Monte-Carlo Rally 2018
09h
While the La Bollène Vésubie – Peira Cava special via the Col de Turini surprised some crews with an icy portion, Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) took the scratch in the 14th SS of the Monte-Carlo Rally by completing the 18,41km in 13'51''4 after choosing a mix of super soft and studded tires. Ott Tänak (Toyota) lost more than 11 seconds to the leader of the event.
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) was closest to the Frenchman, 2”5 behind. The Belgian took back almost 18 seconds from Elfyn Evans (M-Sport).
Sébastien Ogier now has a 45-second lead over Ott Tänak with three stages to go. Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) still completes the provisional podium ahead of his teammate Esapekka Lappi and Kris Meeke (Citroën). Thierry Neuville is 15 seconds behind Elfyn Evans in sixth place.
09h
Ogier takes the provisional scratch with a time of 13'51″4 where he beats Neuville by 2″5. Tänak lost 11″5 on the Monte-Carlo leader who saw his lead increase to 45s.
09h
Tänak finished 9s behind the provisional benchmark and was ahead of Latvala by a similar gap. The Estonian is still ranked 2nd.
09h
Lappi was the closest to Neuville with a 5″3 delay and is 14 seconds behind Latvala who remains almost 3 minutes ahead of his teammate.
09h
Latvala set the 3rd provisional time, 19″9 behind Neuville. The other times are still unknown. The Toyota driver is in 3rd place.
08h
Lappi: “We were surprised to see ice also on the climb. »
08h
Meeke: “The conditions must have changed after the reconnaissance team passed through. » His time is not yet known.
08h
Evans is closest to Neuville but the Welshman drops almost 18 seconds on the Belgian who is less than 16 seconds behind 6th place. “I'm not sure that studded tires are the best choice for icy driving. »
08h
Bouffier improved Breen's time by 10 seconds, but it was Neuville who set the provisional best time with a time of 13'53″9, 20 seconds ahead of the Frenchman. The Hyundai driver complained that he was not aware that black ice covered the end of the course. The Belgian did not use studded tires.
08h
Evans would have lost half a minute in the special. 6th place could go to Neuville who was 33s behind the M-Sport driver at the start of SS14.
08h
Breen sets a first time in 14'24″3. “The special was very complicated with these variable conditions and this icy passage. I have to concentrate for the Power Stage. »
08h
Breen's pace seriously slowed. The Citroën driver passes through the Col de Turini which is completely icy. This section is clearly the most difficult of the special.
08h
Bouffier spun in the special. The M-Sport driver has nothing to fear since he has a comfortable lead over Breen.
08h
The crews embark on La Bollène Vésubie – Peira Cava 1, 18,41 km long.
08h
Breen has just started on SS14. The road is dry at the start of the route.
08h
As indicated by the varied choices of the crews in terms of tires, the conditions are changeable with icy portions in the Col de Turini which the drivers will face in a few moments.
08h
Neuville: “The choice of tires is complicated. Conditions are complicated in the Col de Turini. »
08h
Meeke: “I don't know if I can catch Lappi because he quickly regained the advantage despite his mistake. We don't really know what we'll find in the specials. »
08h
In terms of weather, the clouds gave way to clear skies with mild temperatures hovering around 9°C.
07h
Welcome to the live text of the last stage of the Monte-Carlo Rally!
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 crews opted for varied tire choices:
Latvala/Lappi/Tanak/Meeke/Ogier/Evans start with 2 studded tires, 2 super soft and 2 soft. Bouffier preferred 3 super soft and 3 tender. Neuville and Breen chose 4 tenders and 2 super tenders. Mikkelsen leaves with 5 tenders.
