Present:
1st - Sébastien Ogier, M-Sport World Rally Team
1st - Julien Ingrassia, M-Sport World Rally Team
2nd - Jari-Matti Latvala, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT
2nd - Miikka Anttila, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT
3rd - Ott Tanak, M-Sport World Rally Team
3rd - Martin Järveoja, M-Sport World Rally Team
Malcolm Wilson, Team Principal, M-Sport World Rally Team

Q:
Sébastien, congratulations on this win – what a result. How do you feel?
SO:
Obviously I feel really great. It was so many new things, but something is not new: we are here as winners of the Monte Carlo Rally – that’s something I never get bored with! We had one of the most difficult challenges, certainly for our generation of drivers, on this rally this year. And when you add on top of that, I joined M-Sport about a month ago and only had a couple of days in the car. When I came here I thought anything could happen – this is Monte, but I was missing some special preparation. To be here is a great surprise and I am very happy for the whole team. Really, I have to say a special congratulations; we could never win if they did not make a good car before we got here. Well done all the guys at M-Sport.

Q:
How’s the feeling in the Fiesta?
SO:
It’s still a bit early to judge the performance of everyone, it’s very hard to see who’s making the big difference or to see any dominance from anybody. This is a good sign for the championship. I hope at the end of the day we are all there with similar performance, that’s good for the sport, but I also hope we continue in this way [winning]. I love Sweden, it’s a rally I have won a couple of times and I look forward to it. In the past, the Fiesta has always been strong in Sweden and there’s nothing I can see which won’t allow me to be confident for going to Sweden.

Q:
How tough were the conditions this morning?
SO:
We had quite a good gap this morning and I was somehow confident. But in the first race with the new car everybody has had some tension. In the first stage this morning we discovered Ott had a problem and we were scared it could happen to us. I was really hoping he [Tänak] could make it to the end, he was really deserving to be there. The last stage was difficult, the others were nice and I could enjoy the driving. But the last pass of Turini was tricky – we started with the worst conditions and we knew there was no chance to fight for power stage points, so we decided to bring it home.

Q:
And what’s Malcolm like as a new boss?
SO:
So far we had quite a great start, I’m sure this helps build any relationship. It’s been strange when we come back to Monte-Carlo to chill with everyone and congratulate people I almost don’t know yet! But I think this is the best way to start working together. I’m sure we’ll have more success together.

Q:
Julien, there were lots of changes before this rally. Did you believe you could come here to win?
JI:
I was speaking to another journalist before and I said I had not known so many preparations and it’s actually quite contradictory for this rally. Normally you need to have the maximum preparations here in Monte-Carlo. You need to know everything on the car and with the team and for the changes of road conditions. We knew we had a team behind us pushing hard. We knew this could be a rally of the driver with a certain skill and he could make the difference. I wouldn’t have bet we couldn’t win this rally before the start.

Q:
This must be one of the toughest challenges of the year for the co-driver?
JI:
Maybe you should ask this one to Martin [Järveoja] as he has had a real baptism of fire. I must say congratulations to him, he did a good job: bravo! I’m happy to have a Monte like this, but just once a year. It’s really tough to get the notes from the gravel crew and then give the notes [to the driver] at such high speed as this. As well, there is more information coming in the beginning, middle and end of the corner, it’s really tough. I’m not going to sing or do anything stupid; we’re in a British team now and we need to get smart and get reserved. We are British, especially when we had dinner in Malcolm’s house. Elaine – Mrs Wilson – was on my side and she told me: “We go on our holidays the week following the rally…” Very nicely, she was giving us the order: make my man happy for the holiday. So we won!

Q:
Jari-Matti, you must be delighted with your first event and first podium with Toyota?
J-ML:
This is a fantastic result. It was Finland last year, that was the last time I was on the podium. The end of last year was very difficult. But this new team brought a lot of motivation for me. I came here with the target of a top six and with no mistakes and a consistent run, but we could see early the car has good potential. Of course, we were a bit lucky, but this is Monte- Carlo and I couldn’t ask for more than second. I am so glad and happy, the boys built this car in Finland – rally cars can be built in Finland!

Q:
What are your thoughts on the Yaris, is it better than you expected?
J-ML:
Yeah, absolutely. I got more and more comfortable in the car as the rally was going. Most of my testing had been done on dry Tarmac with only one day of winter conditions. Coming like that to this event, I was a little bit concerned. I wasn’t so confident with the car, but over the weekend I built the confidence and I have to say the car was working really well. We had to pull the car from Parc Fermé on Friday, which was a bit exciting. On Wednesday, still things were everywhere and the boys were still assembling my gearbox 30 minutes before shakedown. But it was ready, and I can’t imagine they work so hard and make the car perform like this.

