The 2019 world champion, 34, won almost everything by winning six of the seven stages contested on Saturday.

The eighth and last special of the day (SS17) ended in confusion, interrupted after the minor accident of Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux, whose car blocked the road a few minutes before being evacuated.

Before this truncated stage, run normally by some drivers but not all due to a red flag shown by an official, Tänak was 46 seconds ahead of Irishman Craig Breen (Ford) and 1 min 06 sec 8/10 on Spaniard Dani Sordo (Hyundai), looking for a third victory in Sardinia after 2019 and 2020.

"It's a good day, we didn't need to force it", commented the Estonian, after having covered the last stage at low speed, he who had already won in Sardinia in 2017.

Not unlucky on Friday, with the cancellation of the last two stages when he had a transmission problem, Tänak took advantage on Saturday of the early exit from the track of the leader Esapekka Lappi, who was ahead of him by a few tenths.

The Finn, replacing defending French champion Sébastien Ogier at the wheel of a Toyota, only engaged in part of the races, gave up on the first morning stage (SS10) after hitting rocks on the edge of the track.

- Neuville injured -

Behind the leading trio, the Frenchman Pierre-Louis Loubet (4th) confirmed his good first day.

With composure, the winner of the lower WRC2 category in 2019 stayed in touch, taking advantage of some driving errors from Sordo.

Fourmaux also had a good rally until the last stage of the day, resisting well in 5th place despite the growing pressure from the Finnish prodigy Kalle Rovanperä (6th).

But the Frenchman made a mistake in a section a priori without trap, forced to retire and causing the interruption of the special.

Thierry Neuville at the wheel of his Hyundai during the 11th special of the Sardinia rally, June 4, 2022 Andreas SOLARO AFP

Rovanperä, at the head of the World Championship, mainly tried to avoid mistakes, acknowledging "fighting" with his Toyota on slippery tracks.

The winner of the last three rounds of the WRC (Sweden, Croatia, Portugal) will undoubtedly find it difficult to pass the pass of four in Sardinia.

But he can increase his lead in the drivers' championship: his runner-up (46 pts), the Belgian Thierry Neuville, indeed abandoned Saturday morning, victim of an accident at the start of the twelfth stage.

On Sunday, Rovanperä's new runner-up could well be Tänak.

As long as the Estonian keeps the same pace during the last four stages near Alghero (north-west), including the final "Power stage" offering the first five points for the championship, regardless of the final classification.

© 2022 AFP