The Car Guide Heads to Rally Italia Sardegna – It’s Gonna be Hot!

Since joining the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Volkswagen has been seriously shaking things up. The German brand has won the World Rally Championship Manufacturers' Championship two years in a row, while official VW driver Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia pulled off the same achievement in the drivers' category. 

On a roll

At the wheel of his Polo, the Frenchman snagged eight victories last year. He’s on a roll and has added three more wins early this season, including the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally that kicked off the season. 

Micky’s jump

France’s Ogier-Ingrassia duo that won the Rally Italia two years running has every intention of repeating the performance this weekend. The winding, dusty roads of the Sardinia’s Alghero region will serve as the playing field. The Monte Lerno portion includes the well-known “Micky’s jump,” where the most spectacular jumps of the season happen. At full speed, the rally cars soar more than 40 metres through the air and the road literally disappears beneath their wheels. Definitely not for the faint of heart!

The Car Guide will be there

With 23 special stages, the Rally Italia starts on Friday, June 12th, and ends two days later in the early afternoon, local time. The teams will have covered a total of 1,553.11 kilometres, including 394.63 kilometres on special stages. 

Denis Duquet will be representing the Car Guide and will send us a detailed account of the most spectacular portions of the WRC.

Here’s what the WRC has to say about the Sardegna rally:   

• Fast but narrow roads lined with bushes, trees or rocks right on the edge leave no room for error.

• Hard base roads covered by a sandy surface, which is swept away during the first pass to leave rougher and rutted conditions for the second run. 

• Thin layer of slippery gravel on the surface disadvantages early starters in the opening leg.

• Temperatures approach 30°C so it will be uncomfortable in the cars with higher than normal stress on engines and transmissions.