WRC – Rallye Monte -Carlo – Ogier in master's degree, Fourmaux in the blow, Neuville loses a lot

We do not win nine times the Monte-Carlo rally. Sébastien Ogier showed that he was the owner this Friday afternoon, winning two of the three specials disputed on the second loop of the day and taking control of the event after this second day of race. Halfway through, the Frenchman is in the lead with 12 ″ 6 ahead of Elfyn Evans and 14 ″ 2 on Adrien Fourmaux.
Always so solid on its lands, the ointple world champion gave a lesson to its opponents, in particular in the feared ES8 between Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes and La Bâtie-Neuve. This special, which had not been borrowed in the morning after the cancellation of ES5, was still freezing, with a particularly trashy pin. The Toyota pilot has perfectly managed this special and the next one by winning the scratch each time and escaping at the top of the rally.
Elfyn Evans tried to hold the head of the rally, but the Welshman was guilty of an error in this famous icy pin. By trying to reset as quickly as possible, the Toyota driver left in half-headed. Obliged to start the reverse, the Toyota driver lost ten seconds and therefore, the commands of this rally at the end of the ES8.
Adrien Fourmaux was very solid and very offensive this Friday afternoon, and his attack pays: halfway through, the new recruit from Hyundai is 3rd in the general classification with 14 ″ 2 late on Sébastien Ogier and only 1 ″ 6 on Elfyn Evans. The northerner is the first Hyundai pilot and made no mistake today – with even a first scratch in ES6 this morning – a good performance that will have to be confirmed until Sunday noon!
Thierry Neuville is the big loser this Friday: accident this morning in ES6, the Belgian experienced a new mishap in ES9 … in the same place as his morning accident! This time, it is not a braking error, but a puncture that sent the world champion to the decor in the same pin. Forced to drive in slow motion, the Hyundai pilot has lost two more minutes and is now four minutes from the leader. His chances of victory are now almost zero …

A difficult afternoon for the Belgians since Grégoire Munster too has known its share of misadventures. The M-Sport pilot, fourth at midday after a beautiful morning and an inspired tire choice, has lost a lot of time due to a puncture in ES8, relegating it to 6th place at 1'33 Sébastien Ogier.
In the WRC2 category, Yohan Rossel took orders in the last special of the day against Nikolay Gryazin. The Russian-which is not eligible for the WRC2 points this weekend, just like Oliver Solberg-made the whole second loop on studded tires, a missed bet since it lost foot in ES9 and allowed It is up to Citroën to take the lead. The Frenchman has 21 ″ 4 ahead of his ex-teammate. On the French side, Éric Camilli is 4th in the Rally2 category, Léo Rossel is 5th.