Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier is now two stages away from a fifth consecutive Rallye Monte-Carlo victory having safely negotiated the opening pair of Sunday stages.

The Frenchman has further extended his advantage over Ott Tänak, the Estonian no longer prepared to risk a fine second position in his debut outing with Toyota.

Team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala remains in a lonely third position with the squad’s third Yaris WRC fourth in the hands of Esapekka Lappi.

Based out of Monte Carlo, today’s route is the shortest with two identical loops of two stages; La Bollene Vesubie - Peira-Cava which climbs to the summit of the famous Col de Turini, and La Cabanette - Col de Braus which has never been driven competitively and will also run as the closing Power Stage.

Ogier was quickest through the first stage but dropped some time in the following one, briefly having to stop near the finish after a spectator set off a flare and smoke poured across the road.

Tänak is now in safe mode, especially with the tricky mix of conditions and the size of the gaps in front and behind; second position would represent his best result on the most famous rally in the world. Latvala went safe with his tyre choice and, like some others, used the second test as a high-speed recce for the all-important Power Stage, where additional points are awarded to the fastest three drivers.Team-mate Lappi had a similarly safe run through the stages and this too would be a significant result for the young Finn.  

Thierry Neuville, in seventh, has been on a mission and has closed the gap to Kris Meeke and Elfyn Evans having finished second to Ogier in the first stage and won the following one. He is now within 8.7 seconds of sixth-placed Evans but still targeting a move further up the leaderboard.

Meeke was shocked by the conditions in La Cabanette; “Black ice on loose gravel? I’m just trying to stay on the road to be honest,” said the Northern Irishman. Bryan Bouffier had a half spin but still has a significant advantage over ninth-placed Craig Breen, who has struggled a bit with the changing conditions.

Jan Kopecky’s runaway lead in the FIA WRC 2 Championship remains intact and Enrico Brazzoli continues to head the WRC 3 registered crews.

Sébastien Ogier’s lead over Ott Tänak has increased significantly after Saturday’s first two stages, the Frenchman setting a blistering pace and taking nearly a minute out of his former team-mate on the super tricky snow-filled opener.

The Estonian pulled back a few seconds in the following stage but remains one minute 3.4 seconds adrift heading into a re-run of the loop. Jari-Matti Latvala has powered up the leaderboard from fifth to third, overhauling team-mate Esapekka Lappi and benefitting when Dani Sordo slid off the road into retirement 

Today is another long one for the crews and takes in two identical loops of two stages this morning before rounding off the day with one more stage and then the long drive back to Monaco for the halt.

Overnight snow made conditions incredibly difficult, mild conditions then turning the snow to slush which made it treacherous for everyone and benefitted those running further down the field as cleaner lines started to appear.

Ogier may have pulled clear and only been beaten by Andreas Mikkelsen on the stage, but the Frenchman was lucky not to be hampered by a broken wheel and described the stage as the ‘worst of his career’.

Tänak managed to claw back 15 seconds with fastest time in the shorter St Leger Le Melezes stage, despite complaining about a damper problem. Latvala, hot on Lappi’s heels last night, took full advantage this morning and is now just over 25 seconds ahead, his younger team-mate describing conditions in the opening stage as ‘not on this planet’. 

Kris Meeke has moved one place up the leaderboard into fifth courtesy of Sordo but he lost more than 10 seconds with a spin in the first stage. Bryan Bouffier has inched closer, despite playing it safe, but has Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville on his heels looking to improve their positions on the season opener.

They are seventh and eighth respectively, Evans having a spin and Neuville a small overshoot. Craig Breen, opening the road today, had the worst of the conditions and is ninth ahead of FIA WRC 2 Championship contender Jan Kopecky.

Jean-Baptiste Franceschi continues to top the WRC 3 category in his Fiesta R2T.
 

Toyota’s Ott Tänak has reduced Sébastien Ogier’s advantage of one minute 3.4 seconds down to 39.5 seconds after the re-run of this morning’s loop of stages.

