The World Rally Championship launches its 2025 season with the traditional Monte-Carlo Rally. As for the competitors, 10 Rally1 will be at the start of this 93rd edition. Reigning WRC champion and last winner of the event, Thierry Neuville will put his crown on the line this season. Facing him, the Belgian will have a lot of people including his Hyundai teammate, Ott Tänak, and Kalle Rovanperä, back on a full program after a year part-time.
As for victory in this 2025 Monte-Carlo Rally, Sébastien Ogier necessarily appears to be a serious candidate, he who already has nine successes in this rally, including eight in the WRC. Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux, new recruit for Hyundai, will be keen to make a good impression for his first under his new colors.
Friday January 24 – 107.34 km
09h31 – ES4 : Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne – 18,68 km
10h34 – SS5: Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes / La Bâtie-Neuve – 16.68 km
11h42 – SS6: La Bréole / Quellenet – 18.31 km
15h23 – ES7 : Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne – 18,68 km
16h26 – SS8: Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes / La Bâtie-Neuve – 16.68 km
5:34 p.m. – SS9: La Bréole / Quellenet – 18.31 km
> Follow the evolution of the rankings live via the official WRC Live Timing
> Route, timetables, entrants… The complete guide to the 2025 Monte-Carlo Rally
WRC – Monte-Carlo Rally
Follow the second day live with commentary
9h56 – Kalle Rovanperä is on fire: halfway through, he has an 8″1 lead over Ott Tänak!
9h55 – ???????? Ahead at the halfway point, Adrien Fourmaux lost time in the last kilometers and finally finished 1’4 behind Ott Tänak’s time. Great special from the Frenchman who is 16″6 behind the overall leader.
9h52 – ???????? Sébastien Ogier does not improve and falls 6’0 behind Ott Tänak at the finish of SS4. The Frenchman, however, finished ahead of Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans and regained time on the leading duo overall, only four seconds behind the Welshman. “With these conditions, it is possible to make differences. It’s more of a Monte Carlo with a little ice, not like yesterday in the mud. »
9h50 – As the passages progress, the ice disappears and the track seems much drier and easier for the Rally1s. Adrien Fourmaux is in the lead at the 5th intermediate with 2″1 ahead of Ott Tänak.
9h49 – ⏱️ Superb time from Ott Tänak, much more comfortable on studded tires! The Estonian clocked 11’45″0, 12″8 better than Elfyn Evans! He is twelve seconds behind the Welshman overall.
9h46 – ⏱️ Late in the first part of the special, Elfyn Evans made up time in the drier part and set the best time in 11’57″8… He passed Thierry Neuville in the general by eight tenths! He was also on four studded tires on this special. “It was very difficult, to be honest. It was very complicated to know if there was adhesion or not. I think my tire choice looks good. »
9h43 – ⏱️ As the sun rises, Thierry Neuville finishes this first special of the day in 12’00″6. Behind, Elfyn Evans is hot on his heels in terms of time. “It’s not easy. By leaving first on the road, I have no trace. I lacked grip and struggled with confidence. »
9h41 – And yet, the Estonian is the fastest in the 2nd intermediate with 3″7 ahead of Thierry Neuville after five kilometers!
9h40 – Ott Tänak took a big risk this morning by starting with five studded tires! He could be in difficulty on this first special stage of the day, the driest of the three, but could regain the advantage on SS5 and SS6… To be continued.
9h37 – Elfyn Evans has just taken her turn. Unlike Thierry Neuville who only has snow and studded tires, the Welshman took two soft tires but lost a little time on the Belgian over the first kilometers. The ice is definitely here!
9h34 – If the fans put on a show yesterday for the first three specials, it was not really to the liking of Sébastien Ogier, who complained about the smoke and fireworks which disturbed him in the specials of night.
9h31 – ???? Let’s start the second day of the 2025 Monte-Carlo Rally with the departure of Thierry Neuville on SS4, the 18.68 km Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne special.
9h29 – ???? Here is the starting order for this second day of the rally!
-1) Thierry Neuville (Hyundai)
2) Elfyn Evans (Toyota)
3) Ott Tänak (Hyundai)
4) Sébastien Ogier (Toyota)
5) Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai)
6) Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota)
7) Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota)
8) Grégoire Munster (M-Sport Ford)
9) Sami Pajari (Toyota)
10) Josh McErlean (M-Sport Ford)
11) Oliver Solberg (WRC2, Skoda)
12) Nikolay Gryazin (WRC2, Skoda)
9h26 – ???? To find out everything about the transfers and changes made by the WRC for this 2025 season, click here!
Transfers, calendar, rules… What will change in WRC in 2025
9h23 – ???? Yesterday, in SS3, Sébastien Ogier was very hot with an exit from the track which could have been fatal. “I was lucky, he confided in the service park. This could have had much more serious consequences. We can be happy to still be in the running. It’s a shame because we had a very good start to the rally. (…) Everything was fine but unfortunately I lost the car on a piece of dirt. But we can be satisfied with the fact that I managed to bite something on the side which allowed me to stay on the road, without damaging the car too much and only losing 15 seconds. »
9h20 – ???? And the drivers made no mistake in their tire choice for this first loop: they all chose studded tires for this Friday morning! Thierry Neuville sets off with four studs and two snow tires, Sébastien Ogier with five studs and a soft tire, Ott Tänak with only five studs without a spare wheel. Elfyn Evans, Adrien Fourmaux, Takamoto Katsuta, Sami Pajari and Josh McErlean chose to start with four studded and two soft tires.
9h18 – ????️ On the program this Friday, for the second day of this Monte-Carlo Rally: 107.34 timed kilometers spread over six special stages and above all, very icy roads this morning! There could be some damage this morning!
9h16 – ???? For the video summary of the first day, click here with the best moments of the first stage selected by the WRC!
9h14 – ???? After the first three specials, here is the general classification at the start of this second day! Thierry Neuville took the lead at the end of SS3, where Sébastien Ogier made an error which caused him to lose around fifteen seconds. In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin leads with seven seconds ahead of Yohan Rossel.
9h12 – ⏪ If you missed the first stage of this Monte-Carlo Rally, with the first three stages contested at night on Thursday evening, don’t panic: here is the summary of the day!
Wasted end of evening for Ogier, Neuville leader of Monte-Carlo 2025
9h10 – ???? Hello everyone ! Welcome to this live commentary to follow together the second day of the Monte-Carlo Rally, first round of the 2025 WRC season! The start of the SS4 (Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne – 18.68 km) will be given in a few minutes, at 9:31 a.m.!
© Bastien Roux / DPPI
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