With his team-mate taking 20 seconds back yesterday, the Gapençais reacted this morning by setting the first scratch time of the day. While the drivers are managing their tires for the 18th and last stage of this 91st Rallye Monte-Carlo, which will be the Power Stage as well, Sébastien Ogier won his 8th special stage victory in 2023. He was 2.7 seconds faster than his two Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mates, Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä.

“Yesterday night it looked like people were in doubt, but so far I am controlling my risks” commented the Frenchman after the 15th stage between Luceram and Lantosque (18.82km).

Behind the trio, Thierry Neuville is still the best of the rest. The Belgian finishes only 5.1 seconds behind the eight-time world champion and keep a comfortable lead (22.1 seconds) in the overall ranking over Evans. This Sunday, the winner of the 2020 Monte-Carlo Rally must remain careful in the two loops if he wants to secure a 56th podium in the WRC.

“It was the stage with the greatest risks of a puncture, so I was very careful, same as for the first run this morning. I am happy that this stage is behind me”, a relieved Ogier said at the end of this long stage (21.78km) contested with full headlights glowing between Ubraye and Entrevaux.

The Finnish reigning World Champion sent a serious warning to his glorious elder from Hautes-Alpes: 9.8 seconds all at once, enough to bring down to 16 seconds the gap with Ogier in the overall standings, instead of 36 seconds in the morning, when all crews left the Port of Monaco.

Following his first two stage wins of the year, Saturday afternoon, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Motorsport) showed once again that he was taking good measure of his new i20, by setting the second fastest time in SS14. And once again, he was quicker than Elfyn Evans, who will start Sunday with a 24.5 debit on the Belgian, in sight of the final podium but with a mountain to climb.

When Ogier set off for the Port of Monaco, he knew that he had four more stages (SS15 to SS18) to manage properly, quietly and cleanly on Sunday, i.e. 67 km timed.

Leading the rally since Thursday evening, the 8-time world champion is still looking for a record 9thsuccess in the Principality. The only thing he could accept not winning on Sunday is the Power Stage.

Not only did Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Motorsport) recorded his first stage win of the year in SS12, he immediately did it again by being the fastest in SS13, the second pass between Malijai and Puimichel (17.31km), in front of many fans of Sébastien Ogier massed along this pretty country road dotted with bumps.

“I hurt my back a bit on one of the jumps, but it’s ok,” said the Belgian driver on the finish line. He had once again been faster than the three leading Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers, in the following order: Kalle Rovanperä at 0.2 second, Elfyn Evans at 3 seconds, Sébastien Ogier at 3.9 seconds.

“The stage was a bit dirty at the end, now there is only one left today, by night, it’s always nice in these conditions”, added the eight-time World Champion, focused more than ever on claiming an historical 9th win in the Principality on Sunday.

After SS13, Neuville is still 3rd overall, less than 10 seconds behind Rovanperä (2nd) who therefore has no room for error if he wants to preserve the hope, for Toyota, of a 1-2 on Sunday. Evans (4th) is now 22 seconds behind Neuville and the Japanese hat-trick no longer seems to be on the agenda, especially if no major incident happens on Sunday.

Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Motorsport) won his first stage of the 91st Rally Monte-Carlo, and of the 2023 WRC season, during the second pass between Le Fugeret and Thorame-Haute (SS12, 16.8 km). The first stage win not scored by a Toyota Gazoo Racing driver since the start on Thursday evening.

“I’m happy, I had a good pace,” said the Belgian on the finish line at the bottom of Colle Saint-Michel. This was his 323rd stage win in WRC (143 starts, 55 podiums, 17 wins). A great performance against dominating Toyota Yaris and a great reward for his now legendary ability to resist, his patience and his undisputable talent behind the wheel.

After this SS12, Neuville is still 3rd overall, 39 seconds behind Sébastien Ogier and only 9.5 seconds behind Kalle Rovanperä, and still holds a good margin (19.5 seconds) over Elfyn Evans, Toyota’s third top driver.  Enough to consider the rest of the operations with serenity, especially if a puncture, always possible with increasingly worn out Soft and Super Soft Pirelli tires, disrupts the general classification, at one time or another.

In WRC2, the situation is stable, as Russian Nikolay Gryazin (Skoda Fabia) is still in control against his two main French rivals, Yohan Rossel and Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën C3). They will also have to be wary of the stones and all those traps making up the timeless charm of Rally Monte-Carlo, sometimes causing twists and turns.

“I overheated my tires a bit at the start of the stage, but after that it was better,” admitted the young Finn (22) and reigning world champion, after his third stage win of the rally. “There were big risks of puncture in this stage, so I was careful. I have been playing it safe since this morning”, Ogier explained a few minutes later.

