Evans ends the day in the lead, Ogier does not give up

Almost perfect day. Fifth overall after the first two stages of Monte-Carlo, Sébastien Ogier had the firm intention of getting back on track this Friday. From the outset, the Frenchman took the three scratches of the morning and at the same time the lead of the rally with 11“3 ahead of Elfyn Evans.

With the counters reset, the Frenchman is heading towards a fourth consecutive special victory until the road sets traps for him. In the mix during SS6, Sébastien Ogier lost big after a spin on a hairpin before a puncture a little further on forcing him to stop.

A gift falling from the sky from which Elfyn Evans amply benefits. The Welshman accelerates and takes the reins of the Monte-Carlo Rally, pushing his teammate back to 23 seconds, who has meanwhile fallen back to 4rd. Stung, Sébastien Ogier pulls himself together and sets the record straight.

Dans l’ES7, l’ultime de ce vendredi, le pilote du Toyota Gazoo Racing frappe fort et relègue loin derrière lui ses deux principaux rivaux : Elfyn Evans et Ott Tänak. The first finished 6th in the special, 16 seconds behind, while the second lost more than 20 seconds.

Coming back like an arrow, Sébastien Ogier is only 7" behind Elfyn Evans before Saturday when the snow could change the cards.

In WRC2, Andreas Mikkelsen still dominates the debates. The Norwegian is 47” ahead of the Fourmaux-Jamoul pair. Note that Pierre-Louis Loubet's exit from the road caused the interruption of the special. Adrien fourmaux being the second and last to have signed a time, the other participants should be credited with a fixed time.