Accident of the Hyundai N°8 crew: TANAK Ott (drive) and JARVEOJA Martin (co-driver) in Special Stage N°4 “St Clément – Freissinières” which took place on Friday 24th January at 10:04 am at km 9.2. 

The car left the road at high speed and after several rolls ended on a road below the rally road. Both occupants exited the vehicle on their own and were reportedly free of serious injuries. They were examined by the Doctor of Automobile Club of Monaco, who arrived at the scene at 10:09. Then the Dragon helicopter, which arrived on site at 10:34 and departed at 10:36 for Gap Hospital, evacuated them. On their arrival at 11:04, the crew TANAK Ott (driver) and JARVEOJA Martin (co-driver) was taken over by the medical team of the Emergency Department where further examinations were done. The medical status is comforting but as a matter of precaution and because of the strength of the impact, the doctors have decided to keep the crew under observation until Saturday morning.

After SS 8, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia lead the Rallye Monte-Carlo 2020.

Sébastien Ogier – Julien Ingrassia (Toyota), leader

Séb, tell us about your day…
Overall it’s been a good day. The morning was not bad, but Elfyn definitely did better. In this case you know there’s room to improve if your team-mate is going faster. I worked at the midday service on the set-up and with my gravel-note crew. I was not having so much confidence, they were too much on the safe side and we lose time with that. But overall I’m happy with the day, we stay ahead of Thierry, it’s not a big gap, but we have to continue like this. 

We saw Thierry open a big gap on stage two last night, but today shows things change quickly…
That’s the rally where a gap can happen, we know that’s possible. From what I heard there might still be some surprises coming before the end of the weekend. Tomorrow we can still have some ice, it’s not so much, but when you drive with the slick tyre it’s not easy. The feeling is good and I hope we can stay in the fight to the end. 

It’s been your first full day with the team, how’s it been?
Yeah, step–by–step. It wasn’t perfect this morning, I did’t have so much confidence, especially on the bumpy section. But in the same time, like we discussed Elfyn was able to do better, and when your team-mate can do this there’s room [for you] to go faster. Sometimes you don’t need much change, we did small things at midday and I felt better in the afternoon. 

Elfyn Evans – Scott Martin (Toyota), 2nd

Elfyn, you dominated the morning – were you surprised at the speed you showed so early on?
We knew the testing had been good, but you can never know how that will translate onto the rally. To be honest, I felt immediately quite comfortable in the car. I found the feeling from the test and that gave me confidence to drive well. I wasn’t trying to be crazy or stupid, just drive to a good rhythm. But this is tricky, this is the Monte and it never feels so safe. We’ll continue to drive well stage-by-stage. Seb turned the screw a little bit this afternoon, let’s see what comes tomorrow. 

Do you have more pace?
At the end of the day this is Monte Carlo, it’s not really the rally where you take crazy risks. I have to hope to find the good feeling from the morning. 

There’s a tricky stage to start tomorrow – it’s the one that caught you out last year…
Yeah, we were just discussing that. There might be a little bit more of a lift, I’ll give him [Ogier] a few tenths there. 

Thierry Neuville – Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai), 3rd

Thierry, you had an amazing time in the second stage last night, but there’s still all to play for here?
Definitely there’s still all play for. We are still in the fight for victory. I hope for a much better day. We had the good feeling yesterday, it was a great start and I was able to drive very fast in tricky conditions. This morning was all more complicated and I struggle for rhythm and I could not find confidence. I worked with Dani to improve our language to get more competitive and each stage was starting to look a little bit better. I look forward to tomorrow. 

Dani Sordo is your safety crew driver – you’re his boss now!
Dani is a very nice guy and I’m very happy the way he jumped in when Brun [Thiry] got sick. This was the only quick solution and he is one of the only guys I put a lot of confidence in. I will try to improve our collaboration, but of course it’s only for this rally. On the next rally we are competitors again. 

You saw the marks where your team-mate Ott Tänak went off, that slowed you down?
That’s not what you want to see when somebody goes off at such a fast place. I thought he had restarted because people were slowing me down, so I thought he’d gone [off] again. I was told at the end of the stage he’d had a big crash. Now we have all seen the footage, it’s very impressive. It’s good to see our cars are safe. 

