WRC Monte Carlo: Ogier edges closer to victory after halting Rovanpera charge
Sebastien Ogier moved closer to clinching a record breaking Rally Monte Carlo victory after extending his lead on Sunday morning at the World Rally Championship season opener.
The eight-time Monte Carlo winner managed to stave off his charging Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera to extend his overall lead to 17.2 seconds with two stages remaining at the alpine asphalt classic.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville held onto third position despite suffering a half spin and hybrid issues during Sunday morning’s loop.
The Belgian was 38.1s behind Ogier but comfortably clear of the fourth placed Toyota of Elfyn Evans, who also lost time to a spin.
M-Sport’s Ott Tanak elected to save his tyres for the rally ending powerstage and remained in fifth ahead of Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota), Dani Sordo (Hyundai) and Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai).
After witnessing Rovanpera slash his lead on Saturday afternoon to 16.0s. Ogier issued a response on Sunday’s first stage.
The Frenchman blitzed the 18.82km Luceram - Lantosque test to claim his eighth stage win of the rally, beating Rovanpera by 2.7s in the process to halt the Finn’s charge.
Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
"Yesterday night it looked like people were in doubt, but so far I am controlling my risks,” said Ogier.
“It's very precise driving required between the mountains and stones, but at least no cuts where there is a risk of punctures.”
There was plenty of drama for his rivals. Neuville was lucky to avoid contact with the barriers following a half spin at a hairpin left which he attributed to a hybrid mapping issue.
His Hyundai team-mate Sordo also suffered from the same hybrid issue that afflicted him yesterday, and was also handed a 10s jump start penalty, which initially dropped him to eighth in the overall standings behind the site Hyundai of Lappi.
However, officials rescinded the penalty after a fault was found with the countdown clock at the stage start
After an encouraging Saturday, Lappi struggled for confidence behind the wheel of his i20 N and was unable to challenge Sordo.
Meanwhile, M-Sport's Pierre-Louis Loubet, who rejoined the rally after Saturday’s retirement, was without the use of his handbrake which caused him to drop almost two minutes. The issue was resolved for the next stage.
The final stage of the loop belonged to Rovanpera but he was unable to completely regain the time he lost to Ogier on the famous Col de Turini stage (Stage 16). The world champion pipped Ogier by 1.5s, with Neuville third fastest, a further second back.
There was a small drama for Evans who suffered a half spin at tight hairpin left but it wasn’t enough to have any real effect on the overall standings.
"At the tight hairpin it was as if something had broken for a split-second" said Evans.
"I came off the throttle and it spun completely around - it took me completely by surprise and I had to stop and reverse. I took it a bit easy then for the rest of the way up."
In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin managed to hold onto his lead but the Skoda driver had only a 9.7s advantage over Citroen’s Yohan Rossel.
Crews will tackle a second pass through the stages to conclude the rally later today.
Related video
Abiteboul: Toyota’s WRC Monte Carlo pace nothing to worry about
WRC Monte Carlo: Dominant Ogier scores record Monte Carlo victory
Bathurst 12 Hour: Van Gisbergen Mercedes leads after first quarter
Shane van Gisbergen’s Triple Eight Mercedes headed Matt Campbell’s Manthey Porsche after three hours of racing at Mount Panorama in the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Tanak scores first Puma win in preparation for WRC Rally Sweden
Ott Tanak claimed his first victory driving an M-Sport Ford Puma after winning the Otepaa Winter Rally in preparation for next week’s World Rally Championship round in Sweden.
Ranking the worst Formula 1 cars to win a grand prix
Cars that rarely looked like contenders for victory have occasionally slipped through the net to become winners of world championship Formula 1 races. But which was the worst of the bunch?
Schumacher radio criticism highlighted F1 privacy change for Russell
George Russell says that the way an off-the-cuff radio remark criticising Mick Schumacher last year became a big deal shows how he is more under the spotlight in Formula 1.
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.