WRC – Ogier wins Monte-Carlo against Bouffier

The remaining crews Rally Monte-Carlo expected to face Dantean conditions in the second passage of the Col de Turini and the Power Stage (Sospel? Breil sur Noya). Although studded tires were required, the organizers quickly had to cancel the first of the two specials due to the roads being too snowy. Jaroslav Melicharek, who was opening the road, found himself blocked on the road, forcing the cars following him to also stop. On the last route, the drivers had to face very heavy showers accompanied by fog, but no exits from the road were to be deplored among the WRC.

Sébastien Ogier scored his 17th WRC victory, his first at Monte-Carlo at world level after his success in 2009 in the IRC Series. The Volkswagen driver also secured two bonus points in the Power Stage by finishing just two tenths behind his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala. Bryan Bouffier took a superb second place, finishing just over a minute behind his compatriot. Kris Meeke also put in a great performance, completing the podium. He is the first Briton since Richard Burns at the 2003 Rally Australia to finish in the top three in a world rally event. The new Citroën Racing recruit also took the last point of the Power Stage.

The Reds had a good weekend with Mads Ostberg following in fourth place ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala. Despite his good performances, the Finn had no chance of catching up with the Norwegian on a regular basis. Elfyn Evans finally took sixth place, her teammate Mikko Hirvonen having had bad luck. The pilot M-Sport encountered an alternator problem forcing him to abandon a few kilometers from the finish. Andreas Mikkelsen thus progresses to seventh place ahead of Jaroslav Melicharek. Mateo Gamba hoists his modest Peugeot 207 S2000 in ninth place. Yuriy Protasov completes the top ten in his Fiesta R5 and wins WRC2 ahead of Lorenzo Bertelli and Robert Barrable. Sébastien Chardonnet distinguished himself at Monte-Carlo by finishing in 11th place and winning the 2WD category in his DS3 R3.

Videos of the Monte-Carlo Rally can be found on this link.

Discover the analysis of the Monte-Carlo Rally carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1944 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday at 23 p.m. in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.