How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master

Rally Monte Carlo has inspired many a driver over the years, but perhaps none more so than Sebastien Ogier, who can now call himself the undisputed Monte master after dominating the 2023 World Rally Championship opener.

The 91st running of arguably rallying’s most prestigious event provided the backdrop for the start of Kalle Rovanpera’s title defence. This year has been billed as perhaps one of the closest title fights now Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport boast either world champions or rally winners in their ranks following a wild silly season triggered by Ott Tanak’s move from Hyundai to M-Sport.

PLUS: Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title

That may still be the case, but when it comes to tackling Monte Carlo’s hallowed ribbon of relentless mountain hairpins that overlook the principality famous for its Casino, betting on Ogier to stand on the podium is as close to a sure thing in sport.

Odds on the Frenchman adding a record ninth crown to his glittering record were short and the semi-retired 39-year-old once again outlined that experience is still worth its weight in gold when it comes to mastering the Monte. Twelve months on from the heartache of a penultimate stage puncture that handed a fairytale Monte win to fellow Alpine master Sebastien Loeb – absent from this year’s entry list – a fired-up Ogier swept all aside to become the most successful driver in the event’s storied history.

In truth, Ogier’s run to a record ninth Monte Carlo win was only half the story as Toyota sent a message to Hyundai and M-Sport by winning an astonishing 16 of the 18 stages spread across three of its four GR Yaris drivers. While Ogier took the glory, it wasn’t completely plain sailing as his world champion successor Rovanpera kept him honest. The Finn made a near-perfect start to his title defence, finishing best of the rest, 18.8 seconds behind Ogier on a rally that’s not among his favourites.

Talk surrounding the potential for a three-way fight between Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport was only matched by another topic - the weather. This year’s Monte Carlo Rally will go down as perhaps the driest ever, with the fearsome mix of treacherous snow and ice largely absent from stages. It meant this year’s event was a full-on asphalt sprint.

Ogier started as he meant to go on by winning the opening stage of the season on Thursday evening

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

While the weather was very un-Monte Carlo-like, the opening stage remained true to the rally’s heritage as thousands of fans lined the roads, armed with flares and fireworks for the traditional night time run up to the famous Col de Turini to kick off the rally on Thursday. It was here where Ogier started as he meant to go on by claiming the first stage of the season, pipping Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans. The Welshman did, however, tease early strong pace, suggesting he has indeed found a direction with GR Yaris he was at times lacking last year.

The pair occupied the top two positions after the two nighttime blasts as Ogier enjoyed a perfect start to lead from Evans by 6s. New M-Sport signing Tanak ended the night third, 15.4s adrift despite life behind the wheel of the Puma not starting too brightly thanks to an electrical issue, and then the loss of fifth gear that made “every gear change a pain”, according to the Estonian.

Tanak wasn’t the only driver to hit trouble. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville was caught out by black ice at a tight left-hander, which sent him skating into a bank. Luckily, he was able to continue unabated, but it was a scare.

“There was zero grip and I was not the first one to go wide [referring to Rovanpera’s moment at the same corner],” said Neuville, who reached service in fourth. “I could see the lines but I was already too late. I lost probably seven or eight seconds because the car stalled.”

Ogier repaid his mechanics by extending his perfect start to the rally to five consecutive stage wins, the feat made even more impressive given the eight-time world champion had to take several risks to compensate for a hybrid boost failure

It was a relatively quiet start from world champion Rovanpera but he reckoned that “the main thing is that we are here” as he sat fifth, 17.1s behind.

Ogier showed why he is now the most successful driver in Monte Carlo history on Friday, but his sublime run to a sizeable lead wasn’t without challenges. Moments before he left service a clutch issue was discovered that could have derailed his 2022 Monte redemption effort. However, Toyota proved its mechanics are among the elite as they swiftly whipped out the gearbox and fitted a new one in “record time”. “They did it in 13 minutes, which was very impressive to watch,” said Ogier.

