WRC Monte Carlo: Loeb beats Ogier to take eighth Monte win in epic battle

The two WRC legends waged a rally-long battle for victory with the lead changing hands across four brutal days of competition as the WRC ushered in its new Rally1 hybrid era.

Ultimately the rally was decided in a final stage shootout, after Loeb was handed a 9.5s lead when Toyota’s Ogier suffered a front-left puncture on the penultimate test.

Loeb and co-driver Isabelle Galmiche kept their nerve in the final Power Stage to see off Ogier and new co-driver Benjamin Veillas, to take an eighth Monte Carlo rally win by 10.5s.

There was more drama in the final stage as Ogier was handed a 10s jump start penalty, and had he not incurred the sanction the overall gap to Loeb would have been just 0.5s.

Ogier, also running a partial campaign, initially led the rally from Loeb after winning Thursday’s opening two stages before Loeb dominated Friday to take four of the six stages, ending the day with a 9.9s lead.

On Saturday, Ogier fought back with the pair briefly level pegging on overall times, before surging into a 21.1s lead after dominant run in Stage 13.

Ogier appeared on course for victory until late drama in the penultimate stage on Sunday which left him too much time to recover to overhaul Loeb on the final stage.

Sébastien Ogier, Benjamin Veillas, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The victory was Loeb’s 80th and first since winning Rally Spain for Citroen in 2018, the same season M-Sport last scored a WRC victory at Rally GB.

Likewise, the win was also the first for a female co-driver since Fabrizia Pons partnered Subaru’s Piero Liatti to success at Monte Carlo in 1997.

M-Sport’s Craig Breen completed the podium on his debut for the British squad driving one of four brand new Ford Pumas.

The Irishman had been outside the top five for the majority of the rally until Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and Hyundai pair Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak all hit trouble on Saturday. This allowed Breen to climb from sixth to third, where he continued his measured approach to claim a fourth consecutive WRC podium.

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera produced the turnaround of the weekend to claim fourth having struggled to adjust to the new Rally1 Toyota GR Yaris across the opening two days of action. The Finn ended the rally with three stages wins, including the Power Stage and the extra five championship points it carries.

M-Sport ensured three of its cars finished in the top five courtesy of Gus Greensmith, who could have finished higher had he not suffered a puncture and engine misfire on Saturday. The Brit showed strong pace throughout including recording a maiden WRC stage win on Friday.

The only blemish in the Ford team’s copybook was a retirement from Adrien Fourmaux, who was lucky to walk away from a huge crash on Friday’s first stage.

Thierry Neuville claimed sixth in the sole remaining Hyundai in what proved to be a disappointing start the new hybrid era for the Korean brand. Neuville struggled to adapt to his i20 N, labelling it “scary” to drive on Friday, but the Belgian made steady progress until his front right damper broke on Saturday, dropping him from fourth position.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Bastien Baudin / Hyundai Motorsport

Neuville managed to complete the remaining stages and even scored a stage win on Sunday, the first for Hyundai this season.

Team-mate Tanak retired on Saturday night after suffering a two punctures and a crash on the slippery snow and ice section of the Sisteron stage. Oliver Solberg, driving the third entry, retired on Sunday feeling unwell after breathing in exhaust fumes that had been coming into the car since Friday.

Evans ended the rally salvaging four points after finishing the Power Stage in second after surrendering a long held third spot on Saturday.

Takamoto Katsuta managed to bounce back from a crash on Saturday afternoon to score points in eighth.

In WRC2, defending champion Andreas Mikkelsen claimed victory.

