Sebastien Ogier’s bid for a podium finish on Rally d’Italia Sardegna could be over after he lost more than one minute when he broke his Citroen DS3 WRC’s rear suspension hitting a rock.
The Frenchman, Junior world champion in 2008, has fallen to fourth overall with stage winner Petter Solberg up to third and now just 1.3s behind second-placed Mikko Hirvonen.
Hirvonen, in a factory Ford Fiesta RS WRC, is now 18.5 seconds behind leader Sebastien Loeb with one stage, the 8.24-kilometre Power Stage, remaining.
Jari-Matti Latvala, fastest on stages 15 and 16, opted for a more cautious approach through stage 17 in his Fiesta due to the presence of several large rocks by the side of the road.
Crews are now heading back to Olbia for a regroup and 30-minute service halt.
The Power Stage gets underway at 12:00hrs local time.
Standings after SS17:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 3h39m22.9s |
| 02 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +18.5s |
| 03 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +19.8s |
| 04 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +1m31.2s |
| 05 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +2m34.4s |
| 06 | D. SORDO / C. DEL BARRIO | MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS | +3m15.4s |
| 07 | O. TANAK / K. SIKK | FORD FIESTA S2000 | +6m41.9s |
| 08 | J. HANNINEN / M. MARKKULA | SKODA FABIA S2000 | +7m17.0s |
| 09 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +7m44.6s |
| 10 | N. AL ATTIYAH / G. BERNACCHINI | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +12m06.2s |
| 11 | A. ARAÚJO / R. MIGUEL | MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS | +12m41.9s |
| 12 | K. AL QASSIMI / M. ORR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +13m15.5s |
| 13 | E. NOVIKOV / S. PREVOT | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +13m58.9s |
| 14 | M. PROKOP / J. TOMANEK | FORD FIESTA S2000 | +15m09.0s |
| 15 | P. ANDERSSON / E. AXELSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +18m35.2s |