{"id":10615846,"date":"2026-01-23T22:12:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acm.mc\/jour-2-solberg-edmondson-en-maitrise\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T09:27:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T08:27:37","slug":"day-2-solberg-edmondson-in-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acm.mc\/en\/day-2-solberg-edmondson-in-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 2: Solberg \/ Edmondson in control"},"content":{"rendered":"

The real surprise of the first day of the 94th Rallye Monte Carlo, Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson had a superb Friday to retain the lead in the overall standings. They are ahead of the two Toyotas driven by Elfyn Evans \/ Scott Martin and S\u00e9bastien Ogier \/ Vincent Landais.<\/strong><\/p>\n

SS4 : Solberg dominates Laborel<\/h3>\n

The Oliver Solberg show continued on Friday morning, with the Swedish driver in his Toyota Yaris extending his lead over his main rivals by winning SS4, ably assisted by his co-driver Elliott Edmondson. The no.99 duo set a time 19.1 seconds faster than that of Thierry Neuville and Martin Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a lot of work to keep the car on the road, but the conditions will improve during the day,\u201d<\/em> smiled S\u00e9bastien Ogier, who was more than 30 seconds behind Solberg but not worried about what was to come.<\/p>\n

Result SS4<\/a><\/p>\n

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SS5 : Evans doubles his lead, Solberg slows down<\/h3>\n

The Toyota drivers had mixed fortunes in SS5. Elfyn Evans set the fastest time in SS5 ahead of S\u00e9bastien Ogier, while Oliver Solberg, who suffered a puncture at the end of the stage, finished on the rim and lost 27 seconds to Evans, but still retains his overall lead. \u201cI don’t know what happened or where I got the puncture, but it was a great stage,\u201d<\/em> said Solberg at the stop point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s rare to feel good at Monte Carlo,\u201d<\/em> said Evans, who set his second fastest time of the rally after SS1 on Thursday afternoon at the start of this 94th edition. In the chasing pack, just behind the leading trio, Thierry Neuville did not choose the right tyres for this stage and lost some time (nearly thirty seconds) to S\u00e9bastien Ogier.<\/p>\n

Result SS5<\/a><\/p>\n

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SS6 : Solberg beats Hyundai<\/h3>\n

The final stage of Friday morning (SS6, 17.8 km), contested in winter conditions with lots of wet snow on the climb between La-B\u00e2tie-des-Fonts and Aspremont, allowed Oliver Solberg, who only had three studded tyres on his Toyota (following his puncture in SS5), to finish ahead of two Hyundai drivers, Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux.<\/p>\n

By also beating his two Toyota teammates, Elfyn Evans and S\u00e9bastien Ogier, by around 20 seconds, Oliver Solberg showed once again that he will be a force to be reckoned with in this 94th edition of the Rallye Monte Carlo.<\/p>\n

Result SS6<\/a><\/p>\n

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SS7 : The Solberg Show continues<\/h3>\n

Oliver Solberg, as calm and efficient as ever, set the fastest time on SS6 on Friday afternoon between Laborel and Chauvac-Laux-Montaux (17.95 km), on a road that was less slippery and less treacherous than on Friday morning. He once again finished ahead of his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammates, S\u00e9bastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans, but by only two seconds.<\/p>\n

At Hyundai, Adrien Fourmaux lost time because his hydraulic handbrake was broken. “In some hairpin bends, I had to put the car in reverse. We’ll try to fix it,”<\/em> he told Canal +.<\/p>\n

Result SS7<\/a><\/p>\n

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SS8 : Ogier pushes hard, Solberg manages<\/h3>\n

The one but last stage on Friday, between Saint-Nazaire-le-D\u00e9sert and La Motte-Chalancon, allowed S\u00e9bastien Ogier to set the fastest time and to close half of the gap over its competitors. Oliver Solberg, started SS8 a few minutes after Ogier and Evans and suffered from poor visibility as night was falling over the Dr\u00f4me region.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn’t see anything at first because it was raining, and then because night was falling,\u201d<\/em> Solberg summed up at the stop point. \u201cI hadn’t put on my extra headlights,\u201d<\/em> lamented Ogier, who for the first time in the rally managed to gain over 15 seconds on Evans (16.2 to be precise) and Solberg (17.6) in a single stage.<\/p>\n

Result SS8<\/a><\/p>\n

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SS9 : Ogier prepares for the weekend!<\/h3>\n

S\u00e9bastien Ogier (Toyota) got his weekend off to a good start by winning SS9 (17.8 km), recording his second consecutive stage win. Ahead of his two Gazoo Racing teammates, Oliver Solberg, who remains in the lead, and Elfyn Evans, who now has only a six-second lead over the nine-time World Champion.<\/p>\n

It was pitch dark and raining when Ogier finished SS9 with a smile, completing the second loop of a very difficult Friday for all drivers. His goal on Saturday will be to take second place from Evans. \u201cIt was still a question of survival, and there was a lot of mud on this stage,\u201d<\/em> Ogier said at the stop point. \u201cI wasn’t brave enough,\u201d<\/em> lamented Evans, five-time WRC vice-world champion, including three times behind Ogier.<\/p>\n

Result SS9<\/a><\/p>\n

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In the overall standings, Oliver Solberg \/ Elliott Edmondson<\/strong> remain in the lead ahead of Elfyn Evans \/ Scott Martin<\/strong> and S\u00e9bastien Ogier \/ Vincent Landais<\/strong> at the end of the second day.<\/p>\n

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\ud835\udc12\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc1b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc20 \/ \ud835\udc04\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc26\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc27 \ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc23\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc25\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc2c ! \ud83e\udef5<\/p>\n

\u23f1\ufe0f Avec plus d\u2019une minute d\u2019avance sur leurs poursuivants au classement g\u00e9n\u00e9ral provisoire, le duo de chez @TGR_WRC<\/a> conserve la t\u00eate apr\u00e8s 9 sp\u00e9ciales disput\u00e9es sur 17. Vos r\u00e9actions \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\ud835\udc12\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc1b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc20 \/\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/nu7qFhi0iq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Automobile Club de Monaco (@ACM_Media) January 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n