Relive the second day of the 2025 Monte-Carlo Rally with live commentary

Relive the second day of the Rallye Monte-Carlo, the first round of the 2025 WRC season, with live commentary on AUTOhebdo.

Published 24/01/2025 à 15:10

Dorian Grangier

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Relive the second day of the 2025 Monte-Carlo Rally with live commentary

© Bastien Roux / DPPI

The World Rally Championship kicks off its 2025 season with the traditional Rally Monte-Carlo. On the competitors' side, 10 Rally1 will be at the start of this 93rd edition. Reigning champion of the WRC and last winner of the event, Thierry Neuville will put his crown on the line this season. Facing him, the Belgian will have some great players, including his teammate Hyundai, Ott Tänak, or Kalle Rovanperä, back on a full programme after a year part-time.

As for the victory in this 2025 Monte-Carlo Rally, Sébastien Ogier necessarily appears as a serious candidate, he who already has nine successes in this rally including eight in WRC. The Frenchman Adrien fourmaux, Hyundai's new recruit, will be keen to make a good impression for his first appearance in his new colours.

Friday January 24 – 107,34 km
09h31 – SS4: Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne – 18,68 km: Kalle Rovanpera
10h34 – ES5: Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes / La Bâtie-Neuve – 16,68 km: Special cancelled
11h42 – ES6: La Bréole / Selonnet – 18,31 km: Adrien fourmaux
15h23 – SS7: Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne – 18,68 km: Elfyn Evans
16h26 – ES8: Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes / La Bâtie-Neuve – 16,68 km: Sébastien Ogier
17h34 – ES9: La Bréole / Selonnet – 18,31 km: Sébastien Ogier

> Follow the evolution of the ranking live via the official WRC Live Timing
> Route, timetables, entrants… The complete guide to the 2025 Monte-Carlo Rally

WRC – Rally Monte-Carlo
Relive the second day with live commentary

18h27 – 👋 Thanks everyone for following us today, and see you tomorrow for the third day of the Rallye Monte-Carlo! Good evening to you !

Monte-Carlo Rally – Ogier in control, Fourmaux in the running, Neuville loses a lot

18:25 p.m. – SS9 : 🔎 Here is the general classification of this Rallye Monte-Carlo at the end of this second day of racing! Sébastien Ogier is therefore in the lead ahead of Elfyn Evans and Adrien Fourmaux. Yohan Rossel is the new leader of WRC2 ahead of Nikolay Gryazin, Éric Camilli is 4th and Léo Rossel 5th in the category.

18:15 p.m. – SS9 : 🇫🇷 Yohan Rossel takes the lead in the WRC2 category! The Frenchman set the reference time in Rally2 in 11'17″4 and passed Nikolay Gryazin – who was on studded tires – by 21″4!

18:12 p.m. – SS9 : 🏁 Josh McErlean ends his first long day in Rally1 with the 9th time on SS9, 48″2 behind Sébastien Ogier. The pilot Toyota signs a second consecutive scratch – with a new French double with the 2nd time of Adrien Fourmaux – and takes the lead at the head of the Rallye Monte-Carlo! He now has 12″6 on Elfyn Evans at the end of this second day.

ES9 – Ranking

18:09 p.m. – SS9 : Sami Pajari ends this "learning day" with 33″1 behind Sébastien Ogier at the finish of this 9th special. The Finn was very (too?) cautious all day and is already 3'32 behind the Frenchman in the general standings, being barely faster than the Rally2s.

18:06 p.m. – SS9 : After his puncture in the previous special, Grégoire Munster – forced to ride with a snow tyre – ended his day with the 7th provisional time, 18″6 behind Sébastien Ogier’s time. A mixed day for the Belgian, surprising this morning but unlucky this afternoon.

18:03 p.m. – SS9 : Kalle Rovanperä is surprisingly discreet this Friday: the Finn finishes 9″4 behind Sébastien Ogiuer on this special. The double world champion, 4th overall, concedes a delay of 38 seconds on his teammate.

18:00 p.m. – SS9 : 12″8 behind Takamoto Katsuta at the finish of this ES9.

