
The absence of the JWRC runners leaves the way clear for the likes of Matteo Fontana (Ford Fiesta) and Mattéo Chatillon (Renault Clio) to overhaul – or at least make an impression on – Taylor Gill’s lead at the top of the standings.
After last year’s event adopted an innovative short-form itinerary, with competitive action not getting under way until Friday afternoon, this year’s edition reverts to a more regular format with plenty of new mileage, and switches base once again from Alghero to Olbia. Two full repeated loops on Friday and Saturday are followed by a longer Sunday leg.
The opening day comprises two loops of three stages around a midday service, comprising 75 miles in total. The crews first head north from base at Olbia to Arzachena, a version of which was last used in 2023. Then it is on to Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda, formerly a staple of the Costa Smeralda Rally in the 1980s and ’90s but not used before in the WRC.
The rally’s longest stage completes Friday’s loops. The 17-mile Sa Conchedda, south-west of Olbia, shares about half its route with last year’s Monte Lerno stage that ran on the Saturday.
Saturday’s leg is marginally longer and also takes in two passes of three stages either side of service back in Olbia. It begins with Coiluna – Loelle, an extended version of last year’s test. Next is the leg’s longest, 15 miles from Lerno to Su Filigosu. While sharing its start with last year’s Monte Lerno stage, it is mostly an extended version of the Su Filigosu test which last ran in 2023. Finally, there is a 9.5-mile blast through Tula – Erula, which is shorter than last year’s Tula test.
After criticism of a 24-mile leg carrying so much weight under the new points system last year, 2025’s Super Sunday is virtually twice as long. First up is the 15 miles of San Giacomo – Plebi, a stage that few will have much experience of. Parts of it have been run before as Gallura, but not since 2013. Porto San Paolo, which finishes on the coast south-east of Olbia, is completely new. It will form the powerstage on its second pass after service which takes place after a repeat of the day’s opener.
Words:Mark Paulson
Tags: data, Rally Italy Sardinia, Rally Italy Sardinia 2025, WRC, WRC 2025
Publish Date June 3, 2025 DirtFish
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