Neuville nevertheless did the good thing of the evening since Seb Ogier, then leader of the rally, made a mistake after 3km. The Frenchman slipped and hit a wooden post. He was nevertheless able to finish but dropped 23.5 and is credited with the 6th time of the special.
For the new WRC season, win a miniature Hyundai autographed by Thierry Neuville
Third time for Kalle Rovanpera at 16.1 behind Evans. The Finn precedes Greg Munster for a second, again shining in the mud this Thursday evening. The Belgian from M-Sport conceded 17.2 on Evans. He is ahead of Ott Tänak at 17.8.
Seventh time for Takamoto Katsuta at 24.2 ahead of Adrien Fourmaux, who made the lost bet of putting on snow tires. Lacking confidence, Sami Pajari is 9th at 49.9.
Overall, Neuville took the lead with two seconds ahead of Evans. Ogier drops to 3rd place, 12.8 behind the Belgian. Ott Tänak is 4th at 27 seconds, three lengths ahead of Adrien Fourmaux. Behind Rovanpera, Munster are 7th at 48.8. The Verviétois is only 4″ behind the double WRC champion.
The Monte-Carlo Rally will resume tomorrow at 9:31 a.m. with SS4 in Saint-Maurice. 18.68km will be on the menu.
Live WRC rankings
After SS2: Ogier does it again for a breath in front of Neuville, Munster stands out
The Bréziers SS2 was marked by conditions worthy of Condroz with patches of ice but also and above all mud in abundance, the second part of the special being very slippery.
Sébastien Ogier ignored it to sign his second scratch of the evening in 11:11.4. But the Toyota driver was only nine tenths of a second ahead of Thierry Neuville, who is establishing himself as his main rival this weekend at Monte-Carlo.
“It was dirtier than expected so it wasn’t an easy stage. There was ice in places and we had to slow down”admits Thierry.
Neuville is followed at 1.2 by Adrien Fourmaux, who is having fun behind the wheel of his Hyundai. Ott Tänak completes the Top 5, 6.4 behind Ogier.
-Very nice special from Grégoire Munster. In conditions he likes, the M-Sport driver set the 6th time, 7 seconds behind Evans and 15.8 seconds behind Ogier. The Belgian managed to beat the Toyotas of Takamoto Katsuta, Sami Pajari and Kalle Rovanpera by 7 seconds.
13th absolute time for Josh McErlean, ahead of the Rally2s of Nikolay Gryazin, Yohan Rossel and Oliver Solberg.
Overall, Ogier logically leads the debates with a 5.3 lead over Neuville. Evans is 3rd at 12.7 but has Fourmaux on his heels two tenths behind. Tänak is 5th at 19.9 while Rovanpera is 6th almost 40 seconds behind. Behind Takamoto katsuta, Munster overtook Pajari for 8th place, 42 seconds behind.
Es3 will begin at 9:06 p.m. with 13.97 in the Avançon fireworks show.
After SS1: Ogier shoots first, Neuville 3rd
That’s it, the WRC 2025 finally took off this Thursday evening, at around 6:05 p.m., with the first pass through Digne-les-Bains, 13km long. Stage regional Sébastien Ogier was first at the wheel of his Toyota Yaris. The Frenchman completed this first special of the Rallye Monte-Carlo in 11:30.4.
The regional of the stage beat his teammate Elfyn Evans by 3.9. However, the Welshman is only five tenths ahead of Thierry Neuville, third and first in the Hyundai clan.
The differences are already notable during this first pass. Adrien Fourmaux, who is competing in his first WRC with Hyundai, is 4th, more than 10 seconds behind Ogier. The ex-M-Sport driver precedes vice-champion Ott Tänak and his Hyundai by 2.7, who precedes Kalle Rovanpera by 2.1. The two other Toyotas of Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari follow.
Grégoire Munster is 9th in his Ford Puma, 4 seconds behind Pajari and 26.5 seconds behind Ogier. The Belgian is ahead of the first Rally2s of Nikolay Gryazin and Yohan Rossel. The Russian and the Frenchman managed to beat rookie Josh McErlean on the second Puma, the Irishman finishing 55 seconds behind Ogier.
We will note a first drama in WRC2 with more than five minutes lost for Oliver Solberg, the Swede having visibly encountered a puncture on his Toyota Yaris.
The start of the Bréziers SS2, 21.18km long, will be given at 7:53 p.m.
