Rally Sardinia completed Friday morning’s three stages on October 2, 2026. Adrien Fourmaux led after SS4, 4.6 seconds ahead of Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville. Oliver Solberg was third, 8.1 seconds off the lead and highest of the three drivers contesting the world title. Sami Pajari was fourth and Elfyn Evans sixth.
Three morning stages, two changes of leader
According to Toyota’s October 1 announcement, the rally began with SS1 on Thursday, when Solberg took the lead. Friday morning comprised SS2 to SS4. Fourmaux was fastest on SS2, but Ogier moved into the overall lead at its end.
On SS3, Ogier lost more than 25 seconds to a right-front puncture and Fourmaux took over the lead. Solberg had also suffered tyre damage on the morning’s opening stage, but subsequently won SS4 and moved from fourth to third overall.
SS4 opens the gaps between the title contenders
Solberg was 16.5 seconds quicker than Evans on SS4, accounting for almost all of their 16.8-second midday gap. Pajari beat Evans on all three morning stages and led him by 14.2 seconds overall, but remained 2.6 behind Solberg. The title contenders’ current order of Solberg, Pajari and Evans was exactly the reverse of the pre-rally championship order.
The midday order had not decided the title. Evans entered with leads of 17 points over Pajari and 21 over Solberg; the time gaps after SS4 were not points gaps. Afternoon repeat stages remained, and the championship situation would continue changing with final positions and subsequent scoring. The table summarises the top six and gaps listed in WRC’s official midday report.
Top six overall after SS4
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap to leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | — |
| 2 | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +4.6 seconds |
| 3 | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +8.1 seconds |
| 4 | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +10.7 seconds |
| 5 | Sébastien Ogier | Toyota | +23.0 seconds |
| 6 | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +24.9 seconds |