The Estonian was fastest by 15 seconds in the first stage and with another handful of seconds to his credit in the second has chipped into the Frenchman’s lead with one stage remaining today. Jari-Matti Latvala maintains third with a comfortable lead over Kris Meeke.

Conditions during the second loop were better this afternoon with clear but wet lines in the slush. Ogier admitted not taking risks, his only plan now being to stay ahead of Tänak with five stages remaining in the event.

The Estonian, like many of his rivals, overshot into a field in the first stage but was still fastest, but he too says he is not pushing to the limit in the tricky conditions. Latvala has however pushed on and his advantage over an elevated Meeke is now over three minutes.

The Northern Irish driver overhauled Esapekka Lappi in the first stage, despite a spin into the same field, but his Finnish rival had to stop and change a puncture which left Meeke with a 19.7 second advantage in fourth position.

However in the following one he lost some of that lead with an overshoot into a snow bank and the pair are now battling with just 6.2 seconds separating them. Elfyn Evans overhauled team-mate Bryan Bouffier for sixth when the Frenchman ended up in the same field as many others, but Evans then struggled in the last stage with an intermittent intercom problem which resulted in him missing 40% of his pace notes.

The pair go into the final stage of the day split by 23.3 seconds. Thierry Neuville continues to chase but he lost time with a couple of moments in the first stage; he spun into a bank and then aquaplaned into the field. He is however just 12.2 seconds adrift of Bouffier after setting fastest time in the second stage. Craig Breen is some distance behind but enjoying today’s stages.

Jan Kopecky continues to be the runaway leader in the FIA WRC 2 Championship category but Enrico Brazzoli has taken the advantage in WRC 3, Jean-Baptiste Franceschi retiring for unconfirmed reasons. 

Sébastien Ogier’s advantage at the head of the Rallye Monte-Carlo leaderboard was slashed this afternoon when he ended up in ditch after a slow speed spin.

The Frenchman lost 20 seconds to Ott Tänak, cutting his lead from 33.9 seconds to just 14.9 at the end of the first full day of competition. Tänak has been on fine form, winning the first of the repeated stages and demonstrating he has comfortably slotted straight into his new Yaris WRC.

Dani Sordo holds third for Hyundai, putting three different manufacturers on the provisional podium. 

This afternoon the crews headed back into the same three stages, which again proved tricky with some light rain, standing and running water on treacherous mountain roads.

Ogier was lucky to escape his uncharacteristic mistake, spectators helping him back on to the road as he bids for a fifth consecutive home victory.

Without the spin the Frenchman would have had nearly a minute in hand, but nevertheless remains happy to be leading. Tänak wasn’t full of confidence early in the afternoon as he continues to familiarise himself with the Yaris, but by the end of the day the Estonian had the car working well and was delighted to be fighting for the win. Sordo suffered with a fogged up windscreen and is nearly 45 seconds adrift of Tänak.

Esapekka Lappi, who is one with the least experience of these types of conditions, is a fine fourth in his first full season with Toyota.

The Finn has found the conditions tricky but has been mistake-free and is growing in confidence and pleased with his performance. Team-mate Latvala is one position behind in fifth, experiencing a better feeling this afternoon and he will surely be fighting to overhaul Lappi with just two-tenths of a second splitting them.

Kris Meeke is sixth, the Northern Irish driver a minute and a half further behind and needing others to make mistakes if he has a realistic chance of moving up the leaderboard. Bryan Bouffier is enjoying his first outing in a current generation World Rally Car but playing it reasonably safe as one of M-Sport Ford’s nominated drivers.

Team-mate Elfyn Evans has set fine pace; the Welshman won the second stage and has climbed from 16th last night to eighth with growing confidence. Thierry Neuville has also moved back into the top 10 after his excursion into a snow bank last night. He is hot on Evans’ tail in ninth and targeting a top six finish. Like everyone, Craig Breen has found conditions tricky, but he rounds off the top 10.

Jan Kopecky continues to top the FIA WRC 2 Championship contenders and has a huge advantage in the category following the retirement of Eric Camilli, while Jean-Baptiste Franceschi still holds the WRC 3 lead.

Rallye Monte-Carlo – Provisional results after Section 3