Ceremonial start only for Cagliari

Cagliari will still play a significant role in Rally d’Italia-Sardegna, even though the superspecial stage through the streets of the capital won’t go ahead after event organisers encountered funding difficulties.

Rally bosses had hoped to run a two-kilometre stage through the city on the evening of Friday 4 June but were prevented from doing so due to the costs associated with constructing the temporary course.

However, Cagliari will still form part of the itinerary of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier as it will host the ceremonial start at 20:00hrs on 4 June.

Had the Cagliari stage gone ahead it would have been the second town to host a superspecial stage in the IRC this season following Rally Argentina’s successful running of a stage through the streets of host town Carlos Paz in March.