World Rally Championship Final: Solberg leads in the opening super special stage

Third and fourth places went to Elfyn Evans (+1.1 seconds) and Semi Pajari (+1.5 seconds), the Swede’s two World Championship rivals.

Behind the Toyota quartet, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) set the fifth-fastest time, 2.3 seconds behind. His team-mate Dani Sordo (+2.4) took sixth place ahead of Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta (+2.7).

Showdown auf Sardinien: Pajari, Evans und Solberg fechten den Titel aus

Foto: Red Bull

On Friday, Elfyn Evans will be the first to take to the track on tomorrow’s six special stages of the 23rd Rally Sardinia, clearing the loose gravel.

“The goal is simple: but achieving it is quite another matter,” said Solberg, looking ahead to the rest of the weekend after the opening day. “35 points – that’s my target, and I’ll give it my all to achieve it. After a season full of ups and downs, I’m somehow still in the running, which is incredible. So I’ll just do my best and never give up.”

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World Championship leader Elfyn Evans said: “It feels pretty good. From tomorrow, it’ll be a big challenge. We can’t just roll along and play it safe.”

Thierry Neuville im Hyundai zum Auftakt bester Nicht-Toyota

Foto: XPB

“That was just a little taste of what’s to come this weekend. I skidded a bit here and there. From tomorrow, it’ll be a mad rally,” explained Pajari.

Newly crowned European Rally Champion Teemu Suninen set the fastest time in WRC2. Suninen, who is competing in a Toyota, beat his Finnish compatriot Emil Lindholm (Škoda) by half a second.