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A gap of over 20 seconds between Ogier and Loeb: the last special stage of this Saturday (SS13, 20 km), the second pass between Saint-Geniez and Thoard, was decided just before the start: “We put on the slicks at the last minute, but Ogier saw it…”, smiled Loeb at the end. “I was going to use my snow tyres, because it was the safest option, but when we saw that Seb was putting on the slick tires, we changed our mind at the last minute and put on the slick tyres as well”, Ogier explained later. And he was right, since he managed to extend his lead over Loeb from 5 to 21.1 seconds in the space of 20kms.
Fans will never know if, by putting on his two studded Pirelli tyres in this SS13, instead of keeping them in the trunk, Loeb could have rocked this rally again, just like Friday morning when he took the lead, at the expense of Ogier, by signing four best times in a row. And now, with four stages to go, “21 seconds is a bit far away”, Loeb admitted before heading back to Monaco for a good night’s rest, after a suspenseful day which did not end as he hoped.
What is certain is that Ogier, on four soft tyres, lost less time -5 seconds- on Rovanperä, who started with two snow tyres, than Loeb -21.1 seconds- on four soft tyres too. Another sure thing is that Rovanperä took advantage of the situation to post his second best time in a row, after SS12, and completed a grand slam by Toyota on Saturday (with 2 stage wins for Ogier and one for Evans). So the Finnish hopeful will start the last morning of the rally, early on Sunday (67kms over four stages), in 4th place, with a chance of a podium because he is only 37 seconds behind Craig Breen, 3rd in his Ford Puma Hybrid.
Further down the standings, Gus Greensmith (Ford Puma), now 5th but 6 minutes 33 seconds back, lost all chances of a podium by showing up 18 minutes late before the start of SS11, after having a puncture and suffering a major mechanical problem in SS10, already losing a bit less than two minutes on the leading quartet in that stage, and then spending a long time trying to repair on the side of the road. Worse still, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), now 6th and 7 minutes 44 seconds behind Ogier, saw his front right damper pierce through his bonnet and he finished the day in slow motion, to save big points on Sunday in the championship, and possibly to aim for bonus points in the Power Stage.
In WRC2, big favourite is now Norway’sAndreas Mikkelsen, who is now 7th overall without competition from former class leader Frenchman Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën C3), who disappeared in the morning: sanctioned by a 30-minute time penalty, he then hit the bank at the end of SS10, spinning and losing his right rear wheel. Game over.
Sébastien Loeb (Ford), very fit and wide awake, early in the morning, posted the best time in the first special stage of Friday, SS3 between Roure and Beuil (18.3 km). It was the first best time for the new Ford Puma Hybrid in WRC and it allowed the French legend to come back within 5.5 seconds of Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) in the overall standings.
“It was a tricky stage, it was a lot slippery in some places, it was tougher, with more ice than during the recce, but I’m happy with what I did,” Loeb said, pumped up by his successful start on Thursday evening, in the first two stages. A very sharp and very efficient Loeb, who returns to the WRC with a new co-driver, the very experienced Isabelle Galmiche, and carrying glasses that give him the looks of a (very fast) retired driver, at almost 48 years old.
Still at the top of the standings, Ogier had a fright at the end of the stage, when his rear bumper touched the safety rail on the left, because he was a bit wide in the previous turn. Nothing serious, but a real warning at the start of a day that promised to be tough, with six stages on the menu (100 km), before and after the mid-day regroup at Puget-Théniers, and with no chance to return to the service park in Monaco harbour.
“We had to make compromises in the choice of tyres, and the road conditions were changing a lot”, told Ogier at the end of the stage. He left Monaco this morning with 4 soft tires and 2 super soft for the whole day, whereas Loeb chose five soft tyres. His teammate at Toyota, Elfyn Evans, also got a free scare in the final corners of SS3, touching with the rear left of his car as well, without breaking anything. And finishing 3rd in this stage, behind the untouchables: Loeb and Ogier.
