Sébastien Ogier first leader at the Monza Rally

“Slippery.” The word was found in all the reactions after the first special of the Rally of Monza, run partly on the racing circuit and in the surrounding woods. As a preview of a weekend which promises to be both exciting and tricky, the only time trial of the day gave some indication of the conditions that the drivers will encounter.

At this game, Sébastien Ogier came out the best. Starting in penultimate position, the runner-up to Elfyn Evans in the championship achieved a time of 3'31"5 in his Toyota Yaris, five tenths better than Thierry Neuville in the Hyundai i20 Coupe. Estonian Ott Tänak (Hyundai) completes the top three at two seconds. Finally Elfyn Evans, who made a small mistake, finished in fourth position.

The Toyota driver, leading the championship, does not need to give everything unlike his opponents.

Note that the classification is generally established in the order of passage in this 4,33 kilometer special. Only the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta has already lost everything in this rally. The Toyota driver cut the chicane of the circuit then hit the wall. He didn't finish the special.

The rally resumes on Friday at 8 a.m., to be followed in live text on our site.