Sebastien Ogier claimed a third win of the World Rally Championship season after surviving a final-stage mistake to conquer a demanding Rally Italy Sardinia.

The part-time Toyota driver and co-driver Vincent Landais avoided the pitfalls of Sardinia’s 16 rough gravel stages to take an impressive win, as Toyota extended its 100% winning start to 2025. 

Ogier was locked in a tense battle with Hyundai’s Ott Tanak for the majority of the rally before pulling clear of the 2019 world champion in Sunday’s all-new quartet of stages. A half-spin followed by a small touch with a tree in the final stage threatened to derail his run to victory, but Ogier held on to win by 7.9s.

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera completed the podium in third [+50.5s], ahead of championship leader Elfyn Evans [+5m05.7s], who witnessed his points lead decrease from 30 to 19 points over Ogier.  

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Toyota Racing

Toyota anticipated a particularly difficult challenge to claim victory in Sardinia with Evans, Rovanpera and Ogier at the top of the road order in a rally where the road-cleaning effect is significant. The Japanese brand also opted not to test before the event, unlike its rivals – including Hyundai, who had been defeated on the Italian island only twice since 2016.

However, Ogier defied his road position to lead after the first stage, only for the Frenchman to lose the advantage to Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville on the next test. But it was Adrien Fourmaux who took a 2.9s lead over his team-mate at midday service. The lead then changed hands after each of Friday afternoon’s stages as Neuville became the first of the title contenders to hit trouble.

Neuville slightly misjudged a super fast and narrow section in the new Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda stage that caught out six Rally1 crews. The impact ripped the left-rear wheel from his car, prompting an early retirement. Ogier inherited a 2.1s rally lead from Fourmaux after stage six with Tanak lurking in third 7.3s adrift, after nursing a broken damper.

Saturday was dominated by another intense Ogier versus Tanak scrap after a dramatic start that witnessed Fourmaux’s demise, which resulted in Ogier briefly losing the lead.

Fourmaux picked up a puncture in the day’s first stage and initially decided to continue before stopping to change the wheel, which cost the Hyundai driver almost four minutes. Fourmaux rejoined the stage but his dust severely hampered Ogier’s visibility for a portion of the test, resulting in a time loss of 29s and the rally lead.

Toyota appealed to the organisers, who provided Ogier with a notional time that put Frenchman into a 15.0s advantage over.

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

Tanak’s charge was dealt a blow by a puncture in stage nine, although the loss was stymied to 10.5s. Tanak won two of the three Saturday afternoon stages to trail Ogier by 11.1s, which set up a grandstand finish on Sunday.

Ogier however couldn’t be stopped, and despite a moment in the Power Stage, the Toyota driver extended his advantage to take a 64th career win from Tanak, who was unable to find the pace to challenge.

Like Ogier, Rovanpera was the only other Rally1 driver not to suffer a significant issue. The Finn delivered a smart drive in a rally that doesn’t suit his driving style, delivering a third consecutive podium. Rovanpera scored the maximum 10 Super Sunday points underlined by a stunning Power Stage win by 8.1s from Neuville.

Evans faced the worst of the conditions on Friday, opening the road – and paid the price, losing more than a minute on Friday. However, the Welshman benefited from what proved to be a rally of attrition to finish fourth, despite picking up a puncture on Saturday that required a rapid wheel change. Evans added three Super Sunday points to his tally.

Takamoto Katsuta recovered from a puncture and slow-speed roll in the infamous Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda test to finish fifth. Toyota stablemate Sami Pajari ran as high as third, before a puncture on Saturday and then a spin after contact with a tree on Sunday dropped the Finn to seventh behind Oliver Solberg, the top Rally2 runner [albeit not registered for WRC2 points].

After retiring from the lead, Neuville managed to salvage five Super Sunday points. Team-mate Forumaux wasn’t so fortunate leaving the weekend empty-handed. A roll on Saturday afternoon after misjudging a braking point forced the Frenchman to rejoin the rally on Sunday, when he was opening the road.

M-Sport-Ford endured a disastrous rally losing its three works cars for Martins Sesks (roll), Josh McErlean and Gregoire Munster (suspension damage) in a matter of minutes on the Telti – Calangianus – Berchidda stage on Friday morning. McErlean and Munster rejoined the rally, which became an effective test session for Acropolis Rally Greece later this month.  

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.