17:57 p.m. – SS9 : 🇬🇧 Adrien Fourmaux took big risks at the end of the special – perhaps sometimes at the limit – to steal 2nd place overall from Elfyn Evans… but he failed in his quest by only 1″6! The Frenchman finished with the 2nd provisional time, 2″8 behind Sébastien Ogier. A great day nonetheless for the Tricolore! “It’s a clean stage for us, Sébastien [Ogier] has clearly woken up compared to this morning. I made a mistake going wide. It’s a good afternoon for us. There are still two big days to go.”

17:54 p.m. – SS9 : ⏱️🇫🇷 Sébastien Ogier continues to attack and sets the best provisional time in 10'35″6, 5″8 better than Elfyn Evans! His lead is now 12″ over the Welshman in the general classification. "It's a good end to the day. I had to fight for it because earlier in the day I didn't have a good feeling, I was on the defensive. In difficult conditions I couldn't find the rhythm."

17:51 p.m. – SS9 : Ott Tänak still behind his direct rivals: the Estonian failed 3″8 behind Elfyn Evans on this special.

17:48 p.m. – SS9 : ⏱️ Elfyn Evans sets the first (real) reference time in 10'41″4, two minutes faster than Thierry Neuville.

17:46 p.m. – SS9 : Thierry Neuville crosses the line in slow motion with a time of 12'41″8. Obviously, this will be largely beaten by the other drivers! The reigning champion indicated a puncture before his error. “I had a puncture well before, on the front left right at the start. We tried to go as far as possible, but at some point the tyre gave out. I don’t know if we should have stopped to change, but we didn’t know how long it would last.”

17:44 p.m. – SS9 : The Belgian is going to lose even more seconds on this special! His chances of victory, already very low, are becoming extremely slim!

17:42 p.m. – SS9 : ⚠️ And no, Thierry Neuville is in slow motion! Unbelievable!

17:41 p.m. – SS9 : ⚠️ Unbelievable, Thierry Neuville made the same mistake as this morning! The Belgian went straight on at the same place as his accident this morning, in the same hairpin, this time without hitting the embankment! He can go again without major damage!

17:40 p.m. – SS9 : 🔎 Compared to this morning, the special is much drier… but at the end of the course, it will also be much dirtier and potentially slippery. Beware of traps, especially as night falls on the Alps.

17:37 p.m. – SS9 : 🔎 This morning, Adrien Fourmaux set the best time on the La Bréole / Selonnet special in 11'00″8.

17:34 p.m. – SS9 : 🟢 Here we go for SS9, the last special of the day, with the start of Thierry Neuville! 

17h25 – 🕒 The start of ES9 (La Bréole / Selonnet – 18,31 km) is scheduled for 17:34 p.m.

17:20 p.m. – SS8 : 🔎 WRC2 update: Nikolay Gryazin (Skoda) still leads the Rally2 category with a 9″1 lead over Yohan Rossel (Citroën)… but remember that the Russian is not eligible for WRC2 points this weekend. Gus Greensmith (Skoda) is 3rd with a 1'35″6 deficit, ahead of Éric Camilli (Hyundai) and the French champion, Léo Rossel (Citroën), relegated to almost two minutes. Here is the general classification after the first Rally2s passed through ES8.

17:04 p.m. – SS8 : 🏁 Josh McErlean was also very careful in these particular conditions, and finished the special 58″8 behind Sébastien Ogier who won this Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes / La Bâtie-Neuve special for the first time! The Frenchman was the fastest in the icy section and thanks to Elfyn Evans' mistake, the Gapençais takes the lead of the Rallye Monte-Carlo before the last special of the day!

ES8 – Ranking

17:01 p.m. – SS8 : Still as cautious – or just slow – Sami Pajari finished this 8th special with a delay of 35″5 on Sébastien Ogier.

16:58 p.m. – SS8 : ⚠️ Puncture for Grégoire Munster! What a disappointment for the Belgian, who was surprising this morning! He crossed the line with a shredded front-right tire and a delay of 47″7!

16:54 p.m. – SS8 : Kalle Rovanperä also lacked rhythm this afternoon and finished 10″2 behind his Toyota teammate.

16:53 p.m. – SS8 : 🔎 Note that ultimately, all the Rally1 drivers stayed on super-soft tires on this 8th special, since the entire special is dry except for a few icy corners halfway through.

16:51 p.m. – SS8 : Takamoto Katsuta, not really in the running since yesterday, sets the 4th provisional time 9″5 behind Sébastien Ogier.

