The Monte-Carlo Rally leader and defending World Champion, Sébastien Ogier (Toyota), decided to be the fastest this morning in Stage 12, between Puget-Théniers and La Penne (12.93km), so that his rivals understand early enough that he intends to set a new record of 8 wins in the most mythical of all WRC events. Equipped with studded tires on a snowless road filled with black ice patches in most of the corners, he could not trust his gravel crew because their info was outdated: “The conditions have changed a lot since the gravel crew passed earlier this morning, so we cannot use their info…”, Ogier smiled at the end of this stage last used in the 80s by scary Group B cars. He had just managed to be 7 tenths of a second quicker than Neuville, who took a chance this morning by taking 2 Super Soft tyres instead of two extra studded Pirelli tyres. But this was not enough to counter Ogier’s huge experience in this rally. “Super SebO” is now 21 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans, who lost 7 more seconds on his French team-mate, and Neuville is now 3rd overall, over one minute back, thanks to a puncture for young Finn Kalle Rovanperä, who lost over 50 seconds in that stage. There are three stages left, 40 km including the Power Stage. The boss is in control…

Major of the Gap / Fontreyne service park was damaged last night after strong winds hit the capital of the Hautes-Alpes department. Lots of material damage but fortunately not serious which will not prevent the 89th Rallye Monte-Carlo from restarting this morning. First competitor to leave the parc fermé, Pierre-Louis Loubet at 5:19 am….

Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) was back in his favourite position, leading Rally Monte-Carlo, Saturday morning, after clocking the best time in Stage 9, around 7 am, and showing who is the boss again this year. The best of his rivals, his Welsh team-mate Elfyn Evans, had to concede 17 seconds over 18.31 km of this SS9 between La Bréole and Selonnet, so one second per km, in average. In the Vallée de la Blanche, the dark night and the slippery conditions (-3°C at the start) did not trouble the 7-time World Champion, although « we had the impression of not having studs at all », Ogier said at the finish line. The Frenchman is still, more than ever, the huge favourite to win the Monte-Carlo of the 110th anniversary, with two more stages to manage on Saturday (SS10, SS11) and a 10-second advantage on Evans, before hitting the road for Monaco. Behind Ogier and Evans, the gaps are growing fast since Ott Tänak, who was 3rd Friday night, has lost big at the beginning of Stage 9: a spin in a hairpin, a rock, a puncture and then most of the stage done without a tyre on his front left wheel, losing one minute and 20 seconds on Ogier. This allows Kalle Rovanperä, the young Finn and 3rd Toyota driver, to get back to the 3rd spot, but over one minute behind Ogier and battling with Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), the winner last year. Game on !

Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), the winner last year, was very fast in Stage 10 and clocked his first best time of the 89th Monte-Carlo Rally, 110th Anniversary Edition. Even more interesting, he did it in style, reducing his gap on leader Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) by 42 seconds in the space of 20.48km, between Saint-Clément and Freissinières. At the time he passed on this road, a few minutes before Ogier, Neuville could enjoy winter conditions to the full and the studs of his Pirelli Sottozero winter tyres were efficient. A few minutes later, the sun was up, the snow and ice were melting, so Ogier’s studs were totally useless, and the same for Evans one minute later on the road. The Welshman also stalled in a hairpin, losing four more seconds on Ogier, and the Frenchman is still in the lead, but he was slightly worried at the end of the stage. Another Frenchman, youngster Pierre-Louis Loubet (Hyundai), for his first ever Monte-Carlo Rally, benefitted from this quick change of conditions and posted the 2nd best time of this SS10, thanks to the fact that was opening the road after crashing in SS7 on Friday. With one more stage to go on Saturday, Ogier now enjoys a 14-second advantage on Evans and the fight is still on, more than ever, for the last podium spot between Kalle Rovanperä, 3rd in the other Toyota, but 50 seconds behind Ogier, and Neuville, 1.4 second only behind the young Finn. Last but not least, the nightmare continues for Ott Tänak, who started the day in 3rd place. He had another puncture in SS10 and then finished a second consecutive stage on the rim. He is now 14th and almost 10 minutes behind Ogier. Game over, or almost.

Elfyn Evans (Toyota) posted the last best time of Saturday, in Stage 11, by going 1.3 second faster than Sébastien Ogier between La Bréole and Selonnet (20,48 km). He could then hit the road for Monaco in a much better mood, as the last credible rival for his team-mate. « I needed this one », Evans said on the finish line, « because I did not feel good this morning. I will try to keep on putting pressure on Seb », he added after only his second stage win of this rally. It happened on the very same road where Ogier hammered him early this morning, in Stage 9. The gap between the Toyota drivers, in favour of Ogier, was of 17 seconds, around 7 am. « The conditions have changed a lot since this morning », Ogier noted, but the 7-time World Champion was happy that he had completed a « clean stage » to end the day safely. He will start Sunday with a 13-second advantage on Evans but anything can happen on a last morning at Monte-Carlo Rally, especially if the stops are only meant to fill the tank and change the tyres. One minute behind Ogier and Evans, the last available spot on Sunday’s podium will be fought between 20-year-old Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) and 5-time vice-champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), the winner last year in Monaco. Ott Tänak will not be around since he retired on Saturday after finishing two stages on the rim, following consecutive punctures in SS9 and 10. In FIA WRC2, Andreas Mikkelsen, the former works driver for VW and Hyundai, holds a 2-minute advantage over Adrien Fourmaux. In FIA WRC3, a French treble is still a possibility, thanks to Yohan Rossel, Yoann Bonato and Nicolas Ciamin.

The leader at noon, after clocking three best times in the morning, Sébastien Ogier made two small mistakes in Stage 6 and lost half a minute in total, puncture included. This allowed his Welsh colleague of the Toyota Gazoo team, Elfyn Evans, to take the lead with a 20-second gap over Ott Tänak (Hyundai). This second pass between Aspremont and La Bâtie des Fonts (19,61 km) also allowed Hyundai to benefit from another bad stage for Kalle Rovanperä. The young Finn, after ending up in a field, was badly placed when he came back on the road, just before Tänak arrived and had to slow down. The 2019 World Champion lost a chance to clock the best time but is now 2nd of the rally, 20 seconds behind Evans and with a 3-second advantage on Ogier. His Hyundai colleague, Thierry Neuville, is back in the race as well, in 4th spot, after a tough morning, but he has over a minute deficit on Evans, and is only three seconds ahead of Rovanperä. Only one more stage left on the Friday menu…

Sébastien Ogier, who clocked the best time in Stage 7 to close the day in style, has been the quickest in 4 stages out of 5 on Friday. He had a puncture in Stage 6, after a spin in a hairpin, and lost half a minute in the process. However, the Frenchman and local hero is still in the chase for an 8th win in Monaco on Sunday. But he will have to cope with team-mate Elfyn Evans, the only driver able to resist Ogier on Friday, and the only other driver to clock a best time on this very wet day, in Stage 6.  The last stage of the day allowed the 3rd Toyota driver, young Finn Kalle Rovanperä, to regroup and start afresh after losing the plot in the previous two stages. The other news this Friday relate to the Hyundai team, where World Champion 2019, Ott Tänak, is now 3rd overall, and only 25 seconds behind Evans, whereas Thierry Neuville, now 5th at less than one minute, is going to fight with Rovanperä for a potential podium spot, if any of the Big Three fails in the last 7 stages scheduled before Sunday, 4 on Saturday, 3 on Sunday.