Still not confident at all in his hybrid Hyundai, Thierry Neuville, winner of the event in 2020, achieved a nice spin in a hairpin, in the middle of the stage, losing a few seconds but not damaging anything, and finished 11.6 seconds behind Ogier. “It’s a nightmare, I’ve never been so scared in a car, there’s still a lot of work to do,” the Belgian said, and he rarely talks nonsense when things are not going well.
The crash of the morning was for Adrien Fourmaux, in his Ford Puma identical to Loeb’s. The young Frenchman was on fire, matching Ogier at the first split time, after 5.7 km. But this did not last and he made a small mistake with huge consequences at km 12, hitting the embankment, rolling off and ending down under the road after jumping over the safety rail. His Ford Puma is destroyed, but the crew is safe.
Sébastien Loeb took a short break in his current domination of the 90th Monte-Carlo Rally: after four best times in the first four stages of the day, he found himself deprived of additional electric power in his Ford Puma Hybrid. So that his young teammate Gus Greensmith (25) took the opportunity to open his record in the WRC, posting the first best time of his career.
“I’m going to text him so that he leaves this one to me”, Greensmith joked when Loeb was already well underway in this SS7, the second run of the day between Guillaumes and Valberg, heading up to the ski resort on a wide and fast road. Then the Frenchman fell “out of hybrid”, which had happened a little earlier to Greensmith and denied the Ford of a hundred horsepower.
On such a fast, uphill special, it was a slight handicap, but that did not prevent Loeb from maintaining control of the general standings, 14.4 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier (Toyota), now again 2nd, and 15.2 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans, the vice-world champion in the other official Yaris aiming for a podium position on Sunday.
Thanks to this nice performance, Greensmith, still 7th, got even closer (less than a second) to Ott Tänak, the 2019 world champion, and he also has in sight Thierry Neuville, 4th, and Craig Breen 5th, just ahead of Tänak. The last stage of the day is scheduled between Val-de-Chalvagne and Entrevaux (SS8), over 17 km dominated Friday morning by Loeb. This 90th Rallye Monte-Carlo keeps all its promises, and we are not yet halfway there…
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From Bordeaux and member of the ACM, volunteer in the Monaco Grand Prix, competitor in the E-Rallye with his daughter Chloé, Emmanuel is full of passion. His job as an auditor and trainer for insurers led him to build a partnership with the E-Rallye, which he quickly decided to enter. Won over by the atmosphere, this sporting event is also a strong moment between a father and his daughter.
No matter the end result, even if they got a scratch and finished first of the Leg 1, he will come back!
The French duo wins this 5th edition of the E-Rallye Monte-Carlo. Their victory is an example of consistency. Regularly close to the first places, they did not win any regularity stages during this edition. But that doesn’t matter to their pleasure.
Second in the general standings on the eve of the last stage, Frédéric Lansiaux and Nicolas Buhot have managed to show a deep accuracy and continuity on Saturday to take the victory. They thus added their names to the list of winners of the 100% electric and hydrogen powered Rallye Monte-Carlo.
They won ahead of the Tesla Model 3 of Frédéric Ozon, the title holder, and Gérald Seiler. In third place was the eBorn network’s Renault ZOÉ crew, Michel Chabran / Eric Mallen. A very good performance for their first participation in the E-Rallye.
What does it mean to you to have your name on the winners list of a Monte-Carlo Rally?
Frédéric Lansiaux: The Monte Carlo is a myth. It is for me the grail in motorsport. Even if other places are very beautiful, this one is a myth. It’s a source of pride to have our name on the list of winners.
How did you find the rally as a whole?
Frédéric Lansiaux: It was a very beautiful rally. We crossed some magnificent regions. But it was also complicated. The event has evolved enormously. It was our fourth participation this year. It has become tougher, the level has also evolved enormously and gone up. You can also see that there are many more participants. But yes, on the whole, we can say that it was a very nice rally.