16:48 p.m. – SS8 : 🇬🇧 Also a very good passage for Adrien Fourmaux, who failed just 3″9 behind Sébastien Ogier. He came back to just five seconds behind Elfyn Evans in the general classification. "I made a compromise. I didn't want to take studded tires for 2 or 3 corners. We stopped the car completely on the ice, we were very slow. But we still did a good time, so I'm happy."

16:45 p.m. – SS8 : ⏱️🇫🇷 After a superb passage in the icy section, Sébastien Ogier took the best time in 9'31"7 and the lead of the Rallye Monte-Carlo with 6"8 over Elfyn Evans! "I tried to do my best, as always. I have never won this special stage even though I have family and friends here. I don't know if it will be enough."

16:42 p.m. – SS8 : Ott Tänak was more relaxed on the icy section, but he still finished behind Thierry Neuville with a 5″6 delay on the Belgian's time.

16:39 p.m. – SS8 : After his small mistake, Elfyn Evans finished 8″1 behind Thierry Neuville. "I was very stable, it started to go away and I couldn't recover, I was on the ice. That's how it is. It's Bambi on ice!"

16:36 p.m. – SS8 : ⏱️ Thierry Neuville sets the first reference time in 9'38″3. "It's really very complicated. In the icy part, I blocked all 4 wheels and it wasn't easy to stay on the road."

16:36 p.m. – SS8 : ⚠️ Elfyn Evans gets caught out and goes into a semi-spin on an icy hairpin! He can get going again but he has lost about ten seconds.

16:33 p.m. – SS8 : ❄️ Thierry Neuville arrives in a very wooded area… and with a lot of ice and black ice on the road! The Belgian is almost at a standstill to stay on track!

16:30 p.m. – SS8 : In the previous special, Grégoire Munster had a very hot time passing very close to a house!

16:26 p.m. – SS8 : 🟢 Thierry Neuville sets off, it's off to SS8 of the Monte-Carlo Rally!

16h20 – 🔎 On the liaison towards Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes, some Rally1 drivers stopped to change their tires and put on their two studded tires in a crossed pattern (one at the front, one at the rear). Caution is advised on this special stage which was not used this morning after the cancellation of SS5!

16h04 – The start of ES8 (Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes / La Bâtie-Neuve – 16,68 km) is scheduled for 16:26 p.m.

16:02 p.m. – SS7 : 🏁 Josh McErlean crosses the line with the 9th time (ahead of Sami Pajari) 45″2 behind Elfyn Evans. The Welshman slightly widens the gap at the head of the Rallye Monte-Carlo thanks to this new scratch, his second this weekend, and now has a 7″9 lead over Sébastien Ogier.

ES7 – Ranking

General ranking after ES7

15:58 p.m. – SS7 : Sami Pajari, who is discovering Monte-Carlo at the wheel of a Rally1, is very, very cautious on this special. The Finn finishes 46″5 behind Elfyn Evans.

15:55 p.m. – SS7 : Surprising this morning thanks to a daring and successful tire choice, Grégoire Munster falls into line on this 7th special. The Belgian finishes 12″8 behind Elfyn Evans and falls to 6th place overall.

15:52 p.m. – SS7 : Kalle Rovanperä also lost time at the end of the special. The double champion of the wave ends this 7th special with 3″7 behind Elfyn Evans. He should however move up to 4th place overall, since Grégoire Munster is slower in the first intermediates.

15:49 p.m. – SS7 : And the trend is confirmed with Takamoto Katsuta: the Japanese, in the lead during the 5th intermediate, lost several seconds in the second half of the course and finished with a delay of 8″3 on Elfyn Evans on this SS7.

15:46 p.m. – SS7 : 🇬🇧 Adrien Fourmaux, ahead at the halfway point, lost his footing at the end of the special and finally finished 9″2 behind Elfyn Evans! The Frenchman lost time on an increasingly muddy and slippery road. "Towards the end, the stage became dirtier and dirtier, and it was slippery on every corner."

15:43 p.m. – SS7 : 🇬🇧 At the finish, Sébastien Ogier is finally 6″4 behind Elfyn Evans. With a faster Adrien Fourmaux behind, he could lose his 2nd place in the general classification… "It was better than this morning in terms of grip. I didn't push hard enough."

15:40 p.m. – SS7 : With his Hyundai repaired, Ott Tänak has not yet found the rhythm: the Estonian crosses the line 10″4 behind Elfyn Evans' time. He is relegated to 33″4 in the general classification.

