The 2006
FIA World Rally Championship moves from the grassy Pampas of Argentina to the dramatic Mediterranean landscape of Sardinia this week for round seven of the 16-event series.
Rally d'Italia-Sardegna, starting on 18 May with a ceremonial start in Porto Cervo, will be the third gravel rally of the year after Mexico and Argentina. Sardinia will also play host to the fifth round of the 2006 Junior WRC.
Following the ceremonial start in the exclusive tourist resort of Porto Cervo on Thursday 18 May, the competitive action starts on Friday morning at 0846hrs with the Terranova stage to the south of Olbia.
Each Leg will feature three stages repeated twice and will cover a total competitive distance of 344.94 kilometres. The event will be concluded when the winning car crosses the finish ramp in Porto Cervo at 1415hrs on Sunday.
Special notes:
The stages are run in the hills around the port of Olbia on the Costa Smeralda coast to the north east of the island. The roads are narrow and twisty, with a medium-soft gravel surface covering a hard-packed base, putting crews running first on the road at a disadvantage as they sweep the surface for the following cars.
This year, the stages could be very slippery as several tests have been resurfaced in the weeks preceding the rally.
This year 52 per cent of the route is completely new too. Stages from 2005 have been reworked to include sections from 2004, plus three new stages have been introduced, namely leg one’s Siniscola speed test and Campovaglio and La Prugnola in leg three.
Campovaglio will feature in the event for the first and only time this year, however. The road is due to be asphalted after the close of the rally.
The same chassis, engine and transmission must be used for both Sardinia and the following event, the Acropolis Rally of Greece. The two events differ in character - Sardinia’s tight turns and narrow roads produce relatively low average speeds, whereas the Greek route is wider, smoother and faster.
FIA World Rally Championship news:
Sebastien Loeb extended his lead at the top of the 2006 FIA World Rally drivers' championship from 11 points to 21 points following his win in Argentina, his fourth win in a row. Marcus Gronholm meanwhile remains second and his biggest threat, while 2005 Junior champion,
Daniel Sordo is third.
![Rally Italia Sardinia winners Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena on the podium with Petter Solberg and Phil Mills [2nd] and Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen [3rd]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/143183.jpg)