Q:
What are your thoughts about Sweden?
J-ML:
That’s a great rally. I have tested the car on snow and it feels really good, but I don’t know exactly how it will be on the snow there. The car has a lot of potential, so we go out there and see what will happen. We are all really motivated and looking forward to the next races.

Q:
Miikka what about atmosphere in the team?
MA:
When we started with the team we felt it was one of the most motivated teams, it has been the same at our previous teams, but when we are a Finnish team as a Finnish crew, for sure it feels good. So far there are the correct people in the correct positions.

Q:
Ott you had a few dramas, but you held on to the podium. How does that feel?
OT:
It’s nice to be here. Always, everybody knows Monte is tricky, but this it added a bit of extra spice for us. Maybe there was a bit more stress in the last few hours. We were lucky with the tyres, the snow helped us with some very tricky conditions. We were down on power, but it didn’t make much difference. We just had to be a bit more brave coming down the hill.

Q:
But you had good pace throughout the weekend…
OT:
I was quite surprised about that. Normally I don’t enjoy the changing conditions, but I can say I felt quite comfortable in the car even from shakedown. We have a good base car and quite a bit to improve, but we are going in the right direction. We had consistent speed. From the other side, this was the first rally for Martin and like Seb said, it was one of the trickiest and for sure the trickiest for me. To come out with these new cars, which are quite fast, and have to give so much more information and so much quicker, he did a really great job. He did his job so I was able to concentrate on doing mine.

Q:
What was the problem today?
OT:
We were missing a cylinder, so we were a bit down on power, but we are not going to let this kind of issue stop us. I was able to do a little bit of help myself. These are small details. We got the points and now we keep working towards Sweden.

Q:
Martin, this was a baptism of fire, how are you feeling?
JM:
Before shakedown I was a bit nervous. After the first stage there was no time to be nervous, the road section and schedule was so tight…

Q:
Did you enjoy it?
MJ:
For sure, it was enjoyable to drive fast in those conditions.

Q:
Did you think you might not make it to the finish?
MJ:
Today, at the start of the first stage, we thought the podium was finished. It was a bit stressful, but we did it.

Q:
Malcolm, it’s been a while since we’ve seen a Fiesta on the top of the podium, how special is it to be back?
MW:
I can’t put into words the feeling for the whole team. It’s been five years, I can tell you it does not feel like it, but it is. Obviously to get Sébastien on board was an incredible feeling for me personally and I think you’ve seen the reaction from the staff. It’s the boost we needed as a company. But it does give me a big problem: I’ve now got to keep on at this level! It’s really nice to be winning rallies again and we’re determined to stay in this position in 2018.

Q:
And what about Ott?
MW:
To be honest, look at all the guys; Elfyn did a great result, but they all had fastest times. We have got, in the Fiesta, a great base car and I know we’ve still got lot of work to do, but at least we’ve got something to work with. Seb’s got a rally under his belt now, so he can really start to understand the car. I know there will be a lot of good feedback from him and that helps to bring that new perspective and ideas to a team after Ott and Elfyn have been in the car a long time. The engineers will be very busy for the rest of the season.

Q:
Were you on the edge with today’s weather?
MW:
Yeah, we had this dream result facing us. When we saw the first split, I thought: “Gosh!” But then I thought maybe Ott was doing as I’d told him to do, but then we got the message about the problem. That put us all under pressure: we didn’t know if the same thing could happen with Sébastien’s car until we analysed what the problem was. Ott’s speed down the last stage was incredible. Watch the last corner of the rally – he certainly had no consideration for the car!

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st - Andreas Mikkelsen, Škoda Motorsport
1st - Anders Jaeger, Škoda Motorsport

Q:
Andreas, you must be happy for Škoda. They wanted a win and you helped them achieve that…
AM:
It was an enjoyable run, but this was the most difficult Monte I have ever done. Already on the first stage we had a good run and managed to get a small gap, which we increased on Friday. We managed to have a very safe gap quickly and then it was all about driving safely. Today it was a cruise to the win – it was a very important win to Škoda and I’m very happy.

Q:
This was vastly different to what you’re used to though?
AM:
I am used to more power, of course. It was different. Luckily Škoda gave me four test days to get used to the car, but only on snow and ice. The first stage was the first time on slicks with the car, so I was trying to discover what it was like in the first stage. But the car was very good. It was different to the Polo but we enjoyed it a lot. We had fun this weekend.