15:38 p.m. – SS7 : 🇫🇷 At the 4th intermediate, Sébastien Ogier already concedes a delay of 4″5 on Elfyn Evans…

15:37 p.m. – SS7 : ⏱️ This was immediately beaten by the leader of the Monte Carlo Rally, Elfyn Evans, who clocked 10'35"6! « Not sure if it's regular! A little less mud than expected, it dries quickly. But it's okay.

15:34 p.m. – SS7 : ⏱️ Thierry Neuville sets the first reference time on this SS7 in 10'40″7…that’s almost a minute faster than this morning’s best time! "Thanks to the team for fixing the car, I'm happy to be here. I tried to do a good stage but it was too irregular, there is no trace."

15:31 p.m. – SS7 : Without ice, it's much faster than this morning! At the 5th intermediate, Thierry Neuville is almost a minute faster than during the first pass!

15:28 p.m. – SS7 : On the first kilometers of SS7, the black ice seems to have disappeared, even if the road is still wet. It is in SS8 that uncertainty reigns, since the special was cancelled this morning.

15:26 p.m. – SS7 : This morning, it was Kalle Rovanperä who set the best time on this Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne special in 11'38″3, taking advantage in particular of a better starting position compared to the favourites.

15:23 p.m. – SS7 : 🟢 The Monte-Carlo Rally is back with the start of Thierry Neuville on SS7, who will try to save face this afternoon.

15h22 – 🔎 Here is the starting order for this second day of rallying.

1) Thierry Neuville (Hyundai)
2) Elfyn Evans (Toyota)
3) Ott Tanak (Hyundai)
4) Sébastien Ogier (Toyota)
5) Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai)
6) Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota)
7) Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota)
8) Gregory Munster (M-Sport Ford)
9) Sami Pajari (Toyota)
10) Josh McErlean (M-Sport Ford)
11) Oliver Solberg (WRC2, Skoda)
12) Nikolay Gryazin (WRC2, Skoda)

15h20 – As a reminder, here is the route for this second day of the rally with 53 kilometers of course over these three special stages.

15h18 – 🔎 For this second loop, all the Rally1 drivers took four super-soft tires and two studded tires… except Grégoire Munster, who took two snow tires like this morning.

15h16 – 💬 Thierry Neuville will also be at the start of SS7, he who was "very disappointed" after his accident in SS6. “We lack experience with the Hankook tyre and I was surprised under braking. I never got the grip back and just went straight. We hit the bank and obviously we damaged the suspension. But the guys are fixing the car and we will be back in the car this afternoon.”, he confided at the service park.

15h12 – ✅ First good news from Hyundai: Ott Tänak's car is completely repaired and will be at the start of the second loop in a few minutes!

15h10 – 👋 We're back for the second loop of the day! The drivers left the Gap service park and headed to Saint-Maurice for the start of SS7.

12h40 – ⏸️ This is the end of this first loop for Rally1, we'll meet at 15:23 p.m. for the start of SS7 (Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne – 18,68 km). Enjoy your meal and see you later!

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

12:38 p.m. – SS6 : 🏁 Rookie Josh McErlean, who is new to the Ford Puma Rally1, finished 37″9 behind the winner of this special, Adrien Fourmaux! First scratch with Hyundai for the Tricolore who climbs to 3rd place and returns to six seconds from the leader, Elfyn Evans! A 6th special fatal to Thierry Neuville, injured and potentially out of the running for victory in this Rallye Monte-Carlo!

ES6 – Ranking

General ranking after ES6

12:34 p.m. – SS6 : Sami Pajari lost a lot of time on this special: the young Finn finished slowly with a delay of 49″6 on Adrien Fourmaux. The Toyota driver went off at the same place as Sébastien Ogier a little earlier.

12:31 p.m. – SS6 : Grégoire Munster, the only driver not to have used studded tires on this 6th special, posted a superb time and finished just 4″2 behind Adrien Fourmaux! A great morning for the Belgian from M-Sport, 4th overall!

12:29 p.m. – SS6 : Kalle Rovanperä is not as fast as this morning: the Finn lost 11″1 on this 6th special.

12:26 p.m. – SS6 : Takamoto Katsuta, not feeling well today, finished this 6th special 25″2 behind Adrien Fourmaux.

