Kaspar Koitla, who led the IRC 2WD Cup standings after Saturday’s six stages, is out of Rally d’Italia-Sardegna after rolling six kilometres into Sunday’s opening stage, the 25.97-kilometre Coiluna test.
Estonian Koitla had dominated the two-wheel drive category in his Honda Civic Type R and was almost three minutes ahead of Briton Harry Hunt at the overnight halt in Olbia.
Koitla’s retirement elevates Hunt – who is embarking on his second season as a rally driver – into the category lead in his I-Cars Motorsport-run Ford Fiesta R2.
Scotland’s Colin R Smith, who was runner-up to Koitla on his IRC 2WD Cup debut on Rally of Scotland last year, is second in his Civic.