Monte-Carlo Rally 2017
10h
Meeke reached the finish line 24 minutes late. The Citroën driver simply explained that he had to stop to repair his C3 WRC.
10h
The crews benefit from assistance before setting off on the second passage of the first two special stages contested this morning. The SS2 Lardier and Valença – Oze (13km) will be contested from 31,15:11 a.m.
10h
Meeke must continue the stage if he wants to be at the finish of the rally, Rally 2 not being operational for the last day.
10h
Meeke is on the move again in the special. The Citroën driver will perhaps be able to explain his problem at the finish of the course.
09h
Mikkelsen continues his lead in WRC 2. The top 5 in the category has not changed with several minutes of difference in the top three. Gilbert nevertheless came back to within 4s of Camilli despite a spin.
09h
Lefebvre lost significant time on SS10 due to a power steering problem. The C3 WRCs did not shine with their reliability in this special.
09h
Sébastien Ogier (Ford) lost ground on Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) after adopting an overly cautious approach in SS10 of the 16,78km Rallye Monte-Carlo (La-Bâtie-Montsaléon – Faye). The Frenchman lost 13 seconds on the leader by finishing 14 seconds behind Elfyn Evans (Ford) who was the fastest with a time of 9’15”2.
Dani Sordo (Hyundai) also took 13 seconds from Craig Bree (DS 3) by finishing 5s off the scratch and ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) by almost 2s.
Kris Meeke (Citroën) is arrested again. A mechanical problem would be involved. The Northern Irishman returned to Rally 2 after going off the road the day before.
Thierry Neuville now has a one-minute lead over Sébastien Ogier. Ott Tänak was able to get back to 11 seconds behind his teammate. Jari-Matti Latvala is now ahead of Dani Sordo who is back in 5th place with a 12s lead over Craig Breen.
09h
Meeke reportedly stopped due to a mechanical problem.
09h
Hänninen finished with the 7th provisional time, 16s from the scratch.
09h
Lefebvre is the slowest among the drivers at the finish, more than a minute behind the scratch. “It was difficult to drive on this course. »
09h
Neuville is closest to Evans with a second behind. The Monte-Carlo leader takes 13 seconds from Ogier in one special and now has a lead of more than a minute. “The times are good because I am confident. »
09h
Meeke is announced arrested in the special. The Citroën driver had already retired yesterday in SS4 after damaging his suspension.
09h
Ogier is behind, finishing with the 5th provisional time, 14s behind Evans. The Frenchman also dropped 6″6 to his teammate Tänak who is 11s behind the world champion. “I had to be a little too careful, but it’s not too bad. The tires are not the cause. »
09h
Tänak sets the 4th provisional time, 7″4 behind Evans and 3 tenths behind Latvala. The Estonian nevertheless seems a little faster than his teammate Ogier. “We still lack grip. »
09h
Latvala takes the 3rd provisional time, ranking 7s behind Evans and 1″7 behind Sordo. The Toyota driver should remain 4th. “I’m disappointed with my pace and it’s not because of the tires. »
09h
Sordo takes more than 13 seconds from Breen. The Hyundai driver moved up to 5th place with a 12s lead over the Irishman.
09h
Breen marks time, finishing 18s behind Evans. The DS 3 WRC driver managed to get ahead of Sordo in the previous special.
09h
Evans sets a first time of 9’15”2. “The shade of the trees means that we find ourselves with very changeable conditions on the road. »
09h
At the end of SS9, Mikkelsen maintains a good lead over Kopecky. Bouffier is still ahead of his compatriots Camilli and Gilbert.
09h
The first 2 kilometers after leaving the village of La-Bâtie-Montsaléon are new. And above all very fast until the D48 crossroads. From there, the competitors resume the last 15 kilometers of the long Lardier-et-Valença – Faye special, contested in 2015 and 2016. The last difficulties to overcome in this time are the passes of La Croix and Faye, both less than 1000m. The chances of finding snow there are low. The first passage may still involve difficulties with patches of frost or black ice.
