Sebastian Ogier has once again etched his name into the annals of rallying history, delivering a masterclass at the legendary Rallye Monte Carlo to claim his astonishing 10th victory at the iconic event. With Vincent Landais calling the shots from the co-driver’s seat, Ogier put on a flawless display that left fans and competitors in awe. The only blip? A minor brush with a pole on Thursday evening’s third stage—a mere footnote in an otherwise perfect performance.
Ogier’s dominance was absolute, with the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver finishing 18.5 seconds ahead of teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Yet, Evans found himself under intense pressure on the final day as Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux and co-driver Alex Coria mounted a fierce challenge, closing the gap to just four seconds in a nail-biting duel for second place.
Drama unfolds as rivals battle for the podium
The fight for third was a spectacle in itself. Fourmaux began Sunday in the final podium spot, but a determined Ott Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja quickly seized the position on the icy opening stage. The Estonian’s charge, however, was short-lived. Fourmaux roared back with a vengeance on stage 17, obliterating Tänak’s time by a staggering 23.3 seconds and reclaiming his podium position. Tänak’s troubles didn’t end there; his sluggish pace on the penultimate test left him vulnerable to Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen. By the final Wolf Power Stage, Tänak had tumbled to fifth.
Neuville battles back in tough title defense opener
Defending WRC champions Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe endured a weekend from hell. Plagued by three separate mechanical and technical issues on Friday and Saturday, the Belgian duo clawed their way back to a respectable sixth place. Despite the setbacks, their resilience underlined why they remain a force to be reckoned with.
Meanwhile, newcomers Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy made a solid Rally1 debut, guiding their Ford Puma to seventh place and proving that steady driving can pay off on Monte Carlo’s perilous roads.
Chaos in the mountains: crashes, comebacks, and glory
The unforgiving Monte Carlo route claimed several victims. Rising star Sami Pajari’s campaign came to an abrupt end after skidding into a bridge and landing in a ravine. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta suffered a similar fate, burying his GR Yaris into the undergrowth just 1.8 kilometers into Sunday’s opener.
In WRC2, Johan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand delivered a masterclass in their Citroën C3 Rally2, taking a commanding win by over a minute. Nikolay Gryazin’s non-points-scoring run was a distant second, while Eric Camilli snatched second in WRC2 with a thrilling last-stage surge, edging out Leo Rossel, who celebrated a maiden podium in his category debut.
Toyota seals dominant weekend as rivals scramble
Toyota celebrated a near-perfect outing, locking out the top three Super Sunday points-paying positions while Hyundai and M-Sport Ford drivers were left to pick up the scraps. Fourmaux and Neuville salvaged points in the closing stages, but Monte Carlo belonged to Ogier and Toyota.
As the 2024 WRC season kicks off, one thing is clear: the competition will have to raise their game if they want to dethrone the king of Monte Carlo.