Škoda Motorsport’s Juho Hänninen has tipped Sébastien Ogier to be his main threat when the Intercontinental Rally Challenge resumes on Sardinia this week.
Ogier, who won the World Rally Championship round in Portugal yesterday (Sunday), will drive a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 on the gravel event, which gets underway with a ceremonial start in Cagliari on Friday evening.
Hänninen, who leads the IRC standings by seven points thanks to four consecutive podium finishes, said: “Ogier will be very fast because he only has to think about winning the rally while I have to think about winning the title so I can’t take any big risks. The idea is to drive for victory but I know it won’t be easy against Ogier.”
Finn Hänninen was also competing in Portugal last weekend. Although he finished the opening leg as the highest-placed Super 2000 runner in 13th overall, he failed to complete the next two legs after twice crashing his privately-run Fabia.