12:22 p.m. – SS6 : ⏱️🇫🇷 Best time for Adrien Fourmaux, and what a time! The Northerner clocks 11'00″8, which is 7″9 better than Sébastien Ogier! He is 6″2 behind the general leader! « It's really great. I had a lot of fun, it was a big challenge. I'm really happy with this special."

12:19 p.m. – SS6 : ⏱️🇫🇷 Sébastien Ogier can breathe a sigh of relief after his mistake: the Frenchman finished the special with a provisional best time of 11'08″7, 2″5 better than Elfyn Evans. He climbs to 2nd place overall, 1″ behind the Welshman. "It's tricky, we expected a little better, but there are still changes in grip."

12:17 p.m. – SS6 : After his exit, Ott Tänak finished 10″8 behind Elfyn Evans! The Hyundai was damaged at the left rear. "There are a lot of pieces missing, but I'm happy to be here. There was black ice."

12:16 p.m. – SS6 : And it's Sébastien Ogier's turn to get a scare by going wide on a downhill bend! No injuries for the Toyota!

12h16 - ES6 : ⚠️ Huge scare for Ott Tänak, which went into a ditch before coming out a few seconds later without really losing speed.

12h14 - ES6 : ⏱️ Elfyn Evans sets the provisional best time in 11'11″2, 1'47″8 faster than Thierry Neuville!

12h13 - ES6 : ⏱️ With some difficulty, Thierry Neuville crossed the finish line in 12'59"0... the Belgian is perhaps already out of the running for victory in this Monte-Carlo Rally. His ordeal is not over: he has to return to the service park on all his wheels. "We paid the price for not having the knowledge of the [Hankook] tires. I thought it was okay but I locked the wheels and we hit a bank."

12:11 p.m. – SS6 : Thierry Neuville is still driving, slowly, and is trying to reach the finish line with his damaged Hyundai, but he is going to lose a lot of time...

12:08 p.m. – SS6 : ⚠️ Thierry Neuville must finish the special and reach the service park on all four wheels to stay in compliance and avoid possible penalties!

12h05 - ES6 : 💥 Thierry Neuville goes out and breaks his left rear suspension! The world champion locked his wheels as he approached a hairpin and went straight into a bank. The Belgian was able to set off again but at a slow pace with a badly damaged Hyundai! 

12h03 - ES6 : ❄️ As expected, there is a lot of black ice in the shaded areas and Thierry Neuville is struggling with his machine to stay on the track.

12h01 – 🔎 We remind you of the tire choices of the Rally1 drivers on this first loop. For non-English speakers, “Studs” means “Studded tires”.

11h59 - ES6 : 🟢 After almost two hours of waiting and a cancelled special, the show resumes with the departure of Thierry Neuville on the ES6 linking La Bréole to Selonnet!

11h55 – ❄️ On SS6, we can also expect wet and icy sections, especially in the forest where the ice has not yet melted.

11h39 – 🔴 According to our colleagues from Dauphiné Libéré, "A landslide occurred on the road and spectators were injured. Spectators climbed onto an embankment and stones fell. Firefighters are on site. Two spectators are injured, one of whom is unconscious." The holding of the ES8 between Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes and La Bâtie-Neuve this afternoon is being called into question.

11h35 – ⚠️ To the spectators present on the side of the roads of the Rallye Monte-Carlo, please respect the safety instructions, at the risk of seeing special stages cancelled as was the case yesterday evening in SS3.

11h30 – To while away the time, Hyundai is offering us a rather nice little video where André Lotterer, world champion ofEndurance and new Genesis driver, took the co-driver's place during the shakedown of the Rallye Monte-Carlo!

11h19 – ⚠️ Information from the Automobile Club de Monaco: SS6 (La Bréole / Selonnet) is delayed by 17 minutes. The start will therefore be at 11:59. 

11h00 – The overall standings of the Rallye Monte-Carlo are therefore frozen after the cancellation of SS5. Elfyn Evans is the leader of the Rallye Monte-Carlo with an eight-tenths lead over Thierry Neuville and a four-second lead over Sébastien Ogier. Adrien Fourmaux is in 5th place, 16″6 behind the Welshman. In Rally2, Nikolay Gryazin is in the lead ahead of Yohan Rossel.

10h46 – ❌ The 5th special stage is cancelled! Medical intervention is still in progress on this special stage. The drivers will therefore join La Bréole, the starting point of ES6, which is scheduled to start at 11:42 a.m.