The result is yet another stage treble for Toyota Gazoo Racing, ahead of the very consistent and resilient Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Motorsport), still 3rd overall ahead of Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford). The Estonian, crowned in 2019, is faced with power steering issues since SS10 in his Ford Puma, just like his teammate Pierre-Louis Loubet on Friday.

After the sandwich break at Puget-Théniers, the same loop of three specials is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, then back to Monaco to prepare for the last four stages, scheduled for Sunday morning over Nice.

This was already his 7th stage win out of 10 in this 91st edition, in front of a host of spectators, in full sun, cooled down by the icy wind. Ogier managed it with a very small margin, four tenths of a second quicker than Elfyn Evans and 1.1 second better than Kalle Rovanperä, who had just clocked the best time in SS9.

This was also another 1-2-3 for Toyota Gazoo Racing in this rally, ahead of Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Motorsport).

Again 4th in raw performance, the Belgian driver is more than ever in search of another podium in the WRC, for lack of anything better. He remains 3rd overall and does everything he can to contain Evans, who was delayed Friday morning by a puncture. The Welshman is only 19.1 seconds behind and he has eight stages left to complete a possible Toyota treble in the Principality.

At M-Sport Ford, the worries continue. Just like Pierre-Louis Loubet on Friday, Ott Tänak had a major power steering failure at km 3 in this SS10. He will have to fight all day in order to fix the issue tonight in Monaco, and then try to save a few points on Sunday.

Toyota Gazoo Racing therefore continued its raid on this “Monte”, with a 9th stage win out of 9 contested since Thursday night, and another 1-2-3 on the scoreboard: Rovanperä ahead of Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans. This infernal trio drove faster than Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Motorsport), 4th at 2.7 seconds. It may be a happy omen for the Frenchman, aiming this year for a record 9th success in the Principality.

The M-Sport Ford drivers are not in the game, even if Ott Tänak saves appearances and remains in the Top 5. The 2019 World Champion is still a minute behind Ogier in the general standings (57.5 seconds exactly) while the competitors have just passed, in the famous Colle Saint-Michel, the mid-rally point (9 stages out of 18).

This SS9 claimed a victim in the French ranks: Pierre-Louis Loubet, the other M-Sport Ford driver, had left well rested after a whole Friday afternoon driving without power steering. His Puma slipped in the last left corner, just before the timing cell, and its right rear axle got damaged : “We need to get back in shape and try to aim for a few points during the Power Stage on Sunday”, the young Corsican driver reacted on Twitter.

“I didn’t push too hard, I just tried to do a clean stage. My car seemed more efficient than this morning”, said Rovanperä, the youngest World Champion in the history of WRC, at the end of SS8, where Sébastien Loeb had won in 2022 ahead of Ogier, just one year ago. He then set off for Monaco with a 36-second debit over his French team-mate, and ten more stages to negotiate on Saturday and Sunday morning.

“I’m very happy, obviously the risk of punctures was higher in this stage, so I took it easy. I am just happy to be able to bring the car back to the service park,” Ogier said a few minutes later. He had punctured a tire in this stage last year, in the heat of a final battle with Loeb, and offered an historic win to his greatest rival.

Saturday morning, when all drivers leave Monaco for the six stages of Day 3, Ogier will also be 37.9 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), 3rd, 54.2 seconds ahead of Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford), 4th, and 1:02.3 minute ahead of Elfyn Evans (Toyota), who suffered a very costly puncture in the morning. This makes it three Toyota drivers in the Top 5, with over 175 timed kilometers to race. Place your bets!

“Honestly, I took a lot of risks to compensate,” Ogier said during the mid-day pause in Puget-Théniers. Crews were only allowed to change tires, but no help by mechanics was allowed. With a 30-second lead, Ogier could plan to manage a bit, as he had to wait for the evening service to have his electric power unit fixed.

This SS6 had another benefit for Toyota Gazoo Racing: it allowed Kalle Rovanperä, the young reigning World Champion, to take 2nd place away from Thierry Neuville, the Belgian leader of Hyundai Motorsport. “It’s starting to get better,” said Rovanperä at the break. After starting this opening round of WRC 2023 in cautious mode, he is now starting to find his rhythm. In SS6, he finished two seconds behind Evans and half a second only behind Ogier.

After SS6, there is only a four-tenths difference between Rovanperä (2nd) and Neuville (3rd), both 36 seconds behind Ogier. Slightly further back, Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford), 4th at 44 seconds, and Elfyn Evans (Toyota), 5th at 54 seconds, are still battling for honours. In WRC2, Russian Nikolay Gryazin (Skoda Fabia) continues to resist against two Frenchmen driving Citroën C3s, Yohan Rossel and Stéphane Lefebvre.