In WRC 2, Kopecky (Skoda) keeps control with a comfortable lead of almost 8 minutes over Mevius following the retirement of Camilli (Ford). Abbring (Ford) took 3rd place in the category several minutes ahead of the Italian Sciessere (DS 3). Sarrazin (Skoda) occupies 2nd place in RC2 less than 6s from the Czech.

Bouffier: “It slides quite a bit with aquaplaning. It's easy to go off course and end up in the ditch. »

Bouffier sets the 10th time at 41″4. The M-Sport privateer is the slowest among the WRCs but he maintains his 7th place with 36 seconds ahead of Evans.

Lappi is behind with the 8th provisional time, 35″4 behind the reference. The Toyota driver drops more than 7s to Sordo and more than 3s to his teammate Latvala. “It gets harder and harder with the rain. Water flows down the road like a river. » Lappi remains 4th but is now 9s behind Sordo's 3rd place while only maintaining a 5s lead over his compatriot.

Breen sets an interesting time with the 4th provisional time, 22 seconds behind Evans. The Citroën driver, however, remains 10th and even finds himself more than 47 seconds behind the 9th place of Neuville who is ahead of him by around twenty seconds.

Meeke is the slowest among those at the finish with 35″5 behind Evans. The Citroën driver perhaps preferred to play it safe by being isolated in 6th place. “It was very difficult even though the car was running well. I am not in a position to take risks,” confirmed the Northern Irishman.

Sordo sets the 4th provisional time at 27″9 from the provisional reference, failing 7″6 behind Tänak. The Spaniard seems faster than Lappi and should maintain his 3rd place against the Finn. “I had a lot of trouble seeing the exit from the corners at the start of the special. »

Evans proves that we can go fast. The M-Sport driver, accustomed to this rainy weather, took the provisional scratch with a time of 19'03″5, one second better than Neuville. The Welshman is still ranked 8th. “I don’t know what the others did but I felt confident. »

Latvala also struggled. The Toyota driver failed 31s behind Neuville, with only 3″9 ahead of Ogier. “There was no grip in the sections where the water stagnated. The Finn finds himself 56s behind his teammate Tänak in the general classification.

Tänak takes 14″6 from Ogier, finishing just over 13s behind Neuville. “The conditions were very delicate. We had to remain careful. » The bet paid off for the Toyota driver who came back to 19″ behind the leader of the Monte-Carlo Rally.

The loss seems significant for Ogier. While Neuville almost got trapped in the final meters, the Hyundai driver was ahead of Ogier by almost 34 seconds with a time of 19'04"5. “I tried to do my best but I couldn't go any faster. » The Hyundai driver remains 9th in the general classification.

Ogier set a time of 19'04″5. "I'll have to look at how much time I wasted." The conditions are very difficult. »

Ogier was able to benefit from the quick help of spectators who pushed the Ford out of the ditch. The Frenchman nevertheless lost time 5km from the finish and will find himself under pressure from Tänak.

Neuville is ahead of Tänak by 6″6 at the first intermediate. However, it was the Toyota driver who opted for super soft tires.

The rain increased in intensity on SS7. The drivers who chose soft tires (Ogier/Evans/Bouffier/Neuville/Sordo) should have more difficulty in the second pass.