Here is the thing about championship finales: they rarely start quietly. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver arrived in Sardinia facing a twenty-one point deficit to the championship leader, but wasted no time laying down a marker through the two point zero eight kilometre Ittiri Arena Show. A stunning time of two minutes and one point four seconds put the machine right at the top of the pile.
That was zero point eight seconds quicker than nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, while teammate Elfyn Evans completed a Toyota lockout of the top three by finishing one point one seconds off the pace. With thirty-five points up for grabs across the weekend, the math is brutal and unforgiving. A near-perfect rally is the only ticket to overturning the advantage and claiming a maiden world title.
We made a small mistake in shakedown but, thanks to the mechanics, they repaired the car,
"The goal is simple, but to achieve it is a different story," he said. "Thirty-five points is what I need to get. I will do my best and try to stay out of trouble. After a rollercoaster season, somehow I'm still in the fight."
Evans went head-to-head with his nearest championship rival Sami Pajari on the spectator-friendly opening test, edging the Finn by zero point four seconds. Pajari wrapped up fourth overall, one point five seconds away from the benchmark. Even with a seventeen-point cushion over Pajari, Evans made it entirely clear that simply managing the gap on Friday's loose gravel roads is completely off the table.
"I'm feeling alright at the moment," he said. "I would say I'm looking forward to it, but I think tomorrow will be tough. We are here to drive like usual and try to do a good job, even though it will be quite challenging. To do that, you have to drive well. We are not in a position to cruise around here."
Ogier split the title contenders by taking the second-fastest time after defeating Thierry Neuville in their head-to-head duel. Neuville completed the top five, two point three seconds back, with Hyundai teammate Dani Sordo just zero point one seconds further behind in sixth.
It was a punishing start for Sordo, who somehow had to swallow a total of twenty seconds in penalties before the rally had truly settled. A ten-second hit for arriving late at TC0 following shakedown damage was compounded by another ten-second penalty for a jump start on SS1.
"We made a small mistake in shakedown but, thanks to the mechanics, they repaired the car," said Sordo, competing alongside new co-driver Patricia Sáiz. "We will try to compensate with a good rally."
Behind them, Takamoto Katsuta slotted into seventh fastest, followed by Adrien Fourmaux, Jon Armstrong, and Josh McErlean. Now the real beast awakens as the rally shifts onto the brutal gravel tracks on Friday, where road cleaning and hanging dust are guaranteed to throw the three-way championship fight into absolute chaos.
