Kris Meeke’s bid to win Rally d’Italia-Sardegna is over after he rolled into retirement on the event’s tenth stage. The Peugeot UK driver was 3.6 seconds off the lead when he understeered off on a left-hand bend.
Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle were uninjured but their 207 Super 2000 ended up on its right side. The incident was shown live on Eurosport and will have a major impact on Meeke’s efforts to defend his IRC drivers’ title.
Meeke’s retirement means Juho Hänninen, who was fastest on the stage, now leads Paolo Andreucci by 38.9s with three stages remaining. Hänninen’s team-mate Jan Kopecký moves up to third with Thierry Neuville inheriting fourth place in his Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207.
P-G Andersson also failed to finish the stage when a broken rear differential forced him to retire.
Overall positions after SS10:
| Pos. | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hänninen Juho / Markkula Mikko | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 1h59m50.3s |
| 02 | Andreucci Paolo / Andreussi Anna | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +38.9s |
| 03 | Kopecký Jan / Starý Petr | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +43.2s |
| 04 | Neuville Thierry / Klinger Nicolas | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +4m28.9s |
| 05 | Arminen Teemu / Nikkola Tuomo | Subaru Impreza STI | +7m22.9s |
| 06 | Magalhaes Bruno / Magalhaes Carlos | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +8m13.4s |
| 07 | Ricci Luigi / Barone Maurizio | Subaru Impreza STI | +9m06.3s |
| 08 | Batistini Daniele / Pisano Carlo | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +10m06.0s |
| 09 | Trentin Mauro / Zanella Flavio | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +10m24.4s |
| 10 | Piano / Cottu Paolo | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +13m46.0s |
| 11 | Bordignon Filippo Alessandro / Bardini Justin | Subaru Impreza STI | +15m45.0s |
| 12 | Linari Gianluca / Cecchi Andrea | Subaru Impreza STI | +16m10.4s |
| 13 | Sandrin Andrea / De Col David | Renault Clio S1600 | +19m06.4s |
| 14 | Bacchella Paolo / Coletti Michele | Renault Clio R3 | +22m45.4s |
| 15 | Hunt Harry / Marshall Sebastian | Ford Fiesta R2 | +23m08.2s |