Loeb continues to liven up Monte-Carlo
After winning their third stage since the start of the 83rd Rallye Monte-Carlo, their 903rd in the World Championship, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena hit a rock on the final test of the day.
Yesterday’s brief warm-up was today succeeded by a real leg, featuring six stages held on roads around Gap. With sub-zero temperatures in the morning, most of the WRC crews opted to go with studded tyres for the first loop. Different options were taken after the midday service. Mads Østberg and Sébastien Loeb took advantage of this to fit snow tyres, without studs, in the afternoon, unlike most of their rivals.
On La Salle en Beaumont – Corps (SS3 and SS6), Sébastien Loeb was simply unbeatable. First thing in the morning and at the start of the afternoon, the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver was quickest on both runs on the stage.
However, on the next two tests, the mud dragged onto the road as the crews came through the stages left the surface too slippery for Loeb, who was fourteenth in the running order. And although he managed to hold off his rivals in the morning, Sébastien Loeb hit a rock on SS8 and was unable to finish the leg.
The car slid wide and I hit a rock, which broke the suspension.
Sébastien Loeb
Despite becoming increasingly competitive throughout the leg, Kris Meeke didn’t make it to the end of SS8. He damaged his car’s rear left-hand suspension after sliding into a ditch, whilst running in fourth position.
Thanks to making a good call of tyres choice for the second loop, Mads Østberg ended the day with a third fastest time. He moved up to fifth place in the overall standings.
In the WRC 2 category, Stéphane Lefebvre held onto first position in a DS 3 R5. In the FIA Junior WRC, Quentin Gilbert remained in front, ahead of Ole Christian Veiby and Terry Folb in their DS 3 R3-MAXs.
Tomorrow’s leg will take the crews from Gap to Monaco. The actions starts at 8.10am with two stages, including the 51.70 kilometre monster of Lardier et Vaneca – Faye, with the midday service at 12.34pm. The crews then head towards Monaco, taking in Pruniers – Embrun and Sisteron – Thoard. The cars will be driven into Parc Ferme in the Principality from 6.58pm onwards.
Quote, unquote
Yves Matton (Citroën Racing Team Principal): “Sébastien slid and hit a concrete block on the final stage. The impact broke part of the suspension. He will be able to rejoin tomorrow under Rally 2 rules. It was a gamble of sorts to enter him at Monte-Carlo and I have to say he surprised us again with his performances.
Seb and Citroën Racing have been daring in terms of this challenge, but also in the race. With a less than ideal road position, he had to make some bold decisions so that he could continue to defend his chances of winning. It was a good fight and it just goes to show that our 2015 DS 3 WRC is a well-designed car. It’s a very positive point for our technical team! He’ll be able to showcase his immense talents tomorrow.”
Sébastien Loeb: “We had to give it a go! Given the conditions we had, we had to push in order not to lose too much time. I braked a little too early on an icy patch. The car slid wide and I hit a rock, which broke the suspension. We had to drive quickly, because the situation and the changing road conditions weren‘t particularly ideal for us. The roads were becoming incredibly dirty and we had to stay in touch. But we weren’t pushing too hard. It’s not like we were taking any massive risks when we went off.”
Mads Østberg: “The conditions were very difficult. It can be little bit frustrating, because sometimes I was braking before a corner where I didn’t need to slow down. I could do more, but my strategy is to concentrate on what I need to do. And I’m pretty happy with how I performed today.”
Kris Meeke: “In the middle of SS8, I slid wide on a fast left-hand corner. The car went sideways. I tried to steer into the skid to correct the trajectory, but we ended up in a ditch where we hit a small tree. We were unable to get away again because the rear suspension was broke. The car will be repaired tonight so we can rejoin under Rally 2 rules tomorrow.”
Standing after day 2
1. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) 1:52:07.4
2. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) +1:45.4
3. Andreas Mikkelsen / Ola Floene (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) +2:34.8
4. Ott Tanak / Raigo Molder (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2:44.4
5. Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson (DS 3 WRC) +3:02.9
6. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +3:15.2
7. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +3:29.9
8. Dani Sordo / Marc Marti (Hyundai i20 WRC) +4:03.0
9. Martin Prokop / Jan Tomanek (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +4:59.6
10. Henning Solberg / Ilka Minor (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +6:38.9
Fastest times
Sébastien Loeb and Robert Kubica, 3 – Sébastien Ogier, 2.
Citroen Racing
Hyundai Motorsport continues Monte Carlo learning curve with two cars in top eight
Hyundai Motorsport aims for final flourish as both cars head into final day of Rallye Monte-Carlo
What’s going on with Nissan and Kiyoto Fujinami?
Nissan may have made no changes to its GT500 driver roster for the 2023 SUPER GT season, but still caused a surprise by making no mention of two-time GT300 champion Kiyoto Fujinami in its recent announcement.
First Gen3 Supercar hits the track
The first Gen3 Supercar outside of the prototypes has officially turned its first laps at Winton Motor Raceway.
O’Ward optimistic about Rossi – and that DNFs can be reduced
Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward says he’s confident that Alexander Rossi will be a strong addition to the line-up and that the team has got on top of their mechanical DNFs.
“We just can’t make mistakes,” says Herta
Colton Herta admits his 2022 season was a letdown and that eliminating mistakes on-track and in setups is the key target for he and the Andretti Autosport-Honda team in 2023.
Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival
Some 39 years on from his Monte Carlo Rally debut, World Rally Championship legend Francois Delecour continues to pick up silverware. Proving that age is purely a number, the 60-year-old's desire to compete against the WRC’s latest young talents could be the start of a new chapter in the Frenchman’s storied career
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
He may only be contesting a part-time campaign in the World Rally Championship these days, but Sebastien Ogier underlined that he's lost none of his speed in the 2023 season opener. Storming to yet another victory on the Monte Carlo Rally, the eight-time world champion rewrote the history books again as Toyota served notice of its intentions with a crushing 1-2
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
Audi should have been invincible in the snowy conditions that typically greeted the World Rally Championship paddock in Monte Carlo. But unexpectedly warm weather for the 1983 season opener, combined with some left-field thinking from the Lancia crew turned the tables. Forty years on, team boss Cesare Fiorio reflects on a smash and grab.
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
M-Sport had a disastrous 2022 with its Rally1 Ford Pumas following Sebastien Loeb’s first-time-out win on the Monte. But now things are looking up with 2019 world champion Ott Tanak leading its attack, and the Cumbrian operation has optimism that it can challenge for a first title since Sebastien Ogier's departure at the end of 2018
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
As Kalle Rovanpera begins his World Rally Championship title defence in Monte Carlo, the Finn knows he has a target on his back. But who is best placed to knock the Toyota ace off his perch?
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Question: what could be harder than becoming the youngest-ever World Rally champion? Answer: becoming the youngest-ever two-time World Rally champion. That's quite the challenge facing Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera in 2022, particularly against rejuvenated opposition in the second year of the WRC's hybrid regulations.
From F1 to WRC: Why Hyundai's new boss could be an inspired signing
OPINION: New Hyundai rally team boss Cyril Abiteboul admits he’s got a lot to learn, but his F1 experience and evident strengths could mean he turns out to be an inspired choice.
The ultimate rally car project the WRC is glad COVID killed
Toyota was unstoppable in the 2021 World Rally Championship, with an excellent 75% strike rate from 12 rallies. But in a scary proposition for its rivals, the Japanese marque had built a car for the final year of the previous regulations set which it believes was much faster and could feasibly have crushed the opposition completely. Here the story of its mothballed world-beater.
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.