He repaid his mechanics by extending his perfect start to the rally to five consecutive stage wins, the feat made even more impressive given the eight-time world champion had to take several risks to compensate for a hybrid boost failure.

The dry conditions made for a flat-out asphalt sprint, conditions Ogier thrived in as he built up a healthy lead on Friday

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

What made life a bit easier was drama for his nearest rival Evans, who maintained his strong start and appeared the only driver able to live with Ogier’s pace. The Welshman suffered heartbreak in the form of a sudden right-rear puncture. It cost him 42.1s and dropped the two-time WRC runner-up to fifth overall, nearly a minute adrift.

“I have no idea [how that happened], it was at the top of a very fast place,” said Evans, who would end Ogier run of stage wins on the very next test, stage six. “Just a warning on the dash – that's all I got.” 

Evans’s issue meant Ogier’s lead ballooned and by the time crews returned to service in the Monte Carlo harbour the lead stood at a whopping 36.0s from Rovanpera, who found form on Friday afternoon. The Finn galloped up the leaderboard while also claiming his first fastest time of the year on stage eight. At this stage, the WRC’s new wunderkind was realistic about his victory hopes in the wake of the Ogier juggernaut.

“It’s good to be in the fight,” said Rovanpera. “Seb has been much faster than anybody else so far, but we are still in a close fight with the guys behind, so we have to continue to push and see what happens.”

It proved to be a frustrating Friday for Hyundai as Neuville headed the Korean marque’s charge in third, 1.9s behind Rovanpera. But there were clear signs of frustration in the sky-blue camp now led by former Renault Formulas 1 boss Cyril Abiteboul, who experienced a WRC round for the first time. Hyundai had elected for a soft set-up across its three i20 Ns for Neuville, new signing Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo in expectation of traditional wintry conditions. Bone dry asphalt spelt disaster for that plan as all three drivers struggled to unlock the speed to match the Toyotas.

“I was quite on the maximum to be honest… that's all I can do,” said Neuville. “We expected better pace in the afternoon but there wasn’t more to find. I tried to push a couple of times, but we were missing a bit.”

It was the same story for Lappi and Sordo, both perplexed by the lack of pace.

“Everything is OK now, except the times,” said eighth-placed Lappi, who faced the challenge of adjusting to a new car in the i20 following his move from Toyota. “I just can't understand because the car feels good and the driving is OK. I am disappointed.”

Neuville found his Hyundai didn't have the pace to match the Toyotas ahead

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Sordo, who sat sixth, added: “I don't understand where I can get the time. For me it was a clean run, but when you see the times of the others they are all faster. I think we had some good tyres now and the car was working well. I am a little bit confused."

The nature of the WRC’s intense event schedule dawned on Abiteboul having now experienced a first full day of competition. “One of the main things I am learning in WRC is the longer days, and not having many opportunities to sit down with crews after a stage,” he said. “I am looking forward to catching up with them properly to see how we can make the car better to give them what is missing.”

There was also frustration in the M-Sport camp as Tanak continued to adjust to the new Puma. “The car is very progressive and comfortable to drive but it is just not very racy, so we definitely need to try to do something,” he reckoned.

A 36s lead at the start of the day was reduced to 16s as Rovanpera injected excitement and installed doubt that perhaps Ogier would have a fight on his hands for the win

Team-mate Pierre-Louis Loubet had other concerns as the Corsican slid off the road at a hairpin left on stage five and punctured a hole in his power steering pump. Without a midday service to repair the damage, he was left to wrestle his Puma without steering assistance for the remaining three stages, earning him the “Corsican Hulk” moniker after his heroic effort. At times co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul had to pull the handbrake to help navigate the hairpins and ease the strain on Loubet’s arms.

