Evans leads Monte Carlo Rally ahead of two Frenchmen, Neuville crashes

At the end of a hectic morning, with a cancelled special stage and an icy course, it is Elfyn Evans who dominates the Rallye Monte-Carlo ahead of Sébastien Ogier and Adrien Fourmaux. Thierry Neuville is the first victim of this event: the Belgian broke his rear-left suspension in SS6.

Published 24/01/2025 à 12:40

Dorian Grangier

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Evans leads Monte Carlo Rally ahead of two Frenchmen, Neuville crashes

© Red Bull Content Pool

  • It was a very, very busy morning this Friday morning on the Rally Monte Carlo! In cool conditions and on a wet and icy road in places, the drivers had to exercise extreme caution for the first loop of the day. At the end of SS6, it was Elfyn Evans who led the way at midday. The Welshman had a narrow lead over the two Frenchmen, Sébastien Ogier (+1″5) and Adrien fourmaux (+6″2).
  • An eventful morning with in particular the cancellation of the ES5 between Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes and La Bâtie-Neuve, following the injury of two spectators hit by a rock fall and who required medical assistance. It was in ES6, the third special stage of the day, that everything got moving, notably with the accident of Thierry NeuvilleThe Belgian, first on the road, missed his braking in a hairpin and hit a bank quite violently on the outside, breaking his rear left suspension.

  • The reigning world champion was able to set off again and reach the finish line, but with a Hyundai in very bad condition. Thierry Neuville lost almost two minutes on the leaders and sees his chances of victory disappear… "I think you pay the price for not knowing about tires. I thought I was okay, but I locked the wheels and we hit a bank," he confided upon arrival.
  • Ott Tänak also had a big scare on SS6: the Estonian went into a ditch on his right, but he was able to get out a few seconds later by keeping his foot on the accelerator. Although he lost around ten seconds, he also seriously damaged his Hyundai. The 2019 champion is now in 5th place in the general classification, 23 seconds behind the leader Elfyn Evans.

Ott Tänak's badly damaged Hyundai at the finish of SS6 © RallyTV

  • On the French side, for the moment, everything is going well! Sébastien Ogier is in 2nd place, just 1″5 behind Elfyn Evans, despite a big scare in SS6 that didn't cost him too much time. Adrien Fourmaux is just behind, in 3rd place, 6″2 behind the Welshman: the new Hyundai driver signed his first scratch with his new team in SS6 and is comfortable and above all offensive despite difficult conditions.
  • A great morning also for Grégoire Munster: the Belgian-Luxembourger came very close to winning his first special stage victory in SS4 this morning, just 1″4 behind Kalle Rovanperä, and also set the 2nd fastest time in SS6. The rider M-Sport made a bold choice in SS6 by not using studded tires, unlike the others, a successful bet since he is now ranked 4th overall, 22″5 behind Elfyn Evans.
  • In the lower category, in Rally2, Nikolay Gryazin is still in the lead in his Skoda with an 18″6 advantage over Yohan Rossel, leader of WRC2 (Nikolay Gryazin and Oliver Solberg are not eligible for points in WRC2). Leo Rossel completes the podium, 1'28″3 behind the Russian driver.

WRC – Rally Monte-Carlo
ES6 – Ranking

WRC – Rally Monte-Carlo
General ranking after ES6

ALSO READ > Route, timetables, entrants… The complete guide to the 2025 Monte-Carlo Rally

Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

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