Q:
It’s important for you to stay sharp this year…
AM:
We hope to be back in the WRC as soon as possible. For sure, the aim is to be back fully in 2018 with the best possible manufacturer and to fight for the championship. This year is about staying fit and staying sharp.

Q:
When will we see you back in WRC?
AM:
I don’t know too much at the moment, but we are working hard to put something in place. We will do all recces and hopefully as many rallies as the budget allows us.

Q:
Anders, congratulations how was it for you?
AJ:
I was probably not so nervous this time around, but it’s a tricky rally and this year especially. It’s a good result for us and for the Škoda guys as well. They gave us the opportunity and they have been working really hard to give us the best car and possibilities to do well. For sure this is a victory to them.

Q:
Were there any moments at all?
AJ:
No, not really. Actually I missed a couple of them, but as Andreas said, we managed to get a good gap on Friday and we tried to be safe in the tricky places and then go faster where it was safe. This gave us the lead before Saturday. Saturday was about having the rhythm.

FIA WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st - Raphael Astier
1st - Frederic Vauclare

Q:
Congratulations Raphael, you won by nine minutes how do you feel?
RA:
It’s superb. The conditions were really difficult. It was our first time on this rally and we saw lots of different conditions in the car – we discovered a lot and finally it was a great success.

Q:
Did you have any problems?
RA:
During the first three days we had a good rhythm and today it was a safe drive to avoid problems

Q:
What’s your next event?
RA:
We try to be at the start in Corsica and Portugal. We cross out fingers.

Q:
Fred, how tricky from the co-driver’s seat?
FV:
It was a superb experience and fantastic be in the right seat. There were no hot moments, it was so exciting in the car. There was only one little puncture, after one week and a long rally this is OK.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is at one with the 2017 Rallye Monte-Carlo and the Belgian continues to top the leaderboard in the all-new i20 Coupe WRC, leading by 45.1 seconds after today’s first full day of competition.

Reigning World Champion Sébastien Ogier has bounced back to second after dropping to eighth this morning, the Frenchman uncharacteristically going off the road. Team-mate Ott Tänak - second for most of the day - slipped behind Ogier in the final stage but is a mere three-tenths of a second adrift.

The first full day of competition got underway this morning and took in two loops of three stages to the north of Gap, forming the lengthiest day of competitive action. Neuville, last night’s leader, was second in the opener this morning but went on to win the following two stages to head the pack by just over half a minute by the mid-day service. This afternoon, he won the one stage that had eluded him in the morning but ceded two stage victories to Ogier, albeit still leaving him with a welcome cushion going into another long day on Saturday. Ogier’s low-speed off less than three kilometres into the first stage was unusual for the Frenchman and saw him plummet from second to eighth with a loss of nearly 45 seconds. After a tricky morning, this afternoon was still difficult in the snow and slush but Ogier gradually climbed the leaderboard, also benefitting from mistakes by rivals Kris Meeke and Juho Hänninen, both of whom also went off but sustained too much damage to continue. Tänak has set an impressive pace in the sister Fiesta WRC and held second for most of the day after a clean run. He dropped back to third in the final stage, admitting his rivals had simply gone faster. The three-tenths of a second gap to Ogier will however be a huge boost to the Estonian.

Fourth position is now held by Jari-Matti Latvala, following the retirement of team-mate Hänninen. The Finn had a bad start to the day when the Yaris WRC failed to start in Parc Fermé and he and co-driver Miikka Anttila had to push the car to service. Frantic repairs ensued leaving no time for the planned set-up changes and Latvala struggled during the morning, also suffering a misfire. He fared better over the repeated stages, despite a spin in the final test, and is enjoying the challenge presented as he continues to grow in confidence with the Yaris. Dani Sordo is fifth in the 2017 Hyundai but being challenged hard by Craig Breen in a 2016 specification Citroën. Sordo admitted to a bad day, not enjoying the tricky and unpredictable conditions, while Breen has simply been trying to keep it neat, tidy and on the road. 

Former Volkswagen driver Andreas Mikkelsen heads the FIA WRC 2 Championship category in seventh overall ahead of Elfyn Evans in the third Fiesta WRC. Pontus Tidemand, in similar machinery to Mikkelsen, is ninth and ahead of the third R5 Škoda of Jan Kopecky. 

In the two-wheel drive FIA WRC 3 Championship category, Frenchman Raphael Astier is leading in his Peugeot 208. He has a seemingly unassailable advantage over Luca Panzani, baring problems during the remainder of the event.

