Monte-Carlo Rally 2019
12h
If the crews are on break, it's time for the mechanics to get to work:
It's service time here in Gap!#WRC #C3WRC pic.twitter.com/tl4pHZs4iX
— Citroën Racing (@CitroenRacing) 25th January 2019
12h
Yoann Bonato (Citroën) retains the lead in WRC 2 with a one-minute lead over Adrien Fourmaux (Ford), while Guillaume de Mevius (Citroën) completes the provisional category podium with half a minute ahead of Ole Christian. Veiby (Volkswagen) Stéphane Sarrazin (Hyundai) is playing between Adrien Fourmaux and Guillaume de Mevius in 14th place in the general classification (not entered in WRC 2). Gus Greensmith (Ford) keeps the lead in WRC 2 Pro following Kalle Rovanperä's error the day before.
12h
Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) took advantage of a clean road in Curbans – Piégut, SS5 of the Monte-Carlo Rally, to score the scratch by completing the 18,47km in 13'49''1. The six-time WRC champion was 2 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) while Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) increased his pace by following 3 seconds behind. Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) also performed well, 7 seconds behind, ahead of Kris Meeke (Toyota) by 5 seconds.
Sébastien Loeb (Hyundai), on the other hand, was further behind with a dozen seconds delay, the Alsatian having suffered from his position on the road behind where he had to face a course made dirty by the passage of the competition. Ott Tänak (Toyota) followed 14 seconds ahead of Esapekka Lappi (Citroën), Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) and Pontus Tidemand (M-Sport).
Thierry Neuville retains the lead of the Monte-Carlo Rally at the break, only 3''4 ahead of Sébastien Ogier who overtook Ott Tänak. The Estonian remains on the provisional podium, more than 13 seconds behind the Frenchman. Sébastien Loeb remains isolated in 4th place, now ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen and Jari-Matti Latvala who got the better of Esapekka Lappi, Elfyn Evans and Kris Meeke. Pontus Tidemand completes the Top 10.
12h
Meeke did better than Loeb, ahead of him by 4 tenths. The Toyota driver still slipped to 9th place, one second behind Evans. “The special was very dirty. I almost stalled in several places. »
12h
Loeb sets the 5th time, 12 seconds behind his compatriot Ogier. The nine-time WRC champion remains in 4th place, more than half a minute behind Tänak. “I had no chance, the stage was full of dirt, it was really very dirty. We had to concentrate on the finish. »
12h
Evans had to settle for 7th fastest time, more than 16 seconds behind the benchmark. The M-Sport driver slipped behind Mikkelsen and Latvala with a little more than 3 seconds behind Lappi.
12h
Loeb is further behind, being around 11s behind Ogier at the penultimate split of the special.
12h
Mikkelsen takes 4th time, almost 7s behind Ogier. The Hyundai driver also catches Lappi even if he sees Latvala come back to 2s. “The conditions are not easy. I feel better behind the wheel even if the car is still a little nervous. »
12h
Lappi signs the 5th fastest time, almost 16 seconds behind his teammate Ogier. The Finn was caught by his compatriot Latvala who was ahead of him by 4s. “Seb does a very good job. It's too risky and I don't want to tempt the devil at the moment. »
12h
Latvala did much better than Tänak, finishing less than 3 seconds from the provisional scratch. But the Finn remains behind, still more than 48 seconds behind his Estonian teammate. “Finally, we have a good time. The tires were good for this ES. »
12h
Tänak ranks 14s behind Ogier and 12s behind Neuville. The Toyota driver slips to 3rd place, more than 13 seconds behind the six-time WRC champion. “It was a difficult SS. I destroyed my tires in the previous stage. I'm not worried though. »
12h
Ogier in SS5. We can see that the road is very tricky:
Ogier through our corners on SS5. Apparently they knew it would be here. #RallyMonteCarlo pic.twitter.com/eHauTSyMr5
— Rallirinki / Teemu (@HartusvuoriWRC) 25th January 2019
12h
Neuville drops 2s to Ogier at the end of the special. The Frenchman should return to just under 4 seconds from the lead of the race.
12h
Ogier improves Suninen's time by more than 33 seconds. “There was a lot of ice on the road and I wanted to be careful. » Tänak is 10s behind the Frenchman in the 4th split.
12h
Suninen sets the first time in 14'22″9. Ogier should quickly improve the brand.
12h
Neuville's intermediate times are still unknown as in the previous special...
12h
Tänak is 5s behind Ogier in the 2nd intermediate. Latvala is slightly faster than his teammate in the first split with 6 tenths ahead of the Estonian.
12h
Tänak is 7s behind Ogier at the first intermediate. The Frenchman now has a 15s lead over Suninen in the 3rd split.
12h
Ogier now has a lead of more than 13 seconds over Suninen's Ford in the 2nd split.
11h
The Curbans – Piégut SS5 begins with Suninen setting off in the 18km on the program. This is the first time that this course has been contested in this format. The crews must make the difference in numerous hairpins on narrow roads.
