Just 0.4sec separates the two Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars after a gruelling opening day on Sardinia’s rough gravel roads, with Solberg only 12.3sec further back in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
Fourmaux had led since SS3 and appeared poised to take a slender advantage into Saturday after maintaining his composure through an afternoon littered with rocks, punctures and tyre-management concerns.
But Neuville had other ideas. The 2024 world champion won both of Friday afternoon’s final two stages, overturning a 4.7sec deficit on Monti di Alà - Sa Conchedda - Lerno to end the day at the head of the field.
“Our tyre management and our tyre choice paid off,” Neuville said. “I was tempted to make a similar choice to him [Fourmaux], but in the end I was pretty confident that my feeling was the good one, and I’m happy with that.
“It’s good for Hyundai and for Adrien as well, so it’s a nice battle and hopefully we can continue tomorrow.”
Fourmaux nevertheless completed one of the strongest days of his Rally1 career. He won SS2 and SS5 and carefully navigated the afternoon’s increasingly punishing roads to remain firmly in the victory fight.
“Very pleased with the day,” he said. “We started off strong. I think it’s good also for the team.”
Behind the Hyundai duo, Solberg delivered another statement performance in his pursuit of a maiden world title.
The Swede had lost time with tyre damage on Friday’s opening stage but fought back relentlessly, winning SS4 before producing two particularly strong runs to close the day. He ends Friday 27.9sec ahead of fellow championship challenger Sami Pajari and 56.6sec clear of championship leader Elfyn Evans.
Pajari was quicker than Evans on all six of Friday’s gravel stages but sits fifth overall, 40.2sec from Neuville, with nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier separating the pair in fourth.
Ogier’s victory hopes suffered a major setback when a front-right puncture on SS3 cost more than 25sec. He nevertheless recovered strongly and remains 37.4sec from the lead.
Evans, meanwhile, faced the toughest road conditions as championship leader and struggled for confidence with the handling of his Toyota during the afternoon.
“We’re here. Let’s see,” said the Welshman after SS7. “I guess tomorrow will be the test of how we are going to respond to the road position.”
Josh McErlean completed Friday seventh overall for M-Sport Ford ahead of Jon Armstrong in eighth.
Dani Sordo’s difficult rally continued when the Hyundai driver went off on Friday’s final stage. Sordo and new co-driver Patricia Sáiz were unhurt.
End of day two (Friday):
1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 1h25m04.9s
2 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +0.4s
3 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +12.3s
4 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +37.4s
5 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +40.2s
6 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m08.9s
7 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m21.1s
8 Jon Armstrong/Shane Byrne (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m26.5s
9 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3m27.2s
10 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m39.9s ...
(Results as of 18:00 on Friday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
What's next?
Saturday’s route follows a similar format to Friday with two loops of stages run either side of service, although it is slightly longer at 123.66 competitive kilometres and includes a completely new test – Salorche – to round out each loop.
