Thierry Neuville heads the Monte-Carlo rally from the start while Ogier’s road exit upsets the ranking.

The FIA 2025 World Rally Championship started spectacularly, with the title champion Thierry Neuville taking the lead in the Monte-Carlo rally after the dramatic first stages on Thursday. The night was marked by an exciting action, icy alpine conditions, and a rare error in the legend of the Sébastien Ogier rally, which slipped out of the head for the head spectacularly.

Neuville benefits from the rare Ogier error

After launching the race from the famous Place du Casino de Monaco, the competitors faced three difficult stages in the French Alps, lit by the headlights and the flares of thousands of devoted fans. At first, Ogier seemed ready to dominate, recording the best times in the first two stages. However, the disaster struck during the 8.68 Miles Avançon/Notre-Dame-du-Laus test, where the champion eight times slipped largely, hitting a fence post and losing more than 20 seconds.

“Difficult conditions, a lot of mud on the road, and we hit a post on the side. Happy to get out of it,”Admitted Ogier after the fright, who could have ended his night completely.

Neuville, still opportunistic, has made controlled and error -free conduct in his Hyundai i20 n rally1 to seize the head with 2.0 seconds ahead of the Toyota Gr Yaris of Elfyn Evans.

“It was super difficult to stay on the road,“Said Neuville. “” “I am happy with this first day. Our goal was to end the day proper, and we did it.”

The battle between Toyota and Hyundai at the top

Evans, piloting the other Gr Yaris, maintained a constant pace throughout the evening, remaining within the fire of Neuville. Meanwhile, Ogier’s setback relegated him to third place, 12.8 seconds from the head, but he is still in the running for his tenth victory at Monte Carlo, a record.

Lower in the ranking, Ott Tänak of Hyundai secured fourth place after a cautious departure, going beyond his teammate Adrien Fourmaux during the last step. Fourmaux, which makes its debut with Hyundai after a visit to M-Sport, is only 3.0 seconds behind Tänak in fifth place.

Rovanperä’s struggles and the beginnings of Pajari

Kalle Rovanperä de Toyota, double WRC champion, is still getting back in the bath after a part -time campaign in 2024. Ending the day in sixth place, Rovanperä cited his lack of recent experience on asphalt Monte Carlo traitor as a major challenge.

“It’s been a while since I did this rally in its entirety, and it shows. We will try to improve tomorrow,“Said the Finn.

Sami Pajari, the title champion of the WRC2 and now full -time pilot in Rally1 with Toyota, made a respectable top 10 for his beginnings, finishing ninth.

WRC2: Gryazin in mind but Rossel targets points

In the WRC2 category, Nikolay Gryazin shone when he returned to a Skoda, leading the category and ranking 10th as a general. However, as Gryazin did not appoint Monte Carlo as a point eligible for the points, Yohan Rossel of Citroën holds the head of the WRC2 championship, accusing a delay of only 7.2 seconds on Gryazin.

What is the future?

The rally continues Friday with six stages covering 66.7 miles of competition. The frozen areas and unpredictable grip levels that tested the pilots on Thursday should persist, with dry roads mixed with gravel and turns strewn with land promising even more drama.