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Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) continued imposing an infernal pace on Thursday evening, setting his second fastest time in a row in the second special stage of this 93rd edition, between Faucon-du-Caire and Bréziers (SS2, 21.18 km), the longest special stage of the first evening.
The eight-time world champion completed another faultless stage, but was only 9 tenths ahead of Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), now in 2nd place, 5.3 seconds behind the Frenchman. “The conditions on this stage were much more uneven than in the previous one. I was a little too cautious, especially at the end, but it was more complicated to be as committed as in SS1. I didn’t do a good stage, but I set a good time,” said Ogier at the end of SS2.
“This stage was very dirty at the end, so I had to slow down. I think the spectators dirtied the road a bit (by stepping on it),” said Neuville, a two-time winner in the Principality (2020 2024). As for Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai), 3rd on this special stage just 1.2 seconds behind Ogier, the absolute benchmark for Monte-Carlo performance, he is now just two tenths behind Elfyn Evans (Toyota) in the overall standings.
The Frenchman had announced before the start on Thursday on Casino Square that he intended to run a waiting race, in his first race in a Hyundai after five seasons with Ford M-Sport. “The speed at the start of this stage was huge. It was very tricky, with ice here and there. A special stage worthy of the Monte Carlo,” summed up Fourmaux, author of five podiums last year in a M-Sport Ford, and 5th in the 2024 championship.
Behind the leading trio, provisionally made up of Ogier, Neuville and Fourmaux, another Hyundai driver, Ott Tänak, took 4th place on SS2, 6.4 seconds behind Ogier. This was a much better result than Kalle Rovanperä, who was only 9th on the stage, 22.9 seconds behind Ogier, i.e. more than a second lost per kilometer. The Finn, twice world champion, was even beaten by his compatriot Sami Pajari, also with Toyota but a Rally1 debutant.
“It’s not me who’s quicker than Kalle, it’s the two of us who are bad,” smiled the 2024 WRC2 champion, with total humility. In WRC2, the battle continued at the front between Russian-Bulgarian Nikolay Gryazin, in his Skoda Fabia RS, and Frenchman Yohan Rossel (Citroën C3). They finished ahead of Oliver Solberg (Toyota Yaris Rally2), who went back on the attack after a touch and a wheel change in SS1.
