How Monte masters stole the show as WRC's hybrid era blasted off

The 90th edition of the storied Monte Carlo Rally will be remembered for generations. Monte Carlo welcomed a new, unpredictable Rally1 hybrid era but it was a couple of semi-retired elder statesmen that stole the show, as World Rally Championship legends Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier starred in an enthralling battle for the ages.

Imagine Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher going head-to-head almost at their peak - this was rallying’s equivalent. When it was announced that nine-time champion Loeb would be making a WRC comeback at the Monte with M-Sport Ford, it set tongues wagging, especially once newly crowned eight-time champion Ogier confirmed the famous event would feature in his now scaled-down partial programme for Toyota.

Sadly rally fans have witnessed only fleeting tussles between Loeb and Ogier, the most notable in 2011 when they were Citroen team-mates, and a young pretender in Ogier attempted to upstage the man they call Le Maestro. There have been other occasions when they have crossed swords but all of these previous skirmishes were eclipsed by what played out last weekend.

Sharing 17 world titles and 15 Monte Carlo wins, the potential for fireworks was there if Loeb and Ogier were equipped with competitive new machines. But there were questions marks surrounding Loeb. Could he still be competitive at the age of 47? Would Monte Carlo be a bridge too far after 12 days tackling the Dakar Rally, where he finished as runner-up?

Loeb answered those questions resoundingly after emerging from a four-day, 17-stage fight with an eighth Monte Carlo win, helped by late drama for Ogier, who seemed on course to topple his rival until the penultimate stage.

Heading into the rally, new Rally1 regulations made it virtually impossible to predict a result. All the pre-event discussion centred on the myriad of rule changes and unknowns facing Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport that had been burning the midnight oil to prepare all-new hybrid, 500 horsepower, safer spaceframe chassis beasts from the ground up. Predicting who would be quickest and which drivers would adapt best was about as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

Loeb shone on his first rally with M-Sport and first WRC event since Turkey 2020 to score a memorable win

Photo by: M-Sport

The unseasonably dry conditions made this year’s rally a more traditional asphalt blast than a danger-at-every-turn, snow-and-ice affair. Shakedown provided a glimpse at the script that would play out across the four days as Ogier pipped Loeb. There was also hope that all three manufacturers would be set for a close battle. However, there were warning signs as to what was to come there, too: Hyundai’s Ott Tanak and Toyota duo Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta had already suffered mechanical issues with their machines.

To add to the already tough challenge Monte presents with unproven cars, the rally began with two stages in darkness on Thursday night, featuring the iconic Col de Turini section. Any thoughts the shakedown tussle between Ogier and Loeb was a flash in the pan were quickly vanquished. Ogier christened the new hybrid era by winning both stages, with Loeb his nearest rival, to open up a 6.7-second lead heading into Friday, with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans 11.2s behind in third.

Ogier and Evans were on the pace but Rovanpera ended Thursday more than a minute behind having been unable to adapt to driving with the hybrid power and without an active differential, which contributed to a spin on the opening stage

The opening salvos of the new hybrid cars provided a brief glimpse into the pecking order and it was clear Toyota and M-Sport had done their homework with the GR Yaris and Puma respectively. Last of the manufacturers to commit to the new rules, Hyundai, were clearly some way adrift of the pace, suffering engine, hybrid, hydraulics and balance issues with its i20 N.

“I had no trust in the car, so I had to keep it neat and tidy,” said Thierry Neuville, who was 28.5s back in sixth overall. Tanak offered a much clearer picture: “From the start we had some engine issues and on this one we lost some hydraulics. Anyway, it's a big list. At least we are here.”

In the third Hyundai entry, Oliver Solberg simply couldn’t hear co-driver Elliott Edmondson.

“It's too loud from everything else,” said Solberg. “It's very annoying and I couldn't hear him in many places – I had to brake and go again so I lost the rhythm.”

In the M-Sport camp, the mood was chipper, highlighted by the bubbly Craig Breen, who gushed about his new Puma. The point was further proven by the pace of team-mates Adrien Fourmaux and Gus Greensmith, who held fourth and fifth positions.

“Everybody that’s been involved in this – you've done an amazing job,” said Breen after ending the day seventh having opted for a measured approach to the stages.

