WRC Monte Carlo: Loeb beats Ogier to take eighth Monte win in epic battle
Sebastien Loeb held off Sebastien Ogier in a final stage showdown between the World Rally Championship’s greatest drivers to claim an eighth Monte Carlo win on debut for M-Sport.
Watch: Rallye Monte-Carlo Wolf Powerstage highlights
The two WRC legends waged a rally-long battle for victory with the lead changing hands across four brutal days of competition as the WRC ushered in its new Rally1 hybrid era.
Ultimately the rally was decided in a final stage shootout, after Loeb was handed a 9.5s lead when Toyota’s Ogier suffered a front-left puncture on the penultimate test.
Loeb and co-driver Isabelle Galmiche kept their nerve in the final Power Stage to see off Ogier and new co-driver Benjamin Veillas, to take an eighth Monte Carlo rally win by 10.5s.
There was more drama in the final stage as Ogier was handed a 10s jump start penalty, and had he not incurred the sanction the overall gap to Loeb would have been just 0.5s.
Ogier, also running a partial campaign, initially led the rally from Loeb after winning Thursday’s opening two stages before Loeb dominated Friday to take four of the six stages, ending the day with a 9.9s lead.
On Saturday, Ogier fought back with the pair briefly level pegging on overall times, before surging into a 21.1s lead after dominant run in Stage 13.
Ogier appeared on course for victory until late drama in the penultimate stage on Sunday which left him too much time to recover to overhaul Loeb on the final stage.
Sébastien Ogier, Benjamin Veillas, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The victory was Loeb’s 80th and first since winning Rally Spain for Citroen in 2018, the same season M-Sport last scored a WRC victory at Rally GB.
Likewise, the win was also the first for a female co-driver since Fabrizia Pons partnered Subaru’s Piero Liatti to success at Monte Carlo in 1997.
M-Sport’s Craig Breen completed the podium on his debut for the British squad driving one of four brand new Ford Pumas.
The Irishman had been outside the top five for the majority of the rally until Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and Hyundai pair Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak all hit trouble on Saturday. This allowed Breen to climb from sixth to third, where he continued his measured approach to claim a fourth consecutive WRC podium.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera produced the turnaround of the weekend to claim fourth having struggled to adjust to the new Rally1 Toyota GR Yaris across the opening two days of action. The Finn ended the rally with three stages wins, including the Power Stage and the extra five championship points it carries.
M-Sport ensured three of its cars finished in the top five courtesy of Gus Greensmith, who could have finished higher had he not suffered a puncture and engine misfire on Saturday. The Brit showed strong pace throughout including recording a maiden WRC stage win on Friday.
The only blemish in the Ford team’s copybook was a retirement from Adrien Fourmaux, who was lucky to walk away from a huge crash on Friday’s first stage.
Thierry Neuville claimed sixth in the sole remaining Hyundai in what proved to be a disappointing start the new hybrid era for the Korean brand. Neuville struggled to adapt to his i20 N, labelling it “scary” to drive on Friday, but the Belgian made steady progress until his front right damper broke on Saturday, dropping him from fourth position.
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Bastien Baudin / Hyundai Motorsport
Neuville managed to complete the remaining stages and even scored a stage win on Sunday, the first for Hyundai this season.
Team-mate Tanak retired on Saturday night after suffering a two punctures and a crash on the slippery snow and ice section of the Sisteron stage. Oliver Solberg, driving the third entry, retired on Sunday feeling unwell after breathing in exhaust fumes that had been coming into the car since Friday.
Evans ended the rally salvaging four points after finishing the Power Stage in second after surrendering a long held third spot on Saturday.
Takamoto Katsuta managed to bounce back from a crash on Saturday afternoon to score points in eighth.
In WRC2, defending champion Andreas Mikkelsen claimed victory.
WRC Monte Carlo Rally results
Cla | Driver/Codriver | Car | Class | Gap | Bonus |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sébastien Loeb Isabelle Galmiche |
Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | 2 | |
2 | Sébastien Ogier Benjamin Veillas |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | RC1 | 10.500 | 1 |
3 | Craig Breen Paul Nagle |
Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | 1'39.800 | |
4 | Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | RC1 | 2'16.200 | 5 |
5 | Gus Greensmith Jonas Andersson |
Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | 6'33.400 | |
6 | Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe |
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | 7'42.600 | 3 |
7 | Andreas Mikkelsen Torstein Eriksen |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 11'33.800 | |
8 | Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | RC1 | 12'24.700 | |
9 | Erik Cais Petr Těšínský |
Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | 12'29.200 | |
10 | Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 13'41.300 | |
11 | Sean Johnston Alexander Kihurani |
Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | 14'42.500 | |
12 | Grégoire Munster Louis Louka |
Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | 14'48.000 | |
13 | Yohan Rossel Benjamin Boulloud |
Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | 15'02.100 | |
14 | Chris Ingram Ross Whittock |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 15'20.400 | |
15 | Raphaël Astier Frederic Vauclare |
Alpine A110 Rally RGT | RGT | 18'54.000 | |
16 | Matteo Gamba Nicolò Gonella |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 19'57.000 | |
17 | Mauro Miele Luca Beltrame |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 20'32.500 | |
18 | Emmanuel Guigou Kévin Bronner |
Alpine A110 Rally RGT | RGT | 21'01.900 | |
19 | Alessandro Gino Daniele Michi |
Hyundai i20 R5 | RC2 | 22'40.700 | |
20 | Olivier Burri Anderson Levratti |
Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | 22'53.000 | |
21 | Elfyn Evans Scott Martin |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | RC1 | 23'10.500 | 4 |
22 | Sami Pajari Enni Mälkönen |
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | 24'06.400 | |
23 | Jan Černý Petr Černohorský |
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | 24'14.000 | |
24 | Freddy Loix Pieter Tsjoen |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 24'32.300 | |
25 | François Delecour Jean-Rodolphe Guigonnet |
Alpine A110 Rally RGT | RGT | 24'55.400 | |
26 | Johannes Keferbock Ilka Minor |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 25'28.000 | |
27 | Anthony Fotia Arnaud Dunand |
Renault Clio Rally4 | RC4 | 28'06.300 | |
28 | Marijan Griebel Alexander Rath |
Opel Corsa Rally4 | RC4 | 29'01.500 | |
29 | Frédérik Casciani Vincent Delaplanche |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 29'09.800 | |
30 | Jean-Michel Raoux Laurent Magat |
Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | 30'08.900 | |
31 | Eamonn Boland Michael Joseph Morrissey |
Ford Fiesta Rally2 | RC2 | 31'26.800 | |
32 | Roberto Daprà Luca Guglielmetti |
Ford Fiesta Rally4 | RC4 | 33'34.400 | |
33 | Philippe Baffoun Charlyne Quartini |
Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | 35'21.900 | |
34 | Sacha Althaus Lisiane Zbinden |
Renault Clio Rally4 | RC4 | 37'38.100 | |
35 | Luc Pistachi Laëtitia Authier |
Škoda Fabia R5 | RC2 | 37'41.500 | |
36 | Christophe Casanova Dominique Corvi |
Alpine A110 Rally RGT | RGT | 38'12.500 | |
37 | Fabrizio Arengi Massimiliano Bosi |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 39'59.500 | |
38 | Frédéric Rosati Philippe Marchetto |
Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | 40'34.600 | |
39 | Styve Juif Maxime Biegalke |
Renault Clio Rally4 | RC4 | 43'10.800 | |
40 | Enrico Brazzoli Manuel Fenoli |
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | 43'22.400 | |
41 | Ghjuvanni Rossi Maxime Martini |
Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | 44'23.900 | |
42 | Esteban Vallín Borja Odriozola |
Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | 45'42.200 | |
43 | Pierre Tanci Sébastien Malet |
Renault Clio Rally4 | RC4 | 48'27.000 | |
44 | Eric Royere Gilbert Dini |
Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | 48'59.900 | |
45 | Martin Rada Jaroslav Jugas |
Abarth 124 Rally RGT | RGT | 53'22.900 | |
46 | Jérôme Aymard Sandrine Aymard |
Renault Clio RS R3T | RC4 | 53'40.300 | |
47 | Roberto Gobbin Fabio Grimaldi |
Abarth 124 Rally RGT | RGT | 54'19.700 | |
48 | Jean-Marc Guillon Guillaume Ferrari |
Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | 55'07.900 | |
49 | Gilles Michellier Christophe Richard |
Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | 1:05'01.900 | |
50 | Lilian Vialle Manuel Ghirardello |
Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | 1:05'30.900 | |
51 | Nicolas d'Ulivo Angélique Paolini |
Ford Fiesta R2T National | RC4 | 1:08'39.300 | |
52 | Elwis Chentre Massimiliano Bay |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | 1:09'29.600 | |
53 | Jauffrey Magnan-Bayle Kévin Marchetti |
Renault Clio Rally5 | RC5 | 1:09'36.700 | |
54 | Pierre Ragues Julien Pesenti |
Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | 1:10'16.400 | |
55 | Jean-Paul Palmero Mattia Pastorino |
Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | 1:11'36.100 | |
56 | Carlo Covi Michela Lorigiola |
Škoda Fabia R5 | RC2 | 1:14'19.400 | |
57 | Ian Crerar Elise Racette |
Alpine A110 Rally RGT | RGT | 1:22'43.900 | |
58 | Marc Dessi Pamela Dessi |
Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | 1:25'52.000 | |
59 | Pierre Pergola Fabrice Corona |
Škoda Fabia R5 | RC2 | 1:27'07.100 | |
60 | Jason Bailey Shayne Peterson |
Peugeot 208 Rally4 | RC4 | 1:35'57.100 | |
61 | Lionel Goujon Christophe Laperriere |
Peugeot 208 R2 | RC4 | 1:39'25.200 | |
62 | Jean-Luc Morel Mireille Toti |
Citroën DS3 R1 | RC5 | 1:56'34.400 | |
Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson |
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | |||
Yanis Desangles Nicolas Theron |
Škoda Fabia R5 | RC2 | |||
Marco Bulacia Marcelo Der Ohannesian |
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | RC2 | |||
Alberto Sassi Gabriele Romei |
Abarth 124 Rally RGT | RGT | |||
Zoltán László Tamás Begala |
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | RC3 | |||
Tony Giallo Denis Giallo |
Citroën DS3 R1 | RC5 | |||
Ott Tanak Martin Jarveoja |
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | |||
Stéphane Lefebvre Andy Malfoy |
Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | |||
Christophe Berard Christophe Bernabo |
Renault Clio RS R3T | RC4 | |||
Timothy Van Kurt Heyndrickx |
Renault Clio Rally4 | RC4 | |||
Eric Camilli Yannick Roche |
Citroën C3 Rally2 | RC2 | |||
Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria |
Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | |||
View full results |
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