Ogier stays on course at the Monte-Carlo Rally

Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) don't let yourself be impressed yet Ott Tänak (Toyota) même si l’Estonien signe des performances de haute volée. Le leader du Rally Monte-Carlo made a poor choice of tires by focusing on soft ones while most of its rivals preferred super soft rubber.

The Frenchman gave up only six seconds to his direct opponent for victory in the second passage of Bayons-Bréziers, 25,49km long (the SS2 contested Thursday evening) where the roads this time were dry with all the same a few muddy passages for the crews who left behind. The five-time winner of the Monte-Carlo Rally remains 33 seconds ahead of the Estonian on the evening of the third stage.

Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) remains comfortably installed in third position. On the other hand, the fight is in full swing for fourth place since Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) has taken over from Kris Meeke (Citroën). By gaining almost eight seconds, the second Finn from the Japanese manufacturer is ahead of the C3 WRC of the Northern Irishman of 1''6. The latter must also protect himself from Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) who returned to 20 seconds after the Welshman came closest to the scratch achieved by Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

The Belgian moved up to seventh place after overtaking Bryan Bouffier (M-Sport) who is now around ten seconds behind the i20 WRC. The Frenchman now has no more pressure since Craig Breen (Citroën) follows more than three minutes behind. Jan Kopecky (Skoda) remains solid leader of WRC 2, still completing the top ten.

The final stage of the Monte-Carlo Rally will begin at 8:32 a.m. with the stages of La Bollène Vésubie – Peira Cava (18,41km) and La Cabanette – Col de Braus (13,58km) which will be covered twice. Sébastien Ogier must still resist for 64km to achieve a sixth victory at the Monte-Carlo Rally, which would also be a fifth consecutive success in this event. The latest forecasts indicate that conditions are expected to be drier than those experienced this Saturday.