The Rally Italia Sardegna 2026 is ready to bring the great World Championship back to the roads of North Sardinia. From October 1 to 4, with Alghero as headquarters, WRC crews will face 17 special stages and approximately 307 timed kilometers, all on gravel.
This year, however, the Sardinian event will carry even greater weight. Following the cancellation of the Rally Saudi Arabia from the world calendar, the race will indeed become the thirteenth and final round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship. Therefore, the roads of Sardinia will decide the world drivers' title.
We had already discussed this in our in-depth analysis dedicated to the decision that transformed the Rally Italia Sardegna into the final test of the 2026 WRC World Championship.
Rally Sardegna 2026, starting from Alghero and Ittiri
The operational center of the twenty-third edition returns to Alghero, where the service park will also be set up on the seafront.
The first appointment is set for Thursday, October 1. At 9:01, the shakedown at Monte Baranta is scheduled, spanning 3.27 kilometers, while at 16:05 the first actual special stage will start, the Ittiri Arena Show, on a 2.08-kilometer track.
The route will mainly cross Monte Acuto, Anglona and Nurra, with a passage also through Gallura, involving numerous territories of North Sardinia.
Friday and Saturday: the Rally crosses North Sardinia
Six special stages are scheduled for Friday, October 2, with three tracks to be run twice.
It starts at 8:01 with Tula-Erula, followed at 9:01 by Su Filigosu-Lerno and at 10:08 by Monti di Alà-Sa Conchedda-Lerno. In the afternoon, the same stages will be repeated starting from 14:31.
Saturday, October 3, will instead be the longest day from a competitive point of view. The program includes Lerno-Sa Conchedda-Monti di Alà, Coiluna-Loelle and the great novelty of the 2026 edition, the Solorché stage, in the Pattada area.
The latter, 12.86 kilometers long, crosses narrow and technical forest roads before reaching the Pattada gallop area in the final part.
Sunday features Sassari: the World Championship closes at Argentiera
For Sassari, the most important day will be Sunday, October 4.
At 8:31, the first pass on Osilo-Tergu will start, a 23.71-kilometer stage. At 10:05 it will then be the turn of Sassari-Argentiera, 7.10 kilometers long.
After the second pass on Osilo-Tergu, scheduled for 11:38, attention will shift back to the Sassari territory.
At 14:15, Sassari-Argentiera will indeed host the concluding Wolf Power Stage of Rally Italia Sardegna. These will be the final competitive kilometers not only of the Sardinian race, but of the entire 2026 WRC World Championship.
A particularly evocative finale, with the route reaching the coast of Argentiera, once again transforming one of the most recognizable landscapes of the Sassari territory into an international stage.
The WRC world title is decided in Sardinia
The arrival on the Island will also be decisive for the drivers' standings.
On the eve of Rally Italia Sardegna, Elfyn Evans leads the World Championship with 230 points, followed by Sami Pajari at 213 and Oliver Solberg at 209. They are the only three drivers still mathematically in the running for the title.
With a maximum of 35 points available during the weekend, the challenge will remain open until the Sunday stages and could find its verdict precisely on Sassari-Argentiera.
After the Power Stage, the crews will return to Alghero, where the final podium is scheduled for 17:00.
For four days, North Sardinia will thus return to the center of international motorsport. And this time, between Alghero, Osilo, Sassari and Argentiera, it will not only be the victory of Rally Italia Sardegna at stake: the 2026 WRC world champion will also be crowned on the roads of the Island.