Monte-Carlo Rally – Nothing is decided in WRC2

If Oliver Solberg and Sami Pajari had decided to participate in this event without scoring points, five crews still stood out from the crowd to aim for victory. From the shakedown, a trio took shape, with Nikolay Gryazin, Yohan Rossel and Pepe Lopez. A certain logic was respected, since these were the same three drivers who monopolized the podium during the last edition. The stage was set. We had to wait for the first kilometers on Thursday in the dark to observe the trend.

The double Spanish champion (2019-2020) was impressive at night. In Sisteron (SS1) and Bayons (SS2), he set two fastest times, building a lead of 14”2 over Gryazin and 19”9 over Rossel. Behind, the gaps were already greater, the French Stéphane Lefebvre and Nicolas Ciamin being more than 20'' behind.

Marked by the presence of a few treacherous frost patches (SS3-SS5), Friday morning confirmed the domination of these three competitors. Gryazin and Lopez shared the stage victories while Rossel remained in contact. The three cars were grouped in 5''2 before the 2^e loop with Gryazin’s C3 in the lead.

The battle resumed with renewed vigor during the afternoon. Now playing under the banner of Bulgaria, Gryazin gave himself a little breathing room in Saint-Léger (1''3 in SS6), but he experienced a mechanical problem in the next one preventing him from resisting Lopez who took the lead again with 4”3 ahead. Benefiting from his teammate's drop in speed, Rossel closed to just 1''9. Run at night, the last section of the Bréole (18,31 km) promised to be thrilling.

Hitting a big blow, Gryazin regained his position in front of a slightly wait-and-see Lopez. “ I had lost a lot of time before, and I wanted to correct it, explained the leader. Nothing is done, tomorrow will still be a long day. » This is also what Yohan Rossel says to himself. “ We are sticking to our plan, we are not very far away, but at some point, we will have to find a solution to overtake our two rivals. »

Not always happy with his tire choices and racing on a Rally2 which will receive upgrades later in the year, Nicolas Ciamin was not able to completely join the fight. The Niçois is however consistent and he is in ambush at the 4^e place. Still missing miles with the news Toyota Yaris Rally2, Stéphane Lefebvre is 5^e at the end of step 1.

Tomorrow, the crews will face the longest day with 6 special stages and 120,4 km timed.

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