Solberg had a difficult start to the rally, unable to hear his co-driver. His problems would only get worse thereafter

Photo by: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

It wasn’t all plain sailing at Toyota. Ogier and Evans were on the pace but Rovanpera ended Thursday more than a minute behind having been unable to adapt to driving with the hybrid power and without an active differential, which contributed to a spin on the opening stage.

“I think the balance of the car is really tricky for me to drive,” said Rovanpera. “I tried to do my best to adapt for it, but if the balance is a bit more to the understeering side then it's quite difficult for me.”

Friday saw the old Monte master Loeb roll back the years alongside his new co-driver Isabelle Galmiche, a part-time maths teacher, who was thrown into the deep end to make her WRC debut, aged 50. The pair won four of six stages to overhaul overnight leader Ogier. In doing so Loeb became the oldest driver in WRC history to lead a rally. Loeb had rattled off two stage wins before taking the lead on stage five, where a cautious Ogier over patches of back ice dropped 15.8s to Loeb.

“It's tricky and there is a lot of frost and a bit of black ice,” said Ogier. “The road will get faster now. Quite a difficult loop for us, but we will try again this afternoon.”

Without a midday service as per the Monte Carlo format, teams faced a huge challenge to fix teething issues with their cars. This was particularly a problem for Hyundai as its woes continued. A clearly aggravated Neuville claimed: “It’s a nightmare. I have never been so scared while driving.”

Tanak’s car was working better but Solberg had an all-new problem, exhaust fumes coming into the cockpit causing him to lose focus.

“It was quite scary as it went on the whole day and at one point I was dizzy and had some pain in my chest,” he said.

Ogier inspects his tyres after losing the lead to Loeb on Friday

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

M-Sport’s impressive start to the rally had soon hit a bump in the road, in this case a mountainside as Fourmaux misjudged a left-hander on stage three. It resulted in his Puma ploughing into a rock face. The impact flipped the car over the barriers and deep into a ravine. Incredibly Fourmaux and co-driver Alexandre Coria emerged unscathed, kept safe by the new tougher steel chassis, but their rally was over.

“It is not what we wanted as we talked about making sure we get to the end,” said M-Sport team principal Richard Millener. “It is another hard lesson in the development cycle, there is not much we can do.

In the battle for the lead, Ogier issued a fightback in the afternoon to cut a 15.9s deficit to Loeb down to 9.9s by winning Friday’s final stage. This arrived after Greensmith, who had been threatening the stage times, pulled out arguably the drive of his life to beat Loeb and Ogier to win stage seven, a career first fastest WRC stage time.

If Friday belonged to Loeb, Saturday was won by Ogier as the Toyota driver continued to take time from his rival. By stage 10, incredibly the pair were level pegging on the exact same overall rally time

“Someone said to me I’m the first non-French person to win a stage this year so that is a good little accolade,” said a jubilant Greensmith.

Loeb was surprised to be leading the rally as the duel with Ogier went up another notch heading into Saturday.

“I didn’t expect that [to be leading], for sure I was hoping for a good rhythm with this car and I had a good feeling in the test, but to know what speed I would have I didn’t know,” said Loeb.

Ogier reckoned: “It is really clear that the Ford is faster. I’m not giving up, I will try my best to put pressure on.”

Ogier fought back at Loeb on Friday and reclaimed the lead on Saturday before his Sunday puncture heartbreak

Photo by: Olivier Caenen / ACM

Hyundai managed to improve the performance of its “scary” i20 Ns throughout the day, ending Friday with Neuville fourth and Tanak fifth, but it was clear there was plenty of work to do, including finding a fix to stop the fumes entering Solberg’s cockpit.

If Friday belonged to Loeb, Saturday was won by Ogier as the Toyota driver continued to take time from his rival. By stage 10, incredibly the pair were level pegging on the exact same overall rally time. Loeb admitted he’d made the wrong tyre choice as the extra power of the hybrid beasts had taken life out of the supersofts.

The lead changed hands on stage 11, the infamous Sisteron test, that provided the biggest challenge to the crews, courtesy of a three-mile section covered in treacherous snow and ice. Ogier made the best of his mix of slick and winter tyres to take the rally lead, but there was plenty of drama behind.

Third-placed Evans saw his podium hopes evaporate due to a “clumsy error”, ironically on the dry asphalt. The Welshman misjudged a right-hander, clipped a bank that sent his GR Yaris into a spin, coming to rest beached precariously on a steep hillside. It prompted officials to red flag the stage, allowing fans to push the car back onto the road.

