Rallye Monte-Carlo 2025: Great names among the openers

This is one of the questions during each edition of the Monte-Carlo. Who will be the openers of the main drivers? Actors in the shadows, these duos leave the service park at odd hours to make a passage in the special stages that will be used several hours later by the competitors.

Their mission is to observe the state of the road and note the changes that have occurred since the reconnaissance. At the same time, they must report the road conditions at the time they are in the time trials. During the Monte-Carlo, this is certainly the most thankless job, because the openers are so far ahead of the race that there are often changes between what they saw and what the competitors actually face. This typically concerns black ice that appears or disappears and can therefore create surprises. It is not uncommon for a driver to complain about what he has been reported, regretting not having been warned of a patch of ice or, on the contrary, complaining about having made overly cautious corrections.

This is definitely a very difficult task which requires strong ties between both parties. This is why associations are formed and last for several years as for Sébastien Ogier who has been trusting the pair of Stéphane Lefebvre and Yannick Roche for several rallies. Thierry Neuville collaborates with Alexandre Bengué/Julien Vial whileAdrien fourmaux receives information from Patrick Magaud and Pascale Morel.

The Monte-Carlo being a very specific event, you need to have as much experience as possible to succeed, which justifies that several former winners appear on the list of openers. Mikko Hirvonen (winner in 2010 in IRC) works for Sami Pajari, Bryan Bouffier (2011 in IRC) gives information to Oliver Solberg and François Delecour (winner in 1994) accompanied by his wife Priscille takes care of their son Eliott. Among the other well-known names on the list, we should note Ken Torn for Ott Tänak, Juho Hänninen for Takamoto Katsuta, Gwyndaf Evans for his son Elfyn and Vasily Gryazin for his brother Nikolay. After successful experiences in 2023 and 2024, Yoann Bonato opens the road for Yohan Rossel while Romain Di Fante takes care of Léo Rossel.

Several other personalities of the rally complete this list which would offer a nice line-up on an event. Laurent Poggi is there for Maxime Potty, Franck Lions for Eric Camilli, holder of several titles in Austria Raimund Baumschlager assists Filip Kohn, Florian Bernardi put on a pink cap for Sarah Rumeau, Stéphane Lhonnay helps Grégoire Munster, the multiple Italian champion Paolo Andreucci brings his experience to Matteo Fontana, the 2012 French Earth champion Germain Bonnefis does the same for Arthur Pelamourgues and Dominique Savignoni and Sabrina De Castelli forms the crew at the bedside of the Corsican Ghjuvanni Rossi.