SS4, Pavliani 1: Fords bite back
Just one tenth of a second separated the two Fords of Colin McRae and Francois Delecour, but it was the Scotsman who took the honours on SS4 and now moves up to third overall in the Acropolis Rally, 14 seconds off the lead
McRae's time of 20m17.2s on the 24.45km Pavliani 1 test was good enough to leapfrog rival Richard Burns in the battle for third place after the Subaru driver only managed the seventh fastest time.
Delecour is still nearly two minutes behind the leaders, but the quick time will no doubt do his confidence a power of good after his cycling accident yesterday. Fellow Frenchman Gilles Panizzi is doing far better than the works Peugeots, posting another top three stage time on SS4 in the Grifone-run 206 WRC.
Petter Solberg again was the leading Subaru contender. He was fourth quickest, just ahead of team mate Markko Martin. Solberg's advantage over the Estonian for the lead of the rally has doubled to over five seconds.
Thomas Radstrom's Citroen rounds out the top six stage times and the Swede keeps his seventh place overall.
Behind Burns' Subaru was Carlos Sainz in the Ford Focus, followed by Freddy Loix's Mitsubishi Carisma and the second Xsara of Philippe Bugalski.
The Acropolis has claimed another car. Toshihiro Arai's Subaru Impreza retired after Junction 8 on the stage, with an engine fire. The Japanese driver had been hoping to repeat his career-best fourth place in Cyprus a fortnight ago.
The rally now heads to the second service of the day back at Parnassos before tackling the final two stages of the leg, Elatia, the longest test of the day, and the re-run through Mendenista.
For SS4 results click here.
For full live timings table click here.
For full entry list click here.
For the itinerary click here.
For SS2 results click here.
It's over and out on the title, says Gronholm
Parnassos C Service: Notes and quotes
Why the time was right for Ford's F1 return with Red Bull
Some 22 years after pulling the plug out of Jaguar and handing the keys to a certain Dietrich Mateschitz, the paths of Ford and Red Bull have crossed again. And their 2026 Formula 1 alliance makes sense for both parties.
Vandoorne joins Peugeot WEC team as reserve driver
Reigning Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne will serve as Peugeot’s official reserve driver in its first full season in the World Endurance Championship in 2023.
Red Bull duo say Ricciardo F1 sim input will be a boost
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez reckon Red Bull will gain significantly from Daniel Ricciardo working in its simulator on Formula 1 weekends as part of his new third driver role.
Who needs a big year in MotoGP in 2023?
The beginning of the new season provides many with a fresh start, and for a few MotoGP contenders this applies for different reasons. From fighting to stay on the grid to battling for even bigger prizes beyond trophies, here’s five figures in need of a massive 2023
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.