10h44 – For the French drivers from Iron Lynx – Iron Dames, Pablo Sarrazin set the 12th time in SS4, 53″6 behind the best time set by Oliver Solberg in Rally2, while Sarah Rumeau finished 1'13″4 behind the Swede. We remind you that you can follow the Rallye Monte-Carlo from the inside with Iron Lynx and AUTOhebdo on our social networks, Instagram et TikTok !

10h41 – ❄️ Some information on the road conditions in SS5: the riders will encounter ice and black ice around kilometers 7-8, with ice present in the forest section where the sun has not been able to melt it.

10h38 – 🔎 While the Monte-Carlo is experiencing its first jousts, Didier Clément – ​​who manages the rally programs at Stellantis – prefers to remain cautious. Even if Yohan Rossel started with the status of favorite, the former Citroën Sport engineer assures that he has not yet won a race in WRC2…

Monte-Carlo Rally – Didier Clément: “It is possible to get trapped without attacking”

10h33 – Grégoire Munster came within 1″4 of a first WRC special stage victory in SS4… so close », as the English would say!

10h30 – ⚠️ The 5th special stage is delayed: spectators have reportedly been injured on the course and require medical assistance. We do not have any further information at this time.

10h27 – In Rally2, Oliver Solberg set the best time in the category on SS4 – and even the 4th time overall! – with an 8″5 lead over Nikolay Gryazin and 20″2 over Yohan Rossel. The Russian increased his lead over the Frenchman in the Rally2 classification. However, let’s remember that Nikolay Gryazin and Oliver Solberg are not eligible for WRC2 points this weekend, unlike Yohan Rossel.

10h12 – 🔎 The start of ES5 (Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes / La Bâtie-Neuve – 16,68 km) will be given at 10:34 a.m.

10h11 – ES4: 🏁 Josh McErlean closes the Rally1 ball with 26″8 behind Kalle Rovanperä. The Finn therefore signs his first scratch of the weekend, notably thanks to a better starting position compared to the other favourites. Elfyn Evans is the new leader of the Rallye Monte-Carlo but the gaps have narrowed considerably: the Top 5 are separated by just 16 seconds!

ES4 – Ranking

General ranking after ES4

10h07 - ES4: Sami Pajari finished this SS4 with a delay of 3″6 on his compatriot, it is the 3rd time in the Rally1 category.

10h04 - ES4: Grégoire Munster failed just 1″4 behind Kalle Rovanperä, proof that the road is becoming drier and drier and therefore faster and faster!

10h01 - ES4:Even though he lost a little time in the drier part, Kalle Rovanperä set the best time of this SS4 in 11'38″3, 6″7 better than Ott Tänak! "It's not much different from yesterday with the car. Maybe we used the studded tires better. The beginning was with a lot of ice, it was better afterwards with a bit of mud."

9h58 - ES4: Takamoto Katsuta was not on the pace on this special: the Japanese lost 21″7 on this SS4 and finds himself more than a minute behind the leaders. The Japanese driver is a little sick this weekend, it doesn't help.

9h56 - ES4: Kalle Rovanperä is on fire: halfway through the race, he has an 8″1 lead over Ott Tänak!

9h55 - ES4: 🇬🇧 Ahead at the halfway point, Adrien Fourmaux lost time in the last kilometers and finally finished 1'4 behind Ott Tänak's time. Great special from the Frenchman who came back to 16″6 from the leader in the general classification.

9h52 - ES4: 🇬🇧 Sébastien Ogier does not improve and ends up 6'0 behind Ott Tänak at the end of SS4. The Frenchman, however, finishes ahead of Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans and makes up time on the leading duo in the general classification, with only four seconds behind the Welshman. "With these conditions, it is possible to make a difference. It is more of a Monte Carlo with a bit of ice, not like yesterday in the mud."

9h50 - ES4: As the passages go by, the ice disappears and the track seems much drier and easier for the Rally1s. Adrien Fourmaux is in the lead at the 5th intermediate with a 2″1 advantage over Ott Tänak.

9h49 - ES4: Superb time from Ott Tänak, much more comfortable on studded tires! The Estonian clocked 11'45"0, 12"8 better than Elfyn Evans! He is back to twelve seconds behind the Welshman in the general standings.

