After the rigours of the Jordanian deserts, the World Rally Championship will have little respite from the heat this week as its heads to the island of Sardinia, though at least the air will be less dry and more bearable.
The sixth round of the WRC represents a return to Europe after a string of three long-haul events in a row.
Itself the first of a back-to-back trio of Mediterranean events, it heralds the start of the most demanding section of the season with three events in just five weeks before the summer break.
The event starts with a ceremonial start in the exclusive resort of Porto Cervo, 30 kilometres to the north of the service park, and consists of 17 stages stretching 354 competitive kilometres across the northern provinces of Olbia, Sassari and Nuoro. Whilst many of the planned routes are very similar to those used in previous years, there have been several significant changes to pit competitors against new challenges.
A key characteristic of Sardinia's speed tests is their narrowness and drivers know mistakes can be punished as rocks line the edge of the tracks, waiting to batter a car's suspension or attack its tyres. A sandy surface masks a hard base below and roads can be rutted and rocky during the second pass.
Special notes:
Sardinia lies in the Mediterranean sea between Spain and Italy, just 12 kilometres from the coast of Corsica, itself the scene for a World Rally encounter later in the season. As per previous years, the rally is based in the northern tip of the island, in the industrial port of Olbia on the Costa Smeralda coast.
The soft and almost sandy gravel roads wind through a combination of unspoiled green mountainsides that contrast with the sometime dusty and rocky routes of the lower regions.
The traction and braking stability of the cars will be really tested by the loose surfaces that can cause the cars to wander as the road beneath them shifts. Eighty per cent of the local area is hilly, and while more rolling than mountainous, the stages steadily undulate.
