2024 Rally Italia Sardegna Betting Predictions and Analysis

When the crew heads to the hot and muggy conditions at the foot of the Alghero, they should be much more agitated than they were in the previous WRC event in Portugal. The racing circuit and the other drivers are almost the least of their concerns. 

Another gravel road circuit with tight curves, the WRC Rally Italia Sardegna, makes position crucial to the winner, particularly in humid weather. Drivers need to be physically capable of completing the 21 stages in this demanding environment and emotionally strong enough to endure the harsh driving circumstances. 

World Rally Championship (WRC) History

The World Rally Championship (WRC) was established as the preeminent rally competition of the year by combining the most popular international rallies into a unified championship. It was the first formalized rally competition of its kind. That covered the European Rally Championship and nine of the prior International Championship for Manufacturers.

January 19, 1973, is now remembered as the day that permanently altered the competitive rally landscape with the holding of the first WRC event at Monte Carlo. Since then, the World Rally Car rules were established, with the intention of replacing Group A, barely four years after the first event in 1997.

Even while Group A has had its share of historic events, the 1980s Group B period stands out as one of the most significant rally eras.

Among the strongest, quickest, and riskiest vehicles the rally world has ever seen were on display. Rally racing thus gained enormous popularity, and while it had its bad times, the Group B period served as the impetus for the rally to become mainstream.

Something had to give as Group B drove the vehicles and drivers to the breaking point. Following the murder of Henri Toivonen in 1986—three spectators were killed when Joaquim Santos crashed into the crowd—Group B was outlawed.

Even while WRC-spec vehicles are regarded as the fastest and most sophisticated rally cars ever, the competition is not nearly as hazardous as the infamous Group B of the 1980s

Sardegna Rally Betting picks

Kalle Rovanperä

Last time out, Sebastien Ogier renewed his duel with Sebastien Loeb in the Rally de Portugal, but he will temporarily return to semi-retirement. Given that Ogier has won this race four times in his career, including last year, it is excellent news for one of the top favourites at Italia Sardegna Kalle Rovanperä. 

Loeb has won Italia Sardegna four times, and Ogier won his eighth Driver's Championship the previous season, so it will be good to give some fresh blood a chance to establish themselves in the World Rally Championship. Toyota thinks Rovanperä, who is leading that charge, is Ogier's apparent successor. 

At barely 21 years old, Rovanperä is leading the WRC standings by 46 points over Thierry Neuville. With three straight victories and a flawless 30 in the past two, Rovanpera is on an almost unheard-of streak. 

With a circuit that is eerily similar to WRC Rally Italia Sardegna, Rovanperä won the last event in Portugal, which is why this is his race to lose. Normally a death sentence when you're laying the track, Rovanperä won four of the five stages and had the quickest time on the Fafe power stage, earning him 30 points and a second consecutive flawless score. 

Dani Sordo

Though Rovanpera currently has a great run, some would rank Dani Sordo as the favourite of the Rally Italia Sardegna. Considering he is still getting used to moving to a hybrid this season, his third-place performance in Portugal two weeks ago was rather remarkable. 

Sordo could bring it all together in Italy, particularly in a second consecutive gravel race, if he can get used to the hybrid kick that caused him to spin out in Portugal. Here, in 2019 and 2020, Sordo won, and he began in a respectable sixth place. 

Efyn Evans

Given that Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans finished 1-2 in the very comparable Rally de Portugal, Toyota has a strong chance of winning this weekend. Ogier has been adopting a lighter schedule, so Evans should have an opportunity to move up after finishing second to him in the World Rally Championship the previous two years. 

Despite a difficult first few weeks of the season, Evans is gathering steam and is now in fifth place. Competing against a field full of celebrities, he led in Portugal on Friday and managed to hang on for second place. With competitors like Loeb and Ogier absent from Sardinia this weekend, Evans' route to victory becomes much more obvious. 

Our Italia Sardegna Rally Betting Predictions

While it seems unlikely that Rovanpera could win three consecutive races on different surfaces, it is exactly how we have interpreted his previous three wins. It will no longer be possible to ignore Rovanpera as a phenomenon. 

Since Sordo has won two of the previous three WRC Rally Italia Sardegna events—the last two while residing in Alghero—he is the clear favourite here. 

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