Rallye Monte Carlo, Saturday's Report

01/25/2025 06:36 PM

Onto the longest day then of the rally with 120km's over six stages and a break in the middle for service. This day also featured the longest stage of the weekend with the 27km opening the day and the afternoon stages.

Greg and Louis returned to the action after having a problem on the road section following the final stage of yesterday which meant they'd not made it back to service. They would restart under the super rally rules.

First up then was SS10 La Motte-Chalancon / Saint-Nazaire 1 – 27 km and opening the road would be the place to be as Greg took his first ever stage win. He was sat on the road section watching the live coverage when the final car came through which of course was Seb. He was really close to Greg's time and was second fastest whilst Kalle was third. Adrien and Elfyn set the same time as they continued to fight for second overall.

Next was SS11 Aucelon / Recoubeau-Jansac 1 – 15.48 km and Ott was fastest from Adrien and Elfyn. The Estonian had found some pace and was really quick in this one, moving to just three seconds of Kalle who was in fourth place. Meanwhile ahead of them both Adrien moved ahead of Elfyn and into second place.

The final stage before service SS12 La Bâtie-des-Fonts / Aspremont 1 – 17.85 km and Takamoto was fastest from Thierry and Seb. Elfyn lost a few more seconds to Adrien, the gap now 2.8 seconds. Ott was also looking to pass Kalle as he moved to within one second of the Finn.

After service came SS13 La Motte-Chalancon / Saint-Nazaire 2 – 27 km and Ott was fastest from Elfyn and Takamoto. The result of these quick times was that Elfyn was back ahead of Adrien and Ott moved ahead of Kalle. Seb was maintaining a very good pace and had a 18.4 second lead over his teammate.

Into SS14 Aucelon / Recoubeau-Jansac 2 – 15.48 km and Ott was fastest from Seb and Thierry. There was another swap between Adrien and Elfyn as the Frenchman moved back into second place. The gap was tiny though, just seven tenths separated them both. Meanwhile Ott was closing on them both and had the gap down to less than ten seconds.

The final stage then SS15 La Bâtie-des-Fonts / Aspremont 2 – 17.85 km and Ott was fastest again from Elfyn and Takamoto who'd had an excellent end to Saturday's stages. Elfyn was back ahead of Adrien and Ott was now just 2.5 seconds from his teammate. The Estonian had had a brilliant day once he and his team had got the i20 into the sweet spot.

Let's take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Saturday

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

"Again, it was not an easy day. Some sections were fun to drive, and others were tricky, especially at the end of the day when it was getting dark and I had some little moments on the mud, so I'm glad to have this day behind me and that we could increase the gap a little bit. The gap is not a comfortable one but it's still a positive one to take into the last day. Like usual it will be difficult until the end because the weather tonight looks unpredictable, so we need to make the right tyre choice and stay focused."

Elfyn Evans

"Overall, I'm pretty happy with the day and we're still in a pretty good position tonight. We had some very mixed conditions out there with a lot of pollution on the stages, and our performance was a bit mixed with it. We pushed when we felt good and maybe took a little bit too much caution at other times. I was pretty happy with the last stage of the day, to not lose too much time to Ott and to take back second from Adrien, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow: we don't know fully what to expect, but we could be facing some quite difficult conditions."

Kalle Rovanperä

"It was still quite a challenging day today. Some stages and some sections were pretty good and then we were just losing a bit too much time in other places. I was just not feeling completely confident, so it was still a difficult day. With the team we're trying to change some small things and at least we still have tomorrow, when we can try something new and see how it's going. We'll try to do our best of course and hopefully get some extra points."

Takamoto Katsuta

"It was a very good and positive day for me. Last night with the team we changed some things in the setup and today I felt a much better feeling with the car, so I was able to push more. I was able to go much quicker than yesterday and we set some good times, which was giving me better confidence. Tomorrow will be quite a big day and the weather could be very interesting. I will try to do my best to take some points."

Sami Pajari

"Today we did a clear step forwards and I had a much nicer and more enjoyable feeling. We didn't really change the plan, but the feeling was getting better and also the times were nicer, so that made it more enjoyable also. We can see that we just need some time and experience, and the times get better. From what we're hearing, the conditions tomorrow could be even more challenging so it could be another different and difficult day ahead."

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

"It's been quite a rollercoaster at this Monte-Carlo. I was not so happy with my pace this afternoon; I was struggling to get the grip. Tomorrow is a big day; we have kept a reasonable gap to Elfyn but then Ott came back really strong this afternoon so we will see what happens. He had a really good pace today, so our focus will be understanding why this afternoon I didn't have the same. Tomorrow will be a big challenge with the rain that is expected and the potential of black ice, so it's going to be an interesting day."

Ott Tänak

"It's been a very positive afternoon. Finally, I found a good feeling in the car and immediately I had a good rhythm to actually enjoy myself. The gravel crew did a very good job in these very tricky conditions, particularly in the last one, that helped me find my confidence. This morning we found which way to go with the setup. I had no mileage with this tyre at all, so we didn't know which direction to go, but we began to understand, and it started to work for me. I'm looking to keep a good rhythm and enjoy myself in the car tomorrow."

Thierry Neuville

"We slightly touched the wall on stage 14, and I was bit surprised, we weren't aware it was wet in that corner, but it was nothing major. I don't know if the progress we made today is enough to maximise our day tomorrow, and the weather conditions could have a huge impact. We have to prepare as best as we can and make some changes to the setup because things are not feeling as they should. Maybe we change the gearbox and then see how things are in the morning – with Super Sunday and the Power Stage there is still an opportunity to bring some points home."

Sunday

Sunday's stages will see the crews tackle 50km's over three stages. In an unusual move the power stage will only be run once.

Will Seb take a tenth win and what will happen as Elfyn, Adrien and Ott battle over the remaining podium positions?