Sardinia has delivered some truly epic final stages in the past
Photography by M-Sport, Toyota & Hyundai
Words by Luke Barry
Few rallies in the World Rally Championship have produced as much last-minute drama as Rally Italy Sardinia.
From unexpected heartbreak, powerstage mistakes and a thrilling scrap between two heavyweights, the last stage of Sardinia seems to always have a surprise in store.
While we look ahead and wonder what 2025 might have in store, allow us to indulge in the past and rank the five most dramatic conclusions to Rally Italy Sardinia.
Compared with what’s to come, 2020 was tame – but still exciting and tense in any regular context!
Postponed from June to October due to coronavirus, Dani Sordo was looking secure at the head of the field with a 9.2-second cushion prior to the powerstage.
Instead attention was on the fight for second between two title contenders: Sébastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville.
Ogier had added 1.2s to his advantage on SS15 of 16, but had no answer to Neuville’s pace on the famed Sassari – Argentiera test (spoiler alert: not one Ogier has a strong record on).
Neuville stole second from Ogier and nearly won the rally outright, slashing Sordo’s winning margin to 5.1s with just 6.1s covering the top three – to this day the tightest margin in WRC history.
The overall contest wasn’t much of a nail-biter in 2023 – Neuville secured an important victory for his season ahead of Hyundai team-mate Esapekka Lappi.
Instead the drama was reserved for WRC2, with Andreas Mikkelsen inheriting a surprise victory at the expense of Adrien Fourmaux.
A superb performance on Saturday especially had earned the M-Sport driver a half-minute lead, but sudden rain for the powerstage caught Fourmaux out and he slid his Ford Fiesta Rally2 off the road.
A magnanimous Mikkelsen collected the spoils by over two minutes.
Even when it’s Tänak on the hunt, a 6.2s advantage with just one stage to go should have been enough.
And all being well, it would have been for Ogier. But a slow puncture aboard his Toyota changed everything.
Unaware, Tänak was busy giving his stage-end interview as if he had been defeated. Yet when Ogier crossed the final timing beam, the results revealed that in fact Tänak was the winner – by a scant two tenths of a second!
Cue scenes of celebration from Tänak who leapt onto the roof of his parked Hyundai, and despair from Ogier.
“That’s life,” he commented. “I think we deserved more than that but at least Ott has done a good rally as well.”
Tänak’s surprise 2024 victory was seen by many as karma repaying itself for the heartbreak he experienced in 2019.
Leading the rally by a clear 26.7s, the question was ‘how many powerstage points will Tänak also grab?’ rather than who’ll win the rally.
But it was eventual winner Sordo who dropped the first hint of the drama that was about to unfold.
“Tänak is stopped,” he told the stage-end reporter; nobody sure if he was asking a question or delivering a fact.
TV pictures of Tänak wrestling his Toyota, which had developed a steering problem, revealed it was the latter. Fifth place was a cruel reward, and understandably Tänak had no words to give at the end of the stage.
Sordo, however, was jubilant – a first WRC win on gravel was his.
Tense is the word.
Locked in a fight for the championship, not just the win in Sardinia, Neuville had nicked half a second from Ogier. The Frenchman’s lead was down to just 0.8s – exciting enough, until Julien Ingrassia left his timecard at the stop control!
To this day, Neuville still feels that should have led to Ogier’s exclusion with Tänak and Martin Järveoja transporting the card to Ogier and Ingrassia, but no matter: this was going to be decided on the stages.
Neuville was up first, and laid down a stern marker of 4m52.9s. Over to Ogier – what could he do?
The end of the stage neared and the clock was running. And then it ticked over. Ogier had lost 1.5s, giving Neuville a statement win by just 0.7s. It’s fair to say the Belgian did not hold back in his celebration.
Ogier would however get the last laugh, for it was he who was crowned world champion at the end of the year.
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Rally Italy Sardinia, WRC
Publish Date June 2, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/05/bgMSRkKv-NK2018007095-780x520.jpg June 2, 2025
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