Sebastien Loeb moves into Monte Carlo Rally lead
Sebastien Loeb moved past Sebastien Ogier to take the lead of the Monte Carlo Rally at the end of the opening loop
Ogier had announced the new Volkswagen's potential in emphatic fashion by setting the pace on the World Rally season's first stage, Le Moulinon to Antraigues.
But Loeb restored the usual order by going quickest on Burzet to St Martial, beating Ogier by 10 seconds.
That puts Loeb's Citroen into the lead by 6.7s heading to service.
Conditions on both Wednesday morning stages have been a mix of ice, snow and totally dry conditions, causing tyre wear headaches as the rubber wears in the snow-free areas.
Loeb and Ogier are already a long way clear of the rest of the field, with Dani Sordo is 39s adrift in third place in the next Citroen.
Juho Hanninen has also been a star of the first morning.
The former Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion is the best of the Fords so far in fourth, despite clipping a bridge on SS2. Hanninen, who only has a two-round programme secured so far, is just 5s behind Sordo.
Thierry Neuville, Mikko Hirvonen and 2011 Monte winner Bryan Bouffier (on his top-class WRC debut) are closely matched in fifth, sixth and seventh.
Jari-Matti Latvala's VW debut got off to a tough start. The Finn is over a minute behind team-mate Ogier in 10th place, and was late to the SS2 start after road section delays.
Leading positions after SS2: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 52m38.2s 2. Sebastien Ogier VW + 6.7s 3. Dani Sordo Citroen + 39.6s 4. Juho Hanninen Qatar M-Sport Ford + 44.7s 5. Thierry Neuville Qatar M-Sport Ford + 53.3s 6. Mikko Hirvonen Citroen + 54.2s 7. Bryan Bouffier PH Citroen + 56.9s 8. Mads Ostberg Qatar M-Sport Ford + 1m09.5s 9. Evgeny Novikov Qatar M-Sport Ford + 1m09.9s 10. Jari-Matti Latvala VW + 1m25.6s
WRC 2013: Who will succeed Sebastien?
Monte Carlo Rally: Volkswagen's strong start a relief for team
Laser Tools Racing continues in BTCC with Hill
The Laser Tools Racing name that was carried to British Touring Car Championship titles in 2020 and 2021 will continue in the series after all with Jake Hill.
McLaren to share F1 reserve driver Schumacher with Mercedes
Mercedes Formula 1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher will be also made available as a stand-in to McLaren, the Woking team has announced.
NASCAR Next Gen car gets safety upgrades for 2023 season
NASCAR unveiled some changes to the Next Gen car for the 2023 season, with most enhancing its safety aspects.
O’Ward optimistic about Rossi and that McLaren IndyCar DNFs can be reduced
Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward says he’s confident that Alexander Rossi will be a strong addition to the line-up and that the team has gotten on top of its mechanical woes.
Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival
Some 39 years on from his Monte Carlo Rally debut, World Rally Championship legend Francois Delecour continues to pick up silverware. Proving that age is purely a number, the 60-year-old's desire to compete against the WRC’s latest young talents could be the start of a new chapter in the Frenchman’s storied career
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
He may only be contesting a part-time campaign in the World Rally Championship these days, but Sebastien Ogier underlined that he's lost none of his speed in the 2023 season opener. Storming to yet another victory on the Monte Carlo Rally, the eight-time world champion rewrote the history books again as Toyota served notice of its intentions with a crushing 1-2
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
Audi should have been invincible in the snowy conditions that typically greeted the World Rally Championship paddock in Monte Carlo. But unexpectedly warm weather for the 1983 season opener, combined with some left-field thinking from the Lancia crew turned the tables. Forty years on, team boss Cesare Fiorio reflects on a smash and grab
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
M-Sport had a disastrous 2022 with its Rally1 Ford Pumas following Sebastien Loeb’s first-time-out win on the Monte. But now things are looking up with 2019 world champion Ott Tanak leading its attack, and the Cumbrian operation has optimism that it can challenge for a first title since Sebastien Ogier's departure at the end of 2018
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
As Kalle Rovanpera begins his World Rally Championship title defence in Monte Carlo, the Finn knows he has a target on his back. But who is best placed to knock the Toyota ace off his perch?
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Question: what could be harder than becoming the youngest-ever World Rally champion? Answer: becoming the youngest-ever two-time World Rally champion. That's quite the challenge facing Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera in 2022, particularly against rejuvenated opposition in the second year of the WRC's hybrid regulations
From F1 to WRC: Why Hyundai's new boss could be an inspired signing
OPINION: New Hyundai WRC team boss Cyril Abiteboul admits he’s got a lot to learn as he leads the marque's efforts to dethrone Toyota. But could his Formula 1 experience and evident strengths mean he turns out to be an inspired choice?
The ultimate rally car project the WRC is glad COVID killed
Toyota was unstoppable in the 2021 World Rally Championship, with an excellent 75% strike rate from 12 rallies. But in a scary proposition for its rivals, the Japanese marque had built a car for the final year of the previous regulations set which it believes was much faster and could feasibly have crushed the opposition completely. Here the story of its mothballed world-beater
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.