January, Wednesday 22 – After the Shakedown

Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) – 1st

Seb, how do you feel? Good to be back?
I always feel good to be here. Monte Carlo is a special place. For some years the rally has come to Gap and this is a big chance to start the season at home. There’s a lot of support, but that brings a lot of pressure. Everybody expects that we can win, maybe we won too much in a row – everybody thinks it’s easy to win! I’m very excited, there’s a lot of change, a lot of drivers in the new cars. There’s still lots to learn to be 100 per cent confident, but definitely it’s good potential and it’s looking good for the new season. 

What about the conditions?
We have seen very tricky conditions in the recce, actually maybe not so tricky – there was lots of ice so it would be easy for the tyre choice, it would be studs. But now it’s positive temperatures and its melting quick and this will be a more challenging tyre choice. Thursday night is always tricky here. I think if you measure the heart beat at the start of night stage, probably it will be higher for all of the drivers. But there’s lots of excitement at the start of the year. 

Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) – 2nd

Thierry so many changes, but more of the same for you. You were close last year here, looking forward to this one?
It was a very nice rally, a nice battle with Sebastien [Ogier] last year – he was a bit faster on the last stage. We were pretty close, we try to do the same again this year but we try to beat him on the final stage. 

It’s a big challenge ahead this year?
The last couple of seasons have been tough. The WRC needs lot of engagement from me, my co-driver and the whole team. It’s a tough championship, rallying can be crucial but sometimes you need some luck. Up and down for everybody last year, close, hope more exciting to the finish and we can be in the fight. 

Elfyn Evans (Toyota) – 3rd

Elfyn all change for you after a lot of years at M-Sport, you’re with Toyota. How’s that going?
The feeling in the car and the team is pretty good. It was a big change after many, many years at M-Sport. It’s nice to have a new challenge. I’m looking forward to it. 

Is it your time to shine this year, Mr Evans?
Of course, we’re all here to compete and to win. It would be very nice, but we come to every rally, we’re not going to think too long term, what will be will be and we’ll do the best we can. 

© Photos : Jo Lillini

Sébastien Ogier (leader – Citroën C3 WRC)

Tell me about your day Sébastien?
It’s been another tricky day, especially the first stage both times through. They were tricky and changeable conditions. We needed to stay with the studs – at least the tyres has been a bit more straightforward today. But still I am happy to be here sitting in the middle, even if we didn’t increase the gap much. Tomorrow will be another intense day.

There are some legendary stages tomorrow – what do you know about conditions?
I don’t know much yet, we will have our gravel crew tomorrow morning. It should be mainly dry, but it will be cold icy and frosty on the top – there will be places to make a difference… and a mistake! We both want to win, everybody wants win Monte Carlo, it’s a magical rally we all enjoy a lot. We have made a big difference from the rest and we both want to cross the finish line. Second could be good for the championship, but I’m pretty sure Thierry will push to the end and we will do the same.

If you won tomorrow, you would join Walter Rohrl as a driver winning this event with four manufacturers and it would be Citroen’s 100th win – does that add pressure?
Those statistics are very nice, but that’s not what you have in mind when you are driving. Of course it would be great to do that, to take six wins in row and seven in Monte Carlo. I always say if I have a bad season and I can win only one rally then it would be this one – this is why I try tomorrow. I will fight tomorrow.

Thierry Neuville (2nd at 4″3 – Hyundai i20 WRC)

Thierry, what’s the plan tomorrow?
Obviously first of all we had a great day today, it was really enjoyable in the car and we really tried to catch Seb, but it’s always difficult when we are on the same tyres on stages which we know. All in all, it’s been a good day. We look forward to tomorrow, the plan is to catch Seb and to keep the pressure, but also we must think about the championship. We have to think about this.

Thinking about the championship, does that mean the little extra risk not there?
I always try to drive without risks. Of course there are risks, but I try to be on the safe side. When we are in a fight, like in Sardinia last year you try to push a little harder. Tomorrow we have some demanding stages, we don’t know about the conditions and we have to do four stages on the same tyres.

