Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe ended Friday in the lead of Rally Italia Sardegna, in Alghero, with a margin of just four tenths of a second over teammates Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria. After six special stages on the gravel roads of northern Sardinia, Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson were in third place, 12.3 seconds back.

On Friday, October 2, the crews faced almost 120 timed kilometres, amid dust, jumps and punctures. Fourmaux took the lead on the first stage, Tula-Erula, also benefiting from his starting position, and held it until the service break. In the afternoon, Neuville made up ground by winning two stages, including the final one of the loop, and moved ahead of his teammate in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1.

Behind the two Hyundais, Solberg was fastest on the fourth stage and finished 12.3 seconds off the lead. Sébastien Ogier, despite a puncture, was fourth, 37.4 seconds back; Sami Pajari followed 2.8 seconds behind him. Elfyn Evans, the championship leader, ended the day in sixth place, 1 minute and 8.9 seconds behind Neuville. The rally is the final round of the 2026 season, with the world titles up for grabs in Sardinia.

Friday reshuffled the WRC2 standings. Category champion Robert Virves lost time with a puncture; at the end of the day, Gus Greensmith led, with a 2.2-second advantage over Roope Korhonen. Emil Lindholm was third. Roberto Daprà and Luca Guglielmetti, representing ACI Team Italia, were fourth after a puncture on the final stage. Giovanni Trentin and Pietro Ometto, meanwhile, lost more than twenty minutes due to a technical problem.

Saturday’s leg, October 3, takes place in the Monte Acuto and includes three stages run twice. The event concludes on Sunday, October 4. The Friday schedule, featuring the six stages that determined the standings, is available in the day’s report.

  • Lerno-Sa Conchedda-Monti di Alà: two runs, including the Monte Lerno jump.
  • Coiluna-Loelle: two runs on the extended route.
  • Solorché: two runs on the stage near Pattada, the only completely new one in this edition.

Rai has scheduled live coverage on Rai Sport of both runs of Lerno-Sa Conchedda-Monti di Alà, at 08:00 and at 14:30. The overall standings after Friday had Neuville and Wydaeghe ahead of Fourmaux and Coria, with Solberg and Edmondson in third place.