Sixth Monte Carlo win for Ogier

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (Ford/Michelin) led the 2018 Rallye Monte-Carlo from start to finish to collect their fifth straight win in the Principality since 2013. Toyota/Michelin drivers Ott Tanak and Jari-Matti Latvala joined the French pair on the podium.

The 2018 Rallye Monte-Carlo provided a wintry cocktail of snow, ice, frost and wet, damp and dry asphalt which kept crews on their toes from flag to flag.

The mix made selecting the ideal tyre choice practically impossible, forcing the drivers to focus on finding the best compromise for each loop, from a range of options that comprised the super-soft and soft Michelin Pilot Sport asphalt tyres, along with studded and non-studded variants of the Pilot Alpin.

Action kicked off with an awesome 36-kilometre version of the Col de Fontbelle test which, this year, ran from Thoard to Sisteron, with a three-kilometre section of ice at the beginning of the downhill section. Apart from this portion, the other 60km of the week’s opening loop were entirely dry, prompting drivers to opt for clear asphalt tyres – without studs – in the knowledge that they would have to be especially careful over the icy part.

This tactic proved costly, however, for Thierry Neuville (Hyundai/Michelin), Kris Meeke (Citroën/Michelin), Elfyn Evans (Ford/Michelin) and Ott Tanak (Toyota/Michelin) whose mishaps practically handed the win to Ogier barely 20km into the rally.

Despite a spin in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC/Michelin, the five-time world champion eased into an early lead which he consequently defended from his former team-mate Tanak. The Frenchman made another small error on Friday afternoon but a stupefying time on Saturday morning’s snowy SS9 put him out of the Estonian’s reach for good.

Jari-Matti Latvala joined fellow Toyota Gazoo Racing runner Tanak on the podium to put the Japanese firm provisionally on top of the Manufacturers’ standings, 20 years after its last Monte Carlo victory on Michelin rubber in 2008. Team-mate Esapekka Lappi survived an ‘off’ on the Power Stage but it saw him slip back several places from fourth.This position was snapped up by the Power Stage victor Kris Meeke, while Thierry Neuville squeezed past Ford’s Elfyn Evans to narrowly clinch fifth spot on the final test in his Hyundai i20 Coupé.

Andreas Mikkelsen was able to re-join after suffering an early technical problem, but his Hyundai/Michelin team-mate Dani Sordo crashed out for good on SS9.

Michelin and Skoda Motorsport secured another win in the WRC2 class with the Czech Republic’s Jan Kopecky whose job was facilitated by the retirement of Ford M-Sport’s Eric Camilli. There was victory for Michelin in the two-wheel drive contest, too, thanks to the reigning French Champion Yohann Bonato (Peugeot 208 R2).