WRC victory the aim in Italy

We travel to the fifth round of the 2021 WRC calendar expecting a strong performance at Rally Italia Sardegna, an event at which we have taken victory in four of the past five seasons.

“We have a clear target for victory in Sardinia, in an effort to make up for the missed opportunities from Portugal,” said our Team Principal Andrea. “The championship is far from over, so we have to dig deep and come back fighting.”

Bouncing back
The crew line-up remains unchanged from the last outing of the championship, with Thierry/Martijn, Ott/Martin, and Dani/Borja set to tackle the gruelling gravel roads of the Italian island.

Our Belgian and Estonian crews endured frustrating weekends in Portugal, but will be looking to get back on track at what is usually a strong event for us and our crews.

“We showed a lot of pace on the gravel in Portugal,” said Ott, “so I hope we can take that across to Italy and battle for the win once again.”

Spaniards Dani and Borja enjoyed better fortunes at Rally de Portugal, securing a podium finish at their first event as a partnership.

A winning history
All three of our drivers have won at Rally Italia Sardegna before, and will be looking to repeat their previous successes at the event this time around.

“The last two years competing at Rally Italia Sardegna have delivered really good results for me,” said Dani. “On both occasions, I have managed to win the rally, so it is an event that I really like.”

With our i20 Coupe WRC winning 13 stages at Rally de Portugal, and our recent track record in Sardinia impressive, the expectations for the weekend will be high.

“Rally Italia Sardegna is a brilliant event at which the whole team has always been very strong,” said Thierry. “A few of us have won there before, and we’ll be hoping to get back on the top step again.”

Late changes
Due to the enforced quarantine of the RedGrey team in line with pandemic protocols, Jari/Mikko will be our sole entry in WRC 2 at Rally Italia Sardegna. It will be the crew’s second outing in the category this season after competing at Arctic Rally Finland back in February.

“Jari will be the only Hyundai i20 R5 competing in WRC 2 next weekend, so it is important for him to make a positive impression,” said Andrea. “He has the opportunity to use the event to demonstrate another step ahead in a car he knows well.”