GT / Tourism
Monte-Carlo Rally 2017
12h
The start of the 12km SS16,87 La-Bâtie-Montsaléon – Faye will be contested from 12:08 p.m. Evans was fastest in the first pass in 9’15”2.
12h
If Ott Tänak (Ford) only lost 6s to Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) by finishing 20s behind Sébastien Ogier (Ford) in the 11km Lardier-et-Valença SS31,17, the Estonian reports numerous problems with his Fiesta WRC. The M-Sport driver complained of power steering failure and erratic gear changes.
The Frenchman set the benchmark time in 22'53''0 but was only able to take 2 seconds from Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). Dani Sordo (Hyundai) was again ahead of Craig Breen (DS 3) by 11 seconds, finishing 22 seconds off the scratch.
Thierry Neuville maintains a lead of more than 58 seconds over Sébastien Ogier. Ott Tänak is now 32 behind his teammate and is still 1'32 ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala. Dani Sordo consolidates his 5th place with a lead of 23 seconds over Craig Breen.
11h
Neuville only concedes 2s to Ogier and maintains a lead of more than 58s at the head of the rally.
11h
Tänak also reported suffering gearbox problems. The Estonian is 32s behind his teammate Ogier in the general classification.
11h
Ogier improves Latvala’s time by 14 seconds with a time of 22’53″0. “It was a good stage. My pace satisfied me. »
11h
Tänak sets the 3rd provisional time, 6″4 behind Latvala and 7 tenths behind his teammate Evans, but the Estonian reports having power steering problems. This problem could cause him to lose a lot of time in the following stage and the M-Sport driver hopes to be able to resolve the problem on the link.
11h
Latvala improves the benchmark by 5″7 with a time of 23’07″4. The Toyota driver is still in 4th place. “I was too aggressive with the settings in the first pass. We put the differential back to basic settings and things are much better now. »
11h
Sordo finished 2s behind Evans and gained more than 11s from Breen who found himself 23″5 behind the Spaniard. “I’m a little happier with this run. The road was a little cleaner. »
11h
Breen increased his pace, finishing 13s behind Evans. The DS 3 WRC driver is still fighting with Sordo for 5th place.
11h
Evans sets a first benchmark in 23’13″1, around 50 seconds better than Neuville’s scratch achieved in the first run. “It’s hard to know if you’re performing well at the start of the special. »
11h
The tire strategies varied on this second pass: Meeke and Breen took 4 snow tires and 1 non-studded tire. Lefebvre preferred 4 studded and 2 non-studded. The M-Sport drivers chose 4 studded and 2 super soft. Sordo left with 4 studded and 1 non-studded. Same choice for Neuville who brought 1 additional non-studded tire like the Toyota drivers.
11h
Tänak is lacking rhythm. If Evans is currently the fastest, the Estonian is still more than 11 seconds behind his teammate in the 1st sector.
11h
The sky remains clear at the Monte-Carlo Rally even if the conditions remain wintry.
11h
Tänak: “It was a very complicated morning. We practically destroyed our studded tires in the first SS because it was almost all asphalt at the start and that made the 17km on the ice very difficult. We remained cautious. I then used 2 slicks in SS10 and most of the corners were snowy. I am in a rather comfortable position (3rd) and I don't have to take any risks. »
11h
Ogier: “It’s clearly not easy this morning. The conditions remain very slippery and I was probably a little too careful. I had a tire mix that I had never tested and I don't like finding myself in that kind of situation. I didn't set a good time in the last special (SS10) and there's still work to do before I'm comfortable. I must have a better rhythm than that. I said before the start that a podium would already be a very satisfying result and I would be happy if I got it. The objective for this afternoon is not to make mistakes and to remain efficient. »
11h
Neuville on WRC radio: “We are satisfied to have been able to further increase our lead over Ogier. It's difficult to ride at full speed here. There are so many surprises that it's hard to keep a small margin.
11h
The first crews took the start of SS11. Neuville took the scratch in the first pass in 1’24″02.
11h
The SS13 Lardier and Valença – Oze (31,15km) will be contested from 11:19 a.m. The organizers delayed the departure by 6 minutes following the delay this morning.
