Sardinia’s 15th edition revealed

Organisers of Rally Italia Sardegna have revealed details of this year’s 15th anniversary edition which will run from 7 – 10 June as the seventh round of the WRC.

First held on the Mediterranean island in 2004, this year’s itinerary follows a similar format to 2016 and 2017, with action focused on rugged, gravel roads in the north of the island.

For the fifth year running, the rally base and service park will be on Alghero’s historic harbourside and the competition will start from there on Thursday evening before a 2km stage at the former motocross track at nearby Ittiri. In a change to 2017, when cars then crossed the island to a parc fermè in Olbia, this time crews will overnight in Alghero.

Friday’s itinerary features a loop of four stages to the east of the city that are run twice for a total of 124.18 competitive kilometres. The familiar Tula has been extended to 22.32km and is followed by Castelsardo (14.55km), Tergu-Osilo (14.14km) and Monte Baranta (11.08km). After a midpoint service, cars will repeat the same loop in the afternoon.

Saturday is the longest of the event with 149.10 stage kilometres divided over six well-known challenges in the Monte Acuto region. A morning loop of Monte Lerno (21.60km), home to the famous Micky’s Jump [above], Monti di Alà (37.30km) and Coiluna-Loelle (14.95km), will be repeated in the afternoon after a 30-minute service in Alghero and a second pass through a shortened (1.40km) version of Thursday’s Ittiri test.

Sunday offers a sprint finish, with just four short tests run in exactly the same format as 2017. The leg features two repeated stages covering 42.04km amid stunning scenery on the coast, north of the host town.

Cala Flumini (14.06km) and Sassari-Argentiera (6.96km) will be run twice without an opportunity for service. The second pass of Sassari-Argentiera will count as the Live TV Power Stage.