Preview: Round 13 – Rally Italia Sardegna

Hyundai Motorsport is targeting victory at the final round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season, Rally Italia Sardegna, as it looks to finish as strongly in the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championship.

Following the cancellation of the 14th round in Saudi Arabia, Sardinia will now bring the 2026 season to a close, where Hyundai Motorsport is aiming for a strong outing. The team will field Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe, Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria, and Dani Sordo/Patricia Sáiz in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1, with all three crews targeting a podium finish.
 
Rally Italia Sardegna remains one of the most successful rallies for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, which has claimed seven wins, six double podiums, and 17 individual podiums over the past 13 seasons. Thierry Neuville claimed his first Rally Italia Sardegna victory in 2016, before repeating the feat in 2018 and 2023, while Dani Sordo secured back-to-back victories in 2019 and 2020. Ott Tänak then added two wins in 2022 and 2024, with his most recent victory coming by just 0.2 seconds in the joint-closest finish in WRC history.
 
For the 2026 edition of Rally Italia Sardegna, the service park returns to Alghero after a year based in Olbia, while the event returns to an October date for the first time since 2020. The stages are notoriously demanding and unforgiving, ready to punish the smallest of errors. 17 stages will cover 307.02km of competitive distance on rugged, abrasive roads, challenging drivers to manage their tyres while maintaining a competitive pace.

Q+A with Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley

After another podium finish in Chile, how confident are you that the team can carry that momentum into Rally Italia Sardegna?
“I am 100% confident that Hyundai will be challenging for the top step of the podium in Sardinia. The last two rallies in South America confirmed to me that the hard work done by the team since we started the 2nd half of the season, just 12 weeks ago in Greece, has proven the i20 N Rally1 to be both fast and reliable on gravel. In Paraguay, we had three crews with the pure car speed to win and, in Chile, the crews took a cautious approach on the first couple of days of the rally, managing the speed, but they were able to respond on Sunday. It is this car speed that we will rely on. The issue now is that we need to have consistent pace against very strong opponents, and to get that consistent speed, we need to make sure we get the best out of every element of the package: the car, the crews, the weather and the tyres."
 
What did the team learn in Chile that could help you in Sardinia?
“Chile was an event where the performance of the car was balanced against a specific strategy to try to get the maximum performance, particularly over Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, with the accident of Thierry and Martijn on Saturday morning, and some aero damage for Adrien and Alex, we didn’t get a chance to see the strategy unfold exactly as predicted. Sardinia has the same potential issues that we saw in Paraguay and Chile: technical stages, with a mix of high- and low-speed sections, everything from punishing bedrock to full sand, and, unlike last year, the move from June to October can bring a change of weather. It is still summer in Sardinia, but at this time of year, the conditions can be changeable. This is the third time that Rally Italia Sardegna has run in this time slot. The first time was the first WRC event on the island in 2004, the second time was during the COVID challenges in 2020, and then Hyundai took first and second position overall with Dani and Thierry. We have to hope this is a good sign!"
 
What will be the key to securing a strong result this weekend?
“The key to a strong result in Sardinia is going to be consistency. We need to be at 98% of our ultimate performance from the first km to the last. There will be many challenges in the 307km of stages, but the biggest challenge will be how we perform against our competitors. Without the safety net of Saudi, the focus of two events is directed at Alghero, and this will mean that what is already a difficult event will be even more intense. As always in Sardinia, the winner will have to work hard to win this event, but as this is the last event of the Rally1 era, every driver will want to take this win."
 
Sardinia marks the final Rally1 event. What has this generation of cars meant for Hyundai Motorsport?
“Sardinia will be the last event for this generation of car, possibly the fastest iteration of cars that we have ever seen in WRC, a raw speed that will take a few years to eclipse. When the programme started in 2022, the combination of hybrid assistance and sustainable fuel was wrapped around a safety cell that gave the drivers a very positive feeling inside the cabin, which helped them to unlock the best performance in themselves. This generation of cars pushed the boundaries of technology and speed, and the real winners were the spectators who got to see the drivers battle each other for supremacy. In the five years that we have had Rally1 in WRC, ten different drivers have tasted the champagne for winning, across three different manufacturers. The resources and commitment required from the teams to compete has sometimes been brutal, but the spectacle has also brought fans from around the globe to watch the gladiators compete for success. Rally1 has given Hyundai Motorsport the highest of highs and also the lowest of lows, but it has certainly created a number of poignant memories that we will carry with us into the future." 

Views from the crews

Adrien Fourmaux said:

Sardinia is an event where I have always been fast, but for different reasons I’ve never managed to come away with the result I felt was possible, so the plan is to change that this year. Having the rally in October can be a little different. There is probably a greater chance of rain, although we have also seen rain in Sardinia in June, so the weather can always play a role. If it stays dry, I expect the conditions to be quite similar to what we know: it’s a very demanding rally for both the cars and the crews, and you need to manage everything well throughout the weekend. It will also be a special event as the final round of the championship and the last rally for this great generation of Rally1 cars. We want to finish the season in the strongest possible way and fight for a good result.

 Thierry Neuville said:

Rally Italia Sardegna is the final round of the Rally1 era, and our target is clear – to fight for victory. This is an event we have won in the past, so hopefully we  have found what we need to feel confident and be fast during our pre-event test. The biggest challenge here is the nature of the stages, which are technical, demanding, and leave no room for mistakes. Tyre management will also be crucial, although the weather will be much cooler than usual. In general, I think the last 10 years have been the most competitive cars ever in WRC; they have been super fast and spectacular, and I’ve enjoyed the different challenges of both the WRC and the Rally1 cars. It would be great to close out this era with a win.

 Dani Sordo said:

I’m really motivated for Rally Italia Sardegna. The biggest challenge is the narrow roads and the stones by the side of the road. In Sardinia, you need to be precise and fast, and if you make a small mistake, there’s always a stone waiting for you. This weekend, I will have Patricia in the co-driver seat. We have already done some rallies together, and I think we can do very well next weekend. She is so clear in the pace notes, which really helps me focus. The only target we have is to be on the podium at least, but we would love to win. It’s a rally I like – the roads are quite technical, and I perform well there – Sardinia gives me a special energy, and so I hope it will be the same again this year.