9h46 - ES4: Behind in the first part of the special, Elfyn Evans made up time in the drier part and set the best time in 11'57"8... He passed Thierry Neuville in the general classification by eight tenths! He was also with four studded tires on this special. “It was very difficult, to be honest. It was very complicated to know if there was grip or not. I think my tyre choice looks good.”

9h43 - ES4:As the sun rises, Thierry Neuville finishes this first special of the day in 12'00″6. Behind, Elfyn Evans is on his heels in terms of time. "It's not easy. Starting first on the road, I have no track. I lacked grip and I had trouble getting confident."

9h41 - ES4: And yet, the Estonian is the fastest at the 2nd intermediate with a 3″7 lead over Thierry Neuville after five kilometers!

9h40 - ES4: Ott Tänak took a big risk this morning by starting with five studded tyres! He could be in difficulty on this first special of the day, the driest of the three, but could regain the advantage on SS5 and SS6… To be continued.

9h37 - ES4: Elfyn Evans has just set off in turn. Unlike Thierry Neuville who only has snow and studded tires, the Welshman has taken two soft tires but loses a little time on the Belgian over the first kilometers. The black ice is definitely there!

9h34 - ES4: Although the fans put on a show yesterday for the first three special stages, this was not really to the taste of Sébastien Ogier, who complained about the smoke bombs and fireworks which disturbed him in the night stages.

9h31 - ES4: 🢢 The second day of the 2025 Monte-Carlo Rally is underway with Thierry Neuville taking part in SS4, the 18,68 km Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne special stage.

9h29 – 🔴 Here is the starting order for this second day of rallying!

1) Thierry Neuville (Hyundai)
2) Elfyn Evans (Toyota)
3) Ott Tanak (Hyundai)
4) Sébastien Ogier (Toyota)
5) Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai)
6) Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota)
7) Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota)
8) Gregory Munster (M-Sport Ford)
9) Sami Pajari (Toyota)
10) Josh McErlean (M-Sport Ford)
11) Oliver Solberg (WRC2, Skoda)
12) Nikolay Gryazin (WRC2, Skoda)

9h26 – 🆕  To find out everything about the transfers and changes made by the WRC for this 2025 season, click here!

Transfers, calendar, rules… What will change in WRC in 2025

9h23 – 💬 Yesterday, in SS3, Sébastien Ogier had a very close call with a track exit that could have been fatal. "I was lucky, he confided in the service park. It could have had much more serious consequences. We can be happy to still be in the running. It's a shame because we had a very good start to the rally. (…) Everything was going well but unfortunately I lost the car on a dirt section. But we can be satisfied with the fact that I managed to bite something on the side that allowed me to stay on the road, without damaging the car too much and only losing 15 seconds.

9h20 – 🔎 And the drivers made no mistake in their choice of tires for this first loop: all chose studded tires for this Friday morning! Thierry Neuville started with four studded and two snow tires, Sébastien Ogier with five studded and one soft tire, Ott Tänak with only five studded without a spare wheel. Elfyn Evans, Adrien Fourmaux, Takamoto Katsuta, Sami Pajari and Josh McErlean chose to start with four studded and two soft tires.

9h18 – 🗓️ On the program this Friday, for the second day of this Rallye Monte-Carlo: 107,34 timed kilometers spread over six special stages and above all, very icy roads this morning! There could be some damage this morning!

9h16 – 📺 For the video summary of the first day, it’s here with the best moments of the first stage selected by the WRC!

9h14 – 🔎 After the first three special stages, here is the general classification at the start of this second day! Thierry Neuville took the lead after SS3, where Sébastien Ogier made a mistake that cost him around fifteen seconds. In Rally2, Nikolay Gryazin leads by seven seconds over Yohan Rossel.

9h12 – ⏪ If you missed the first stage of this Rallye Monte-Carlo, with the first three special stages held at night on Thursday evening, don’t panic: here is the summary of the day!

End of evening spoiled for Ogier, Neuville leader of Monte-Carlo 2025

9h10 – 👋 Hello everyone ! Welcome to this live commentary to follow together the second day of the Rallye Monte-Carlo, first round of the 2025 WRC season! The start of SS4 (Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne – 18,68 km) will be given in a few minutes, at 9:31!

WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo Live commentary

© Bastien Roux / DPPI

ALSO READ > Monte-Carlo Rally – Didier Clément: “It is possible to get trapped without attacking”

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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