How did you experience it as a passenger? We know your family link with the function of co-driver.
Nicolas Buhot: I was under a lot of pressure because I was alongside a very successful driver. I had to be sure of the other driver’s seat. I really had a great rally. I was lucky enough to be able to look up unlike Frédéric (Lansiaux), which allowed me to discover some magnificent landscapes. It was splendid. The roads were beautiful. And the performances were good. All the conditions were there for us to have a dream rally, with this final result as well. On top of that, we have just learned that we have won the FIA Challenge. We are on top of the world. What could be better…!
The Awards Ceremony of this 5th edition of the E-Rally Monte-Carlo was also the occasion to reward the first in each category.
The Pastor, Jacques the driver and Serge the co-driver, have many participations in the E-Rallye Monte-Carlo! This year again, still under the colors of the Monaco City Hall, the two friends were on the starting line with big ambitions. Winners, they find themselves in second place in the provisional classification at the end of leg 1. A victory in the first stage of the morning brings them a little closer to the grail… until the “blunder” like Jacques calls it! “Without this error on the course, which was entirely our fault, we could clearly be title contenders… Despite everything, we had enormous pleasure throughout the course and for that we would like to thank the ACM, because in order for the crews to have fun, a lot of people have to work.” Their long experience makes them say: “Electric cars have now reached their maturity, devices as well as tripmasters are reliable!” They don’t lack much to achieve their ambitions. The harsh reality of Monte-Carlo.
At the arrival of this 5th Monte-Carlo E-Rally, Virginie Decorte from Radio VINCI Autoroutes (107.7) and Denis Carreaux Editorial Director of Nice-Matin, gave us their impressions after this 2021 edition. For Virginie: “This partnership with the ACM for the E-Rallye Monte-Carlo is in line with the wish of the Radio to promote green and eco-responsible mobility. The best way to demonstrate the versatility of electric vehicles was therefore to enter the competition ourselves, which we did in 2018. In order to share our impressions with our listeners, three daily programmes are scheduled on our airwaves, including one live that I do from the car.” For the first edition, Virginie, who was already teaming up with Denis Carreaux, met him and discovered the subtleties of navigation. “At the time, it was recommended that I calculate our averages using the cross-multiplication! Obviously the end result was not the most glorious, but we got caught up in the game.”
One fastest time and multiple Top 10 finishes
For their third participation, the progress is dazzling. “Today we have equipment that is both efficient and intuitive, and that we discovered on the day of start. In two stages, the timemaster was tamed! With Denis, the automatisms are in place and above all we are no longer stressed at all.” For his part, Denis believes that “the automobile has always had a special place in Nice-Matin”. The Daily’s Editorial Director adds: “It was therefore logical that we were partners in an event that combines motorsport and environmental respect. It was also essential for me to bring the adventure to our readers by participating in it myself.” As skilled behind the wheel as he is with a pen, Denis is the driver while “Virginie concentrates on the course”. “I just have to turn the wheel and listen to her!” Obviously attentive to his teammate’s ratings, the results speak for themselves: a fastest time and several Top 10 finishes! Performances that give them ambitions for the future… To be continued!
Heading South! It was at dawn, at 6am, that all the crews left the Champ de Mars in Valence to join the Principality of Monaco. A first road section to reach Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert gave the competitors a taste of the magnificent landscapes of Drôme. To reach Montauban-sur-l’Ouvèze, it was the Baronnies, famous for the cultivation of olive trees, that were observed by the crews.
In just a few kilometers, the landscapes, luminosity and autumn heat were already more Provençal… until reaching the most famous canyon in Europe, with its rock-side roads and dizzying summits. Le Verdon, with its 10,000 corners, leads in the most beautiful way towards the much desired Côte d’Azur. Beyond the sporting context, the E-Rallye Monte-Carlo is the surest way to be wowed!
