Sebastien Ogier is on the verge of his tenth victory at the Monte-Carlo Rally: Evans-Fourmaux-Tänak fight for the other podium places.
Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier is heading for victory at the Rally Monte-Carlo, the season opener for the 2025 World Rally Championship (WRC), ahead of the final day. The eight-time world champion showed no weakness in dry conditions on Saturday afternoon and extended his lead at the top.
After 15 of 18 special stages, Ogier leads by 20.3 seconds (results). It would be the tenth victory for Ogier at his home rally, further extending his lead in the record list.
Behind the Frenchman, a three-way battle for the remaining podium places developed, with just 6.8 seconds separating Elfyn Evans (Toyota), Adrien Fourmaux and Ott Tänak (both Hyundai).
Tänak was the outstanding driver on Saturday afternoon, winning all three stages and getting within striking distance of Evans and Fourmaux. “We worked on the setup for far too long. I didn’t drive a single kilometer on slicks. It didn’t work for me at the beginning, but this afternoon it clicked and we found the rhythm,” Tänak told Rally.TV.
Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), who is still struggling with the changeover to the new Hankook tires, is fifth and almost half a minute behind Tänak on the final day, so he will probably no longer be able to fight for a place on the podium on his own.
Takamoto Katsuta, Sami Pajari (both Toyota), Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), Joshua McErlean (Ford) and Yohan Rossel (Citroen), the leader of the WRC 2 classification, complete the top 10.
On the final day of the Rally Monte-Carlo, the teams can expect three more special stages covering a total of 50.9 kilometers. But perhaps under completely different conditions. In the evening, heavy rain is expected in the region, after which temperatures will drop below freezing, so that the roads may be icy in the morning.
