Sébastien Ogier staged an impressive comeback on Friday at Rally Monte Carlo, vaulting from third to first overall as Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans fell victim to the treacherous Alpine roads.
Ogier, chasing an unprecedented 10th Rally Monte Carlo triumph in this season-opening round of the FIA World Rally Championship, began the day on the back foot after an off-road moment on Thursday’s third stage cost him around 20 seconds by Friday evening, however, the Frenchman had turned the tables, leading the rally by 12.6sec thanks to a masterful drive on the ice-kissed stages.
Ogier’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 team-mate Elfyn Evans initially dethroned overnight leader Thierry Neuville on the opening stage, edging ahead after shading the Belgian by 2.8 seconds at Saint-Maurice – Aubessagne 1. Neuville’s hopes of reclaiming the lead were dashed moments later when he limped out of La Bréole – Selonnet 1 with a damaged rear-left suspension, a costly consequence of running wide on a downhill hairpin.
Evans, a four-time runner-up in the drivers’ championship, saw his lead reduced to 1.5 seconds by midday. A spirited response after service helped him extend the margin to 7.9 seconds, but disaster struck on an icy section in Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes – La Bâtie-Neuve. A half-spin on a treacherous patch handed the stage win – and the rally lead – back to Ogier. The Frenchman, energised by competing on roads just a stone’s throw from his home village of Forest-Saint-Julien, extended his advantage further with a commanding performance on the day’s finale.
“It’s a good end to the day,” Ogier smiled. “I had to fight for that. Earlier today I didn’t have a mega feeling, I was really on the back foot and I couldn’t find the perfect rhythm, but the last two stages were good for me.”
With Neuville and Ott Tänak both facing setbacks – Tänak clipped a telegraph pole on SS6, damaging his i20 N Rally1’s bodywork – it was Adrien Fourmaux who carried the Hyundai torch. On his first WRC outing with the team, Fourmaux showed promise with a stage win and two second-fastest times, securing the final podium spot 1.6 seconds behind Evans.
Two-time WRC champion Kalle Rovanperä also found his rhythm after a measured start on Thursday. The Toyota ace won the morning’s opening stage and climbed from sixth to fourth by day’s end. He ended 24.3 seconds behind Fourmaux but held an 8.8-second cushion over Tänak.
Grégoire Munster delivered one of his strongest performances to date, securing consecutive second-fastest stage times in the morning loop. The M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 driver ran as high as fourth before a tire deflation on the penultimate stage dropped him to sixth overall, but worse was to come as an electrical fault on the road section after the final test forced his retirement.
Munster’s demise meant that Takamoto Katsuta rounded out Friday in sixth ahead of Toyota’s young star Sami Pajari. Neuville, down in eighth, lost more time on the second pass through La Bréole – Selonnet, suffering a tyre deflation that caused him to slide wide at the same corner he had faltered on earlier in the day.