What was the gap going into the final day in Sardinia last year?
It was 4.3! No… it was 2.8 or something. A little bit less.

Sébastien Loeb (3rd at 1’58″7 – Hyundai i20 WRC)

Sebastien, you have battled hard today, but you have two drivers chasing you hard for third…
Yes, for sure. I was struggling a little bit with my set-up. I couldn’t get the confidence from the understeer in the morning, especially with the tricky conditions in the stage. But in the afternoon I was able to get my confidence and I could push harder. I have Jari-Matti just two seconds behind and [Ott] Tanak closing the gap with every stage, so I don’t know what I will be able to do tomorrow. We are not in the fight for the win, but for the podium. I will try to find a good rhythm to stay on the podium.

And how do you feel physically?
I am always motivated, for sure the motivation is a bit different – I’m not here to win the championship, but I am here to help Hyundai take some points. I always want to fight for the victory if I can, that’s not the case here. It was a tough month of January with a lot of driving, but I enjoy driving and it’s a long time since I was here at the start in Monte Carlo. I always enjoy the incredible atmosphere on this rally.

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia win the 86th Rallye Monte-Carlo on Ford Fiesta WRC. Sixth victory in Monaco and fifth in a row. Second place for the estonian Ott Tanak and third place for the finnish Jari-Matti Latvala, both on Toyota Yaris WRC.

Seb, another win on what’s been a tough Rallye Monte-Carlo. How’s it been for you?
Sébastien Ogier: Once again it was a huge challenge. We always come here knowing it’s going be a difficult week and a tough event to make the good tyre choice. Ott was a difficult contender, but it’s also always very good to be here on the podium. Of course, I’m very pleased, this is the best way to start the season. It’s good to come back and start the season this way, it’s special, but I never struggled so much to be right with the tyres. It was never super-clear with the conditions changing all the time. It’s good that we managed to do less mistakes than the others, it was almost impossible to do the perfect weekend and we did mistakes as well. Ours were small mistakes with small consequences and that’s how we did this for the fifth time in the row. It feels good.

How tough was Saturday morning?
It was definitely one of the hardest stages of my career to drive in this moment. It was hard to explain how tough, I wasn’t complaining but it was not enjoyable to drive. It was about surviving. You come to the finish with a big relief and you’re super-happy crossing the line, but you have no idea if you are one minute slower or faster. It was a good surprise to see we took the minute compared to Ott. From then on we had the chance to try and manage the gap, but it was not easy. All the day it was tricky with the tyre to control in those conditions. It would have been super-easy to fall out of position. I’m happy to manage to keep the gap yesterday night. I expected today to be easier, but when we wake up we have news of frost and black ice to deal with on Turini. It was tricky until the end.

What was the plan for the Power Stage?
I couldn’t be completely relaxed and not really go for it. I knew with Thierry and Ott that we were fighting for two points. Thierry, Andreas and Craig had the four soft tyres for the Power Stage. I had worn super softs and not the right things to be fast, so I tried to drive clean. The road was clean at the beginning, but then we had some dirty corners at the finish and I couldn’t go for it. Every point is important at the moment, so I’m happy with this single point.

What did you think of Malcolm Wilson’s performance as Team Principal, was it good?
I had better say yes, I guess! It’s always difficult to start the season in Monte-Carlo on the hardest event in terms of organisation, logistics, meteo and co-ordination – all of that is tricky. We had some changes in the team, some new engineers, a new meteo forecaster who is unfortunately from Estonia – that’s why we got it wrong sometimes! No, I mean when we know how hard it is, we have to congratulate all of them, they have all tried as hard as they can.

How difficult was your job this week?
Julien Ingrassia: Each time we’re here on the podium – and my rivals say the same – we’re here without any breath for one full week. Congratulations to all the co-drivers on doing a very good job, all the guys do the same as me. It’s a very difficult position to get the notes and read new notes which are completely different from what you have on the recce. You memorise some of these notes and then they are completely different, I realise sometimes I was just reading and not analysing what I was saying. There were a lot of changes of rhythm, so it’s really good when the driver is still trusting you in the car.

