Monte Carlo Rally WRC: Evans seizes Friday lead after Tanak's crash
Toyota debutant Elfyn Evans seized the Monte Carlo Rally lead from Hyundai's Thierry Neuville after dominating Friday morning's loop of stages, while reigning World Rally Champion Ott Tanak crashed out

Evans topped all three of the morning's stages in his Yaris to establish an advantage of 8.9 seconds over Neuville.
Evans took the overall lead from the 2019 WRC runner-up on the day's second stage, having on the opening Curbans - Venterol test slashed Neuville's overnight lead to just 5.4s, and jumped to second place overall, with a time 20s quicker than Neuville's.
Neuville had to restart during the stage at an icy left-hander, and said he struggled with his tyres in the slippery conditions
Evans was then 8.8s quicker than Neuville on the 12.8-mile Saint-Clement-sur-Durance - Freissinieres stage, which gave him a 3.4s lead, and he completed his dominance of the morning loop by extending his edge over second-placed Neuville with another fastest time on the Bayons - Breziers SS5.
Six-time WRC Monte Carlo Rally winner Sebastien Ogier, also making his Toyota debut, closed in on Neuville too and sits third overall, 9.7s off team-mate Evans and less than a second behind Neuville. Ogier said he was still learning the car, particularly over bumps.
Neuville's overnight advantage after the opening pair of Thursday-night stages had been 19.1s over Ogier and 25.4s over Evans.
Tanak crashed out spectacularly on his Hyundai debut, leaving the road at high speed exiting a right-left kink at around the halfway mark of the morning's second stage. His i20 Coupe WRC then fell down a drop and entered a lengthy barrel roll.
Both Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja looked unharmed as they exited the car unaided.
Tanak was fourth overall at the time, 10.3s behind then-leader Neuville.
Tanak also had a brief SS3 spin at the same point at which Neuville had his problem, while M-Sport's Gus Greensmith was stranded on the stage after his own spin at the treacherous turn - ending up with the rear of his Fiesta stuck in a ditch.
Seven-time Monte Carlo Rally winner Sebastien Loeb ended the morning fourth overall, 48.4s off the top having been 51s down overnight.
He complained throughout of dirt pulled onto the road from cars ahead, though he managed to set the second-fastest time on the opening stage, just 2.1s off Evans's pace.
Greensmith's off, combined with Teemu Suninen's woes on Thursday, have left Esapekka Lappi as the only serious M-Sport contender on his debut with the team.
He ended the morning fifth, a minute and a half off the top and bemoaning his lack of pace.
He is 24.6s clear of Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera in sixth, while Rovanpera's team-mate Takamoto Katsuta climbed to seventh overall across the morning but is over two minutes shy of Rovanpera.
Eric Camilli in his Citroen C3 is eighth and the first of the R5 'WRC3' runners. WRC2 leader Ole Christian Veiby in his Hyundai and WRC3's Nicolas Ciamin in his Citroen compete the top 10.
Ex-Formula 1 driver Stephane Sarrazin in his Hyundai had been challenging Camilli for the WRC3 lead but lost over two minutes after stopping on the morning's final stage.
Leading positions after SS5
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Elfyn Evans, S.Martin | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 1h04m54.9s |
2 | Thierry Neuville, N.Gilsoul | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 8.9s |
3 | Sebastien Ogier, J.Ingrassia | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 9.7s |
4 | Sebastien Loeb, D.Elena | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 48.4s |
5 | Esapekka Lappi, J.Ferm | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 1m29.9s |
6 | Kalle Rovanpera, J.Halttunen | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 1m54.5s |
7 | Takamoto Katsuta, D.Barritt | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 4m10.8s |
8 | Eric Camilli, F-X.Buresi | Eric Camilli | Citroen | 4m42.8s |
9 | Ole-Christian Veiby, J.Andersson | Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai | 5m09.9s |
10 | Nicolas Ciamin, Y.Roche | Nicolas Ciamin | Citroen | 5m48.7s |

WRC champion Tanak crashes out of Monte Carlo Rally on Hyundai debut
How the WRC's backstage army delivers its live coverage

Latest news
How Tanak turned the tables to deliver Hyundai a timely WRC triumph
The 2019 champion has been a bit-part player recently, but Ott Tanak ended a 15-month drought in fine style with a dominant win in Sardinia. On a weekend when championship leader Kalle Rovanpera struggled with cleaning the road, his Hyundai rival has made his belated arrival into the title race and given cause for those predicting a walkover from the Toyota star to pause
How Rovanpera overcame rallying royalty in Portugal to extend his WRC lead
Although the Rally Portugal entry list featured World Rally Championship royalty in Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier, victory was secured by rallying's rising star in Kalle Rovanpera. Here's the story of his 2022 hat-trick, as his key rivals faltered among the gravel and asphalt ahead of them
The former WRC star playing the unsung hero role for Rovanpera
Kalle Rovanpera’s 2022 World Rally Championship displays have been spectacular, with the Toyota driver benefitting from a secret weapon in his crew to win two of the opening three rallies. But while the former challenger to Sebastien Loeb won’t take credit for his fellow Finn's performances, a key bond has been formed which could prove key to Rovanpera’s title charge
How Rovanpera's Croatia turnaround sent a message to his WRC rivals
After a dominating Rally Croatia, a wrong tyre choice on the final day looked to have undone all Kalle Rovanpera's hard work and left him with a mountain to climb heading into the power stage. That he emerged the winner all the same has surely quelled any lingering doubts that the Finn is the man to beat in the 2022 WRC
How M-Sport's faith in Loubet led to a WRC reprieve after a dismal 2021
It's fair to say 2021 was a year to forget for Pierre-Louis Loubet. A maiden full World Rally Championship season offered hope but soon turned into a nightmare that ended in hospital, after being hit by a car in a road traffic accident. Now handed a lifeline by M-Sport, the Frenchman is desperate to rebuild his career
Why WRC mechanics deserve more respect
The drivers get the glare of attention, but it’s the mechanics who are key to the operation of any World Rally Championship car. Autosport donned a set of overalls and joined M-Sport on a Belgian national rally event to get an inside look into the trials and tribulations of a rally mechanic
The African McRae aiming to become a WRC pioneer
Taking his first step into the Junior World Rally Championship category, McRae Kimathi - named after 1995 world champion Colin - found himself in the unfamiliar climes of Sweden's snow and ice. Having impressed, Kimathi hopes to blaze a trail to the top level of WRC and help other African drivers to step onto the ladder
How Rovanpera grabbed the Rally Sweden spotlight after the Loeb vs Ogier show
After a blockbuster opening act to the new era of the World Rally Championship with the battle of the Sebastiens at Monte Carlo, Rally Sweden would be the first chance to assess the next superstar of rallying. While teething issues with the new hybrid power thwarted some of the cast, Kalle Rovanpera’s display gave him headline billing