Friday morning on the gravel tracks of Rally Italia Sardegna has delivered pure chaos, and as Motorsport.com Italia reports, the Hyundai beasts have climbed straight to the top of the standings. The opening stages of this final round of the 2026 season brought intense sun alongside bone-dry tracks, thick dust, and brutal rocks that punished machinery and rubber alike.
Adrien Fourmaux and co-driver Alexandre Coria seized control of the rally right away by conquering the 18,77km PS2 'Tula-Erula 1'. Following that up with a pair of third-fastest times, the #16 i20 N sits at the head of the field with a 4"6 advantage over their teammates. That sister car belongs to Thierry Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe, who claimed victory on the 17,83km PS3 'Su Filigosu-Lerno 1'.
Dropping to third are Oliver Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson, sitting 8"1 off the lead. The Toyota crew suffered a slow puncture on their front-left tyre near the end of PS2 alongside blinding dust, but they fought back brilliantly to win the 23,23km PS4 'Monti di Alà-Sa Conchedda-Lerno 1'. Behind the Swedish driver's machine by 2"6 is the Toyota of Sami Pajari and co-driver Enni Mälkönen, who climbed to fourth.
Right behind them are Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais in their Toyota. Sébastien lost 23" to the leaders after suffering a front-right puncture on PS3, leaving him visibly frustrated at stage finishes with a curt "no comment" followed by a bitter smile and a thumbs-up. Meanwhile, championship leader Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin are playing a strict game of management in their Toyota, sitting sixth at 24"9 back while consciously avoiding risks on the treacherous Hankook rubber.
Further down the order, punctures bit hard into the field. Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston suffered one on PS4 that dumped the Japanese driver's Toyota outside the top ten at over 2' off the lead. Over at M-Sport Ford, Josh McErlean and co-driver James Treacy hold seventh in their Puma at 33"9 down, while teammates Jon Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne, alongside Mārtiņš Sesks and co-driver Renārs Francis, lost ground after picking up punctures on PS4.
Dani Sordo and co-driver Cándido Carrera fell victim to a PS3 puncture in their Hyundai, compounded by getting swallowed in the thick dust of Robert Virves and co-driver Jakko Viilo's Škoda as the Spanish pair tried to rejoin after changing a tyre. In the WRC2 battle, Teemu Suninen and co-driver Teemu Hussi currently lead the class in their Toyota, ahead of Emil Lindholm and co-driver Reeta Morales in a Škoda, and Gus Greensmith and co-driver Jonas Andersson in a Toyota, while Stéphane Sarrazin and co-driver Jacques Roche slipped off the provisional podium in their Lancia.