Behind, Neuville was only able to drive at 75% due to a front-right damper issue that would eventually break in the afternoon, reducing the Belgian to a crawl and the need for a roadside cable tie repair. Prior to stage 11, Tanak had already suffered a left-rear puncture and a decision to run slick tyres and carry one spare was to bite the Estonian. The 2019 champion slid on ice into a rock face, damaging the front end of his car, while also picking up front-right puncture, resulting in retirement.

Solberg continued to battle through but was 35 minutes adrift when the fume inhalation resulted in him losing concentration and running off the road on the morning’s second stage. Things were not going well for Hyundai.

At the front, Ogier and Loeb were playing tyre games, trying to out-psych each other for the repeat of Sisteron to end the day. Ogier saw Loeb had fitted slicks and copied his rival. The result led to Ogier gaining 16.1s as Loeb was unable to match the reigning champion. However, the afternoon in terms of stage times, belonged to Rovanpera, who claimed two wins, now happy with the balance in his Yaris and thriving. His team-mate Katsuta, not so much, as he found the same rock face as Tanak.

All three Hyundais endured a trying rally. Neuville was the only one to finish, in sixth

Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport

Heading into Sunday’s final four stages the rally appeared to be in Ogier’s hands, armed with a 21.1s lead over Loeb, but he wasn’t taking anything for granted.

“With the guy behind me definitely we cannot relax but also with the conditions, so altogether I know it is still tricky,” said Ogier. “It has been very enjoyable to fight with him [Loeb] for the last three days and I hope we can fight like this to the end.”

Loeb knew he was facing a tall order: “It is tough, it [the gap] is probably a bit too big but you never know, it is not finished before the end.”

Third was now in the hands of Breen, who benefited from clean driving and the trouble that befell his rivals. This included team-mate Greensmith, who suffered a puncture and an engine misfire that saw him drop to fifth, behind the rejuvenated Rovanpera.

A first win for M-Sport since 2018 was capped off by Breen, the first of the runners competing the full season in a fine third, and Greensmith fifth, behind Rovanpera after his impressive turnaround

Sunday provided drama of the highest order and Loeb’s words were perhaps a premonition. Ogier appeared on course to take a ninth Monte Carlo win after emerging from the first two stages with a 24.6s lead. But there was one last twist to this Monte epic.

Ogier picked up a front-left puncture, his lead evaporated and transformed into a 9.5s deficit with one stage remaining. Advantage Loeb.

A final stage showdown awaited. Ogier threw everything at it, ultimately too much as a jump-start earned him a 10s penalty. Without that, he would have taken nine seconds out of Loeb with a drive he said was “over the limit” at times.

Either way, it was not enough. Loeb and Galmiche held on to take a truly memorable win, the 80th of Loeb’s distinguished career and a history-making first for cool customer Galmiche. Had Ogier avoided the penalty, he would have lost the rally by 0.5s.

Loeb was joined on the podium by Breen, the first driver home who is completing the full championship

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

A first win for M-Sport since 2018 was capped off by Breen, the first of the runners competing the full season in a fine third, and Greensmith fifth, behind Rovanpera after his impressive turnaround. Neuville dragged his i20 N to sixth with a stage win to give Hyundai some joy from a woeful weekend that ended with the team retiring Solberg and Edmondson after the pair felt unwell due to the fumes they had inhaled for two days. Evans didn’t leave empty handed after claiming four points on the Power Stage.

There is a school of thought that the Monte Carlo Rally being dominated by two semi-retired drivers showing the current crop of drivers up is perhaps not the best look for the WRC. But it is important to remember the Monte Carlo Rally is a specialist event and a quick glance at the history books now has 16 victories shared between Loeb and Ogier.

It was always going to be a tall order for the current crop to find the necessary speed advantage over the experience and local knowledge of Ogier and Loeb, and with unknown cars where reliability, particularly in Hyundai’s case, was a massive concern.

For the WRC, the ‘Great Monte GOAT off’ thrusted the championship back into the spotlight while answering critics that had questioned if the new Rally1 regulations would produce spectacular cars and action. Sometimes you just have to marvel at seeing two of the greatest put on a show worthy of a movie script.

Galmiche became the first female WRC winner since Fabrizia Pons on the 1997 Monte

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool