Monte Carlo Rally 2018
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We're going to leave you now. Hopefully you've enjoyed the return of the WRC and our Live coverage alongside it – we've certainly enjoyed you bringing you the updates.
Be sure to check out Autosport.com in the week for post-Monte WRC news. And here's our event report if you want to get reacquainted with what happened. Bye for now:
Be sure to check out Autosport.com in the week for post-Monte WRC news. And here's our event report if you want to get reacquainted with what happened. Bye for now:
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So, that’s your lot from the Monte Carlo Rally. We’re sad that it’s ended, happy to have lived it: what an up-and-down way to start the 2018 season.
Here are your leading finishers:
1 Ogier 4h18m55.5s
2 Tanak +58.3s
3 Latvala +1m52.0s
4 Meeke +4m43.1s
5 Neuville +4m53.8s
6 Evans +4m54.8s
7 Lappi +4m57.5s
8 Bouffier +7m39.5s
9 Breen +9m06.7s
10 Kopecky +16m43.0s
Here are your leading finishers:
1 Ogier 4h18m55.5s
2 Tanak +58.3s
3 Latvala +1m52.0s
4 Meeke +4m43.1s
5 Neuville +4m53.8s
6 Evans +4m54.8s
7 Lappi +4m57.5s
8 Bouffier +7m39.5s
9 Breen +9m06.7s
10 Kopecky +16m43.0s
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Ogier: "It's been a difficult weekend, extremely difficult. I think I've never struggled so much for tyre choice on a Monte weekend. But in the end we win, and I'm super happy with that. I have to thank my team.
"Everyone has made mistakes, I have as well, but less than the others!"
"Everyone has made mistakes, I have as well, but less than the others!"
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Ogier comes through fifth-fastest on the stage, but it's enough for victory by almost a minute.
Meeke wins the powerstage from the Hyundais of Neuville and Mikkelsen.
Meeke wins the powerstage from the Hyundais of Neuville and Mikkelsen.
Checkered flag
Sebastien Ogier wins the Monte Carlo Rally!
Ogier is three minutes from winning the rally. Can he keep it together?
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Fine, fine result from Tanak – second on his Toyota debut. Looked like he might challenge for the win at some point but he is very happy about this.
"I had no idea what was going to happen but I've had really good feeling in the car," he says. "The car is amazing. Thanks to the team."
"I had no idea what was going to happen but I've had really good feeling in the car," he says. "The car is amazing. Thanks to the team."
Tanak's through, fifth-fastest but more importantly banks second on the rally.
Latvala's through, fourth-quickest. No powerstage points but cements third on the rally.
Phew.
Latvala's coming towards the end of the stage (and had a bit of a slide at the corner that caught Lappi out...)
Tanak is on the stage. Is there yet more drama to come?
Latvala's coming towards the end of the stage (and had a bit of a slide at the corner that caught Lappi out...)
Tanak is on the stage. Is there yet more drama to come?
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How utterly grim for Lappi, who had been driving a very good rally.
"I lost the rear on the gravel part and couldn't catch it and couldn't brake so we went wide. No chance to put the reverse on. That's it."
Asked how disappointed he is, Lappi says: "I cannot even describe."
Gutting.
"I lost the rear on the gravel part and couldn't catch it and couldn't brake so we went wide. No chance to put the reverse on. That's it."
Asked how disappointed he is, Lappi says: "I cannot even describe."
Gutting.
Wow. That's a very unexpected twist on the final stage.
Crash
No, no, it's even worse. Lappi's shipped three places! He's fallen behind Neuville and Evans too. What an absolute horror show on the final stage.
Lappi's in – 33s slower than Meeke! Nightmare. He's lost fourth to Meeke on the final stage!
He's got to get about a dozen seconds back and there's no way he's going to do that.
It looks like Lappi's half a minute down on Meeke at the second split...
Awful error from Lappi, he's run wide and onto some mud. Stopped, engaged reverse, got out after what felt like an eternity. Has that just cost him fourth, given Meeke's stunning powerstage time?
Crash
Lappi's off!
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Wow, check this out from Meeke. Very honest. Pumped up after a fine stage.
"It's been a horrendous weekend, absolutely a nightmare. I've never felt so out of touch, I can't get a feeling for it.
"When you have to put it all on the line on the final stage for fifth, it's not good enough. We need big changes to be competitive on this rally."
"When you have a desperate rally like this and come away with some points, it's not bad."
"It's been a horrendous weekend, absolutely a nightmare. I've never felt so out of touch, I can't get a feeling for it.
"When you have to put it all on the line on the final stage for fifth, it's not good enough. We need big changes to be competitive on this rally."
"When you have a desperate rally like this and come away with some points, it's not bad."
Just the one place gained for Neuville then. Meeke guaranteed fifth.
Neuville looks genuinely stunned that Meeke's gone 2.3s faster than him.
Meeke's absolutely pulled that out the bag. Very good stage.
Stopwatch
Oh, well done Kris Meeke! He's quickest. A 10m06.7s. Superb stuff.
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"We gave it everything we've got. We knew it would be difficult. The damage was done on the second run. Disappointed."
Evans pretty to the point there.
Evans pretty to the point there.
Ah, no! Bad news for Evans. He's 8.2s slower than Neuville – he's lost the place by one second on the final stage!
Here comes Evans, reaching the stage end now...
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Neuville: "We have done a good rally, first day was my fault. That's Monte Carlo. We came back."
He says he thought a podium was still possible after his snowbank shunt on Thursday, before further setbacks.
He says he thought a podium was still possible after his snowbank shunt on Thursday, before further setbacks.
Meeke and Lappi have started their powerstage efforts. In fact, Meeke's almost halfway through his. He's under pressure now to keep Neuville and Evans at bay.
Stopwatch
Neuville fastest! 10m09.0s. He beats his team-mate by 2.1s.
Bouffier's through, 21.2s slower than Mikkelsen.
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Breen reckons he lost "three or four seconds" when he stalled at a hairpin. "Revs got a bit low and it just conked out."
And as he finishes, Evans starts his powerstage run. Now we're into the runners challenging for serious points.
Breen's through the end of the stage and finishes it 4.4s slower than Mikkelsen.
Neuville's started the stage. Kopecky's finished it, just 29.7s slower than Mikkelsen. And that is the WRC2 win for the Skoda man.
Bouffier on the stage, Neuville coming up in about a minute.
Demevius finishes the stage 1m15.7s slower than Mikkelsen. That's more than half a minute faster than he did it earlier. Stage is much faster. Will Mikkelsen's road position count against him?
Breen on the stage.
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Mikkelsen: "The tyres were quite good, we went very slow on the other stages to save them. It was an OK stage, there's a lot of gravel in there so I expect the conditions to be a bit faster car-by-car but in this position I think we had a good run."
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen's in, stopping the clocks at 10m11.1s. That's some 23s quicker than Neuville's benchmark on the first run through this stage earlier today.
Kopecky, the WRC2 leader, is now on the stage.
By: Matt Beer
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