It’s a great start to the season…
Yes. We know the championship will be hard and Monte-Carlo is special, this is the city of Seb and my region and it reminds me of one year ago. We have to thank those guys, it’s one year on and now we have to start again for everything – it’s a big motivation.

Sebastien, a good day, but a bit of a moment this afternoon, tell us about that…
SO: If I sit here in the middle it is not so bad, but the second part of the day was not so good. I lost 40s with the spin and for sure there are a couple of people I have to thank – they help me when I went off on the exit of the hairpin. Without that it would be a more comfortable lead. I’m enjoying the fight with my friend Ott – but tomorrow we have to be on it from the start.

Can you psyche him out?
Inside he’s different he tries not to show it, if he comes too close I have to play a trick…

We expect a change of conditions tomorrow – what if it snows?
It can be interesting and I’m happy I’m not first on the road if the snow is coming it can be difficult – I didn’t use this advantage today [of being first on the road], but without the spin it would be close. We struggle a bit with the tyre and weather information today, I think I need a word with Ott… we have the Estonian guy doing our forecast… Ott was right all the time and we were wrong! More seriously, tomorrow we have to be right [with tyre choice].

Ott, what an incredible first full day – did you imagine this was possible?
OT: Definitely it would have been difficult to dream about this before the rally. For the moment we can’t complain, the conditions have been tricky this afternoon and the car is still going well. Since the beginning I had a good feeling in the car and that’s a good sign.

What can you do to get closer to Seb?
As we can see today, he’s getting old and starting to do mistakes, he’s a bit sleepy in places, I don’t know what he’s doing… Tomorrow he will be more tired and more sleepy. No… Sebastien is strong, these are his home roads and we play in his backyard, it’s been enjoyable and now let’s see what’s possible.

Dani, what can we see from you tomorrow?
DS: We do a couple of small mistakes with the tyres in difficult conditions today, we lost a bit of time. Sebastien was pushing really hard and his times were tough to follow, tomorrow will be a hard and long day – we’ll see what we can do.

Confident in the snow and ice?
It will be difficult if it’s snowing – ok we already have one stage in snow and tricky downhill (Sisteron). It will be the same for everybody, we need the right tyres and we try to do our best.

Renault Sport continues its historic partnership of over 30 years with the Automobile Club de Monaco , organiser of all the motorsport competitions in the Principality.

The new Mégane R.S. – the brand’s latest sport model that combines agility, performance and versatility – will be on show at international sports events such as the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.

See the four cars transform into lead and safety vehicles on the route of the 86th Monte Carlo Automobile Rally from 22 January.

2018 – Keys delivery of Renault Megane R.S. to Automobile Club de Monaco (Photo M. Alesi)

Monaco , 17 January 2018 – It was at the headquarters of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) where Patrice Ratti, Managing Director of Renault Sport Cars, gave Michel Boeri, President of the ACM, the keys to four new Mégane R.S. cars, which will be used at several sports events organised by the ACM in the Principality of Monaco .

Since Renault first became involved in the Monte Carlo Rally, the paths of Renault and the ACM have crossed time and again. For ten years, the ACM welcomed the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in advance of the F1 Grand Prix, as well as the Eurocup Formula Renault championship since 2016, where the young hopefuls earn their stripes with the aim of securing a spot at the highest level of motorsport.

Monaco has often been Renault Sport’s location of choice for the grand reveal of new models, such as the Clio R.S. 16 concept car and the new Mégane R.S. in 2017. Many limited-series Renault Sport models have paid homage to Monaco ‘s involvement in motorsport: the Monaco GP label is proudly displayed on the Laguna GT, Clio R.S. and Mégane R.S.

“Since the birth of motoring, Renault Sport and the Automobile Club de Monaco have shared a common passion for competition and performance. We are proud that the fruit of all of our passion – our new Mégane R.S. – will be at the service of the ACM and involved in some of the most prestigious events in the world of motoring.” – Patrice Ratti, Managing Director of Renault Sport Cars.