WRC Monte Carlo Rally results

Cla	Driver/Codriver	Car	Class	Gap	Bonus
1	Sébastien Loeb Isabelle Galmiche	Ford Puma Rally1	RC1		2
2	Sébastien Ogier Benjamin Veillas	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	RC1	10.500	1
3	Craig Breen Paul Nagle	Ford Puma Rally1	RC1	1'39.800
4	Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	RC1	2'16.200	5
5	Gus Greensmith Jonas Andersson	Ford Puma Rally1	RC1	6'33.400
6	Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	RC1	7'42.600	3
7	Andreas Mikkelsen Torstein Eriksen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	11'33.800
8	Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	RC1	12'24.700
9	Erik Cais Petr Těšínský	Ford Fiesta Rally2	RC2	12'29.200
10	Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	13'41.300
11	Sean Johnston Alexander Kihurani	Citroën C3 Rally2	RC2	14'42.500
12	Grégoire Munster Louis Louka	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	RC2	14'48.000
13	Yohan Rossel Benjamin Boulloud	Citroën C3 Rally2	RC2	15'02.100
14	Chris Ingram Ross Whittock	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	15'20.400
15	Raphaël Astier Frederic Vauclare	Alpine A110 Rally RGT	RGT	18'54.000
16	Matteo Gamba Nicolò Gonella	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	19'57.000
17	Mauro Miele Luca Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	20'32.500
18	Emmanuel Guigou Kévin Bronner	Alpine A110 Rally RGT	RGT	21'01.900
19	Alessandro Gino Daniele Michi	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	22'40.700
20	Olivier Burri Anderson Levratti	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5	RC2	22'53.000
21	Elfyn Evans Scott Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	RC1	23'10.500	4
22	Sami Pajari Enni Mälkönen	Ford Fiesta Rally3	RC3	24'06.400
23	Jan Černý Petr Černohorský	Ford Fiesta Rally3	RC3	24'14.000
24	Freddy Loix Pieter Tsjoen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	24'32.300
25	François Delecour Jean-Rodolphe Guigonnet	Alpine A110 Rally RGT	RGT	24'55.400
26	Johannes Keferbock Ilka Minor	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	25'28.000
27	Anthony Fotia Arnaud Dunand	Renault Clio Rally4	RC4	28'06.300
28	Marijan Griebel Alexander Rath	Opel Corsa Rally4	RC4	29'01.500
29	Frédérik Casciani Vincent Delaplanche	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	29'09.800
30	Jean-Michel Raoux Laurent Magat	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5	RC2	30'08.900
31	Eamonn Boland Michael Joseph Morrissey	Ford Fiesta Rally2	RC2	31'26.800
32	Roberto Daprà Luca Guglielmetti	Ford Fiesta Rally4	RC4	33'34.400
33	Philippe Baffoun Charlyne Quartini	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5	RC2	35'21.900
34	Sacha Althaus Lisiane Zbinden	Renault Clio Rally4	RC4	37'38.100
35	Luc Pistachi Laëtitia Authier	Škoda Fabia R5	RC2	37'41.500
36	Christophe Casanova Dominique Corvi	Alpine A110 Rally RGT	RGT	38'12.500
37	Fabrizio Arengi Massimiliano Bosi	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	39'59.500
38	Frédéric Rosati Philippe Marchetto	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	RC2	40'34.600
39	Styve Juif Maxime Biegalke	Renault Clio Rally4	RC4	43'10.800
40	Enrico Brazzoli Manuel Fenoli	Ford Fiesta Rally3	RC3	43'22.400
41	Ghjuvanni Rossi Maxime Martini	Renault Clio Rally5	RC5	44'23.900
42	Esteban Vallín Borja Odriozola	Renault Clio Rally5	RC5	45'42.200
43	Pierre Tanci Sébastien Malet	Renault Clio Rally4	RC4	48'27.000
44	Eric Royere Gilbert Dini	Renault Clio Rally5	RC5	48'59.900
45	Martin Rada Jaroslav Jugas	Abarth 124 Rally RGT	RGT	53'22.900
46	Jérôme Aymard Sandrine Aymard	Renault Clio RS R3T	RC4	53'40.300
47	Roberto Gobbin Fabio Grimaldi	Abarth 124 Rally RGT	RGT	54'19.700
48	Jean-Marc Guillon Guillaume Ferrari	Peugeot 208 R2	RC4	55'07.900
49	Gilles Michellier Christophe Richard	Renault Clio Rally5	RC5	1:05'01.900
50	Lilian Vialle Manuel Ghirardello	Renault Clio Rally5	RC5	1:05'30.900
51	Nicolas d'Ulivo Angélique Paolini	Ford Fiesta R2T National	RC4	1:08'39.300
52	Elwis Chentre Massimiliano Bay	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2	1:09'29.600
53	Jauffrey Magnan-Bayle Kévin Marchetti	Renault Clio Rally5	RC5	1:09'36.700
54	Pierre Ragues Julien Pesenti	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5	RC2	1:10'16.400
55	Jean-Paul Palmero Mattia Pastorino	Peugeot 208 R2	RC4	1:11'36.100
56	Carlo Covi Michela Lorigiola	Škoda Fabia R5	RC2	1:14'19.400
57	Ian Crerar Elise Racette	Alpine A110 Rally RGT	RGT	1:22'43.900
58	Marc Dessi Pamela Dessi	Peugeot 208 R2	RC4	1:25'52.000
59	Pierre Pergola Fabrice Corona	Škoda Fabia R5	RC2	1:27'07.100
60	Jason Bailey Shayne Peterson	Peugeot 208 Rally4	RC4	1:35'57.100
61	Lionel Goujon Christophe Laperriere	Peugeot 208 R2	RC4	1:39'25.200
62	Jean-Luc Morel Mireille Toti	Citroën DS3 R1	RC5	1:56'34.400
	Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	RC1
	Yanis Desangles Nicolas Theron	Škoda Fabia R5	RC2
	Marco Bulacia Marcelo Der Ohannesian	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	RC2
	Alberto Sassi Gabriele Romei	Abarth 124 Rally RGT	RGT
	Zoltán László Tamás Begala	Ford Fiesta Rally3	RC3
	Tony Giallo Denis Giallo	Citroën DS3 R1	RC5
	Ott Tanak Martin Jarveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	RC1
	Stéphane Lefebvre Andy Malfoy	Citroën C3 Rally2	RC2
	Christophe Berard Christophe Bernabo	Renault Clio RS R3T	RC4
	Timothy Van Kurt Heyndrickx	Renault Clio Rally4	RC4
	Eric Camilli Yannick Roche	Citroën C3 Rally2	RC2
	Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria	Ford Puma Rally1	RC1
View full results