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Rally Italia Sardegna countdown: Route

Two all-new special stages headline Rally Italia Sardegna's (9 - 12 june) route which shows significant changes compared to 2015.

Friday's 15.00km Tula and the 6.07km test from Sassari to Argentiera, which forms Sunday's live TV Power Stage, have never been used since Italy's round of the FIA World Rally Championship moved to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia in 2004.

More than half the rough and rocky competitive distance has changed from last year, with some roads driven in the opposite direction and others familiar to competitors from previous seasons.

The rally is based for a third year in the west coast town of Alghero, and all the action is focused in the north of the island. Thursday night's curtain-raising speed test in the southern capital of Cagliari is replaced by a 2.00km stage at a former motocross track at Ittiri.

Friday's 102.86km of action is based near Sassari, north-east of Alghero and close to the north coast. Four morning stages are repeated in the afternoon after service in Alghero and all are new compared to last year.

Saturday is the longest and toughest of the rally, accounting for more than half the event's competitive distance at 177.70km. The tests are clustered round Budduso in the Monte Acuto region and all three morning stages are repeated in the afternoon after service.

Monti di Ala', Coiluna - Loelle and Monte Lerno are all classics and have comprised Sardinia's Saturday action for many years. The 44.26km Monte Lerno is the longest of the rally and includes the famous Micky's Jump, the picture-postcard crest where cars hang in the air for up to 40 metres as the road falls away beneath.

Sunday's finale features two repeated stages covering 40.26km amid stunning scenery on the east coast, north of the host town.

The 19 stages cover 322.82km in a route of 1290.37km.

Zdroj: wrc.com