“The partnership between Renault and the Automobile Club de Monaco – which is historic with a capital “H” – is based on common values and a passion that has prevailed for more than 30 years. Receiving today the keys to four new Renault Mégane R.S. cars – which serve to strengthen our fleet of rally and Grand Prix safety vehicles – really attests to the strong foundations of our alliance.” – Michel Boeri, President of the Automobile Club de Monaco .

The new Mégane R.S. – pure performance, perfect for sporty drivers

The third-generation Mégane R.S. brings together all of the know-how and passion of Renault Sport, with the ambition of following in the footsteps of its predecessors and becoming a benchmark in the sports vehicle market. It includes numerous developments and technologies derived from the expertise of Renault Sport Racing during competitive motorsport. Features:

– performance-focused design;
– first in the world in this segment to be equipped with the 4CONTROL system, bringing stability and agility to the Sport and Cup chassis;
– latest-generation 1.8-litre turbo engine, delivering 280 hp and 390 Nm, which was developed in collaboration by the engineers of Renault Sport Cars and Renault Sport Racing;
– four versions adapted to all uses, with dual offerings for both gearbox (manual or EDC) and chassis (Sport or Cup);
– cutting-edge technologies, including R.S. Vision, MULTI-SENSE and the new version of R.S. Monitor.
– Launch Control to optimise pulling away and Multi Change Down for changing down gears faster in manual mode during periods of intense breaking.

In order to determine the general frame of the inaugural event of World Rally Championship (WRC) 2018, the Organizing Committee of Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) honored its well-deserved reputation, once again, by creating a perfect blend of tradition and innovation: the proportion of new sectors will rise to 50% compared to the 2017 route. This 86th edition promises to leave no competitor indifferent…

After two and a half strenuous days for recce, from Monday January 22 at 8 o’clock to Wednesday 24 at 2 pm, all competitors cleared to race will be able to test in race conditions, from 4 pm, during the official shakedown session (3,35 km). This portion will be strictly identical, on La Garde road, within the limits of Gap city, to the one used in 2016 and 2017. Gap will welcome the rally for the 5th consecutive year and install the Service Park as always, near Monaco

The official start for 86th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo is scheduled for Thursday January 25, Casino Square in Monaco , from 6:00 pm onwards. During the first nightly leg, a couple of interesting special stages will be organized in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: Thoard – Sisteron (SS1 – 37.13km), raced in that direction for the very first time in WRC, will be followed by Bayons – Bréziers (SS2 – 25.49km), already used in 2017. Two great scenes for major WRC contenders to start fighting in 2018.

On Friday January 26, crews will be heading south of Gap for the second day, with 150 km of special stages spread out over three departments (Hautes-Alpes, Drôme and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence). This will be, by far, the most tiring day of the rally, with two loops of the same three remote special stages: Vitrolles – Oze (SS3/6 – 26.76km), Roussieux – Eygalayes (SS4/7 – 33.63km) and Vaumeilh – Claret (SS5/8 – 15.24km).

Saturday January 27, north of Gap, will be just as tough as the previous days, with special stages based in the departments of Isère and Hautes-Alpes, and a double loop to start with, consisting of Agnières-en-

Dévoluy – Corps (SS9/11 – 29.33km) followed by Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes – La Bâtie-Neuve (SS10/12 – 16.71km). However, this 3rd day will not be over since the crews will be back, by daylight, in the same Bayons – Bréziers (SS13 – 25.49km) stage as Thursday night, and then they will stop one last time at Gap Service Park before they drive back to Principauté de Monaco in the evening.

The conclusion of the rally, on Sunday January 28, will be made of four special stages (63.72km) with no chance of going through a Service Park in the steep hills of Alpes-Maritimes. So the drivers will go twice through La Bollène-Vésubie – Peïra-Cava (SS14/16 – 18.30km) and La Cabanette – Col de Braus (SS15/17 – 13.56km) which will be used as a Power Stage at the end of the second loop.

At 3 pm, all deserving crews will be welcomed and honoured at the ritual Prize Giving Ceremony in front of

Monaco Prince’s Palace.

Monaco , July 21, 2017

Note: the length of the special stages is only indicative (and could be slightly different in the final version)