Leaders Provisional results after Section 3
 

Sébastien Ogier has taken the lead of Rallye Monte-Carlo after Thierry Neuville – who has led from the start – damaged the rear suspension on his i20 Coupe in the final stage of the day.

Ogier now takes a 47.1 second advantage into the final day, seeking a fifth victory on this legendary event and the first victory for an M-Sport built WRC car since Rally GB in 2012. Team-mate Ott Tänak has overcome problems during the day to hold second and, following Neuville’s time loss, Jari-Matti Latvala has moved the Toyota Yaris WRC into the final provisional podium position on the team’s return to the FIA World Rally Championship.

Today’s route took in five stages, two repeated, and once again provided tricky conditions with a mixture of snow, ice and slush in some stages and drier conditions in others. Ogier started the day second and dropped some time to Neuville this morning with an over-cautious approach on the icy sections. He won the third stage of the day to claw back some time but then lost what he’d gained in the following test with a trip through a field. In the final stage he was lucky to escape damage after hitting a bank, but was then gifted the lead when Neuville dropped over 30 minutes with damaged suspension, the result of running wide and hitting something. The Belgian seemingly had the event totally in his control and has led from the start, winning one stage today to consolidate his lead. It will be a bitter pill for Neuville to swallow as he was chasing a maiden Monte-Carlo victory. As a consequence, Jari-Matti Latvala is potentially on course for a podium finish for Toyota, which would be an incredible result for the Japanese manufacturer on its return to the sport. The Finn didn’t feel comfortable this morning but a better run this afternoon puts him well ahead of Craig Breen.

The Irish driver has been performing well in the 2016 specification DS3 WRC, faring better in the trickier conditions but losing time to the 2017 cars on the drier sections. He is however the lead driver for the French team, Stéphane Lefebvre just outside the top 10 and Kris Meeke again forced to retire, this time on the road section back to Gap this evening. Dani Sordo holds fifth, the Spaniard losing the power steering in the final stage, and Eflyn Evans is sixth in the third Ford Fiesta WRC. The Welshman has set a blistering pace today, winning three of the five stages. 

Andreas Mikkelsen holds seventh and leads the FIA WRC 2 Championship category ahead of fellow Škoda R5 driver Jan Kopecky, the Norwegian with over three minutes in hand. Bryan Bouffier, a former winner of the event, is ninth in a Fiesta R5 car and Pontus Tidemand rounds off the top 10. In the FIA WRC 3 Championship, Raphael Astier continues to lead by nearly 10 minutes over Luca Panzani.

Rallye Monte-Carlo – Provisional results after SS 6

Thierry Neuville has extended his lead to just over half a minute after today’s opening loop of three stages on Rallye Monte-Carlo.

The Belgian started the day with seven seconds in hand to Sébastien Ogier, but two stage wins today see him with an encouraging advantage in the new Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. Ott Tänak now heads the charge for M-Sport, the Estonian moving into second following offs by Ogier and Kris Meeke; he now heads his French team-mate by nearly 30 seconds.

The first full day of competition got underway this morning and takes in two loops of three stages to the north of Gap, forming the lengthiest day of competitive action.

Second in this morning’s opener, Neuville then went on to set fastest times in the following two stages, despite a stall, and headed the field into the midday service. Tanak set the pace in the first stage, winning the 25 kilometre test to move from fifth to third, behind Kris Meeke, following an uncharacteristic off by Ogier in the same stage.

The Frenchman plummeted to eighth but has climbed the leaderboard to third, aided when Meeke also slid off in the following stage and damaged the Citroën’s suspension, forcing him to retire.

Behind the leading trio, Jari-Matti Latvala, fourth, now heads the charge for Toyota in the Japanese manufacturer’s debut back in the Championship. The Yaris WRC in the hands of Juho Hänninen had set the pace but the Finn also went off the road in the final stage of the loop, damage meaning he couldn’t continue.

Latvala has had his own problems however; the car failed to start in Parc Fermé, forcing the crew to push the striken Yaris to first service. While the team got the car started, the Finn was unable to make planned changes to the set-up and then also suffered with a misfire during the morning.

Dani Sordo is fifth, despite problems with the engine stalling, and Craig Breen is now leading Citroën’s challenge in sixth, albeit in a 2016 specification car. Team-mate Stéphane Lefebvre lost time last night when he burned out the clutch trying to get out of a ditch.

Former Volkswagen driver Andreas Mikkelsen holds seventh and heads fellow Škoda R5 driver Pontus Tidemand. Elfyn Evans struggled to get his tyres to work in the morning loop and is ninth, marginally ahead of another R5 driver, Bryan Bouffier.