Ogier charges to WRC Monte Carlo Rally lead as Neuville falters

Sebastien Ogier staged an impressive comeback on Friday’s leg of the Monte Carlo Rally, the eight-time FIA World Rally Champion (main image) charging from third to first overall in the 2025 WRC season-opener as overnight leader Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans fell victim to the treacherous Alpine roads.

Ogier, chasing a record-stretching 10th Monte Carlo Rally triumph, began the day on the back foot after an off-road moment in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on Thursday’s third stage cost him around 20s. By Friday evening, however, the Frenchman had fought back and more, leading the rally by 12.6s thanks to a masterful drive on the ice-flecked asphalt stages.

Ogier’s Toyota teammate, Elfyn Evans, initially passed overnight leader Thierry Neuville for the lead on the morning’s opening stage, edging ahead after shading the reigning WRC champ’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1 by 2.8s in the 11.61-mile Saint-Maurice-Aubessagne 1 test. Neuville’s hopes of reclaiming the lead were dashed on the morning’s final stage when he limped out of 11.4-mile La Breole-Selonnet 1 with damaged rear-left suspension, a costly consequence of running wide on a downhill hairpin.

Evans, a four-time runner-up in the WRC drivers’ championship, saw his lead at the lunchtime service reduced to just 1.5s by Ogier, who’d clawed his way back into contention through the morning.

A spirited response after service helped the Welshman extend the margin to 7.9s, but disaster struck on an icy section in Saint-Leger-les-Melezes-La Bâtie-Neuve 2. A half-spin on a treacherous patch of shaded ice and slush handed the stage win – and the rally lead – back to Ogier. The Frenchman, energized by competing on roads just a stone’s throw from the village where he’d grown up, Forest-Saint-Julien, extended his advantage further with a commanding performance on the day’s final stage.

“It’s a good end to the day,” said local hero Ogier. “I had to fight for that. Earlier today I didn’t have a mega feeling, I was really on the back foot, and I couldn’t find the perfect rhythm. But the last two stages were good for me.”

With Neuville and his Hyundai teammate, Ott Tanak, both facing setbacks – Tanak clipped a telegraph pole on the morning’s final stage, removing most of his i20 N Rally1’s rear bodywork, and with it his all-important rear downforce – it was Adrien Fourmaux who carried the Korean marque’s hopes. On his first WRC event with the team after switching from M-Sport Ford, Frenchman Fourmaux showed promise with a stage win and two second-fastest times, securing the final overnight podium spot just 1.6s behind Evans.

Hyundai debutant Adrien Fourmaux holds the final podium spot after his teammates’ Friday travails. McKlein/Motorsport Image.

Two-time WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera, who’s making his full-time return after running only selected rounds in 2024, also found his rhythm after a measured start on Thursday. The GR Yaris driver won the morning’s opening stage and climbed from sixth to fourth by day’s end. He ended 24.3s behind Fourmaux, but held an 8.8s cushion over fifth-placed Tanak, whose telegraph pole moment required a lengthy list of replacement body panels and a new rear wing.

Gregoire Munster delivered one of his strongest WRC performances to date, securing consecutive second-fastest stage times in the morning loop. The second-year M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 driver, who’s taken on the team-leader role after Fourmaux’s departure, ran as high as fourth before a tire deflation on the penultimate stage dropped him to sixth overall at the halt.

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta rounded out Friday in seventh, ahead of Neuville and Toyota’s rising star Sami Pajari. Neuville lost more time on the second pass through La Breole-Selonnet, suffering a tire deflation that caused him to slide wide at the same corner where he’d had his dramas earlier in the day.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Yohan Rossel has laid down an emphatic marker, storming into a commanding class lead by Friday night.

The Frenchman, driving a PH Sport Citroen C3 Rally2, has been impressive so far, going fastest of the WRC2 point-scoring runners on every stage over the first two days of the event and holding 10th on the overall leaderboard.

Nikolay Gryazin, who sits 11th overall in his WRC2-spec Skoda Fabia RS, had held a slight advantage over Rossel until Friday afternoon’s penultimate stage, but he’s elected not to count the Monte Carlo Rally as one of his seven points-counting events.

Rossel, claimed a WRC2 victory here by just 4.0s last year, is in a league of his own this time around relative to the other WRC2 point-scoring entries. By the close of Friday, he held a staggering 2m3.2s advantage over the second best of them, Hyundai i20 N Rally2 driver Eric Camilli.

“I need to do no mistakes and keep focused on my own rally,” said Rossel.

Citroen’s Yohan Rossel has put on a masterclass to head the WRC2 class after Friday’s icy stages.

Saturday is the rally’s longest day and includes six all-aspahalt stages totaling 81.65 competitive miles. With the chance of early morning ice, and the possibility of light rain showers, too, conditions are set to remain tricky.

WRC Monte Carlo Rally, positions after Friday/Leg One, SS9
1 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 1h27m00.6s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +12.6s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +14.2s
4 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +38.5s
5 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +47.3s
6 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m33.7s
7 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m37.7s
8 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m32.9s
9 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m58.6s
10 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroen C3 – WRC2 leader) +5m04.0s

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