“If you do that for a day you can become quite strong I can assure you,” said Loubet, who ran as high as seventh. Sadly, Loubet’s efforts would come to nothing. On Saturday morning’s first stage he entered the final corner a tad too hot and slid into barriers, causing terminal suspension damage.

For rally leader Ogier, Saturday was all about preserving his advantage now the hard work of establishing a healthy lead was complete. With last year’s puncture nightmare fresh in his mind, a measured approach was adopted across the day’s six stages. Despite this he still notched up a win on stage 10.

“We had fun and there was a good rhythm,” said Ogier. “I took it a bit less in places where I thought there was a risk of punctures, but all good."

Ogier’s defensive stance opened the window for his rivals to attack, and attack they did. Rovanpera began to nibble at Ogier’s lead before slashing it with a blistering display on stage 14 to end the day’s action. A 36s lead at the start of the day was reduced to 16s as Rovanpera injected excitement and installed doubt that perhaps Ogier would have a fight on his hands for the win.

“I think it [the lead] should be enough,” said a nervy Ogier. “It was the most dangerous stage for punctures, so I took it easy and I am happy this stage is over now.”

Rovanpera put on a charge to keep up the pressure on Ogier heading into the final day

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Saturday afternoon also finally saw Hyundai come to the fore as Neuville won stages 12 and 13 to end Toyota’s stranglehold of the top of the timesheets.

“We had a good stage but we had a huge jump and I feel a bit of back pain,” said Neuville after stage 13. “We were a bit on the limit and over the limit a few times.”

There were also signs that Lappi was finding more speed too despite suffering a puncture, while Sordo found himself battling a persistent hybrid issue.

At M-Sport however, Loubet’s retirement was compounded by an intermittent power steering issue for Tanak, which cost him more time, but the Estonian was able to hang onto fifth behind the recovering Evans.

“When it gets twisty and in the last kilometres it's hard,” said Tanak. “But in the fast parts and straights it's not so bad.”

Any doubts Ogier would loosen his grip on the event were quickly quashed thanks to stage win on the Sunday’s first test. Ogier chalked up his ninth stage win on the penultimate test before sealing victory with a relative cruise through the rally ending stage end; a final run up to the Col de Turini. Despite this being his ninth win and the first for his co-driver Vincent Landais, the joy was plain to see having rewritten the history books at a rally he idolised as a child.

“I love this rally,” said a jubilant Ogier, who now leads Loeb 9-8 in the Monte Carlo stakes. “It's the one which gave me the dream right at the beginning and I am so happy for Vincent.

“It means a lot. This rally is the rally for me. For sure, in my eyes it is always something special and I think I can be proud of myself and my team because it has been an amazing weekend as Toyota provided us fantastic tools. It will take a bit of time to sink in but I really appreciate this moment.”

Co-driver Vincent Landais took his first Monte win alongside Ogier, as the pair were joined for the celebrations by team boss Latvala

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

There was still a sting left in the Monte Carlo tale though as Rovanpera produced his 2022 party trick by winning the Power Stage, somehow pulling out half a second on Tanak in the final sector to deny M-Sport’s new man a stage win.

“I have to say we are really happy with this weekend,” said Rovanpera, who is the real championship leader given Ogier’s part-programme. “Big congratulations to Seb: he’s the master of Monte Carlo.”

Neuville was satisfied with a podium ahead of Evans, with Tanak in fifth. Takamoto Katsuta netted sixth despite suffering a rear suspension failure on the final stage as he limped home ahead of Sordo and Lappi. Loubet briefly returned on Sunday, before retiring due to a water leak repair that left him without enough time to reach the final stages.

While this weekend offered a timely reminder of Ogier’s class, maybe the battle to be ultimate Monte Master is not over. Over to you Loeb. “Bravo Seb Ogier. When is the revenge of the retirees of the WRC?”, wrote Loeb on Twitter in the aftermath of Ogier’s win.

A troubled return to M-Sport for Tanak netted fifth

Photo by: M-Sport