Team bosses look ahead to Rally Italia Sardegna 2018 🇮🇹

Here are the views of team bosses ahead of Rally Italia Sardegna — seventh round of the World Rally Championship in 2018…

M-SPORT FORD WRT — Malcolm Wilson, Team Principal said:

“Rally Italia Sardegna is an event that our team always looks forward to. It’s a beautiful island that is picture-perfect for rallying, and its rural terrain offers some of the most challenging and demanding stages on the calendar. Having won this event last year, the Fiesta is a proven contender and we’ll be aiming to challenge for the top results once again next week.

“Sébastien will certainly be keen to add to his tally of impressive performances at this event. Having won here three times, he knows what it takes to deliver and he’ll certainly be pushing for a strong result. He won’t have to open the road this year and I’m sure he’ll make the most of that, but there’ll still be a lot of drivers benefitting from a cleaner road behind.

“Two of those drivers are Elfyn and Teemu — who proved in Portugal that they’re ready and capable of challenging for the top results. Both could secure another podium next week, and their recent performance provided a big boost for the team — with added motivation for both championships as the season continues.

“All three drivers are capable of securing strong results next week and I’m eager to see what they can do. The competition will be extremely strong, but I think we have the potential to deliver a good team result all round.”

HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT — Michel Nandan Team Principal said:

“We know it will be another tough weekend. Our car has shown itself to be strong on gravel and we have had a lot of success in Sardinia previously so we aim to keep our hold on the championship lead heading into the long break.”

TOYOTA GAZOO RACING WRT — Tommi Mäkinen, Team Principal said:

“I am feeling confident about we can achieve in Sardinia. We had a very good test there before Rally Argentina, which was of course a great event for us. I believe that we should have a strong package for these kind of roads. Generally, the performance has been very positive over the past few rallies, and everybody in the team is working hard to keep improving. We already had some good results in Sardinia last year, and Ott won the rally, so I think it is an event where all of our drivers feel comfortable. Overall, there are many reasons to be positive.”

CITROËN TOTAL ABU DHABI WRT — Pierre Budar, Team Principal said:

“This event has a reputation for presenting the crews and their cars with a stern challenge every year. The aim will be to keep moving forward and get among the frontrunners. Craig has the potential to secure one of the minor places. He showed it again in Portugal by running third at one stage, just a few seconds off the lead. Meanwhile, Mads has already shown he is capable of fighting for a podium spot and he also has a lot of experience here, which will undoubtedly be useful to the team.”