Sainz and Moya were performing course car duties on the annual event in the landlocked republic, which was being contested by several WRC heroes including Markku Alen, Juha Kankkunen, Sandro Munari and Bjorn Waldegard. Alen won the Rally Legend Historic section in a Lancia Rally 037.

Moya navigated Sainz to 24 of his 26 WRC victories and they were competing together when Sainz landed the drivers’ crown in both 1990 and 1992. Their partnership ended following Rally GB in 2002.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s entry in the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship with its first World Rally Car project will move a step closer this week when the German firm continues its WRC acclimatisation programme on Rally Italia Sardegna with Andreas Mikkelsen and Sebastien Ogier driving a brace of Skoda Fabia Super 2000s.

“On returning to Sardinia, our squad, in a way, is coming full circle,” said Volkswagen Motorsport director Jost Capito. “This is where the public starting signal for our WRC project was given last year. We will again be working seriously and with full concentration on preparing for our entry with the Polo R WRC. Therefore, our primary aim is to see both cars finish in Porto Cervo if at all possible. Naturally, though, we’re also driven by the ambition to continue our string of ten class victories to date at the two last WRC rounds.”