WRC Monte Carlo: Dominant Ogier scores record Monte Carlo victory
World Rally Championship legend Sebastien Ogier has scored a record ninth Rally Monte Carlo victory following a dominant performance from the eight-time world champion and his Toyota team.
Ogier and new co-driver Vincent Landais clinched nine of the 18 stages in what proved to be an unusually dry WRC season opener to claim a comfortable win by 18.8s from world champions Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen.
Competing in only a partial campaign, Ogier once again outlined his supreme knowledge of the twisty Monte Carlo roads, and was never headed throughout the four days of competition.
After winning the first five stages, Ogier established a relatively comfortable lead initially over Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans, who appeared to be the only driver able to compete with the Frenchman.
Ogier’s streak of stage wins was completed despite losing hybrid boost for two stages on Friday morning, and after a late gearbox change due to a clutch issue.
Once Evans suffered a right rear puncture in Stage 5, Ogier was gifted a lead he would extend to 36.0s before Rovanpera found his rhythm and began to whittle the advantage down.
Rovanpera managed to score four stage stage wins across Friday and Saturday to slash the deficit to 16.0s heading into Sunday’s stages, but he was unable to halt Ogier and settled for second. The Finn did however snatch the full points on the final powerstage.
The victory means Ogier has now pulled one clear of nine-time world champion Sebastian Loeb in their private battle for most Monte Carlo wins. The triumph is the first WRC victory for co-driver Landais.
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville claimed the final spot on the podium, 44.6s adrift of Ogier as the South Korean marque struggled to contend with the dominant Toyota team. Toyota’s upgraded GR Yaris claimed 16 of the 18 stages, with Hyundai only breaking the drought on Saturday’s Stage 12 courtesy of Neuville, who snatched two stage victories to cement third.
The Belgian’s rally began with a lucky escape on Stage 2 when he skated into a bank after being caught out by black ice. Neuville inherited third after Evans’ puncture but he couldn’t close in on the leading Toyotas. This was largely due to a set up direction taken by the team that had expected more wintry conditions prior to the event.
Having shown arguably the best pace outside of Ogier, Evans was unable to recover the 40s lost to the puncture ding the rally fourth. The Welshman did boost his points tally by finishing third on the powerstage.
Ott Tanak’s first outing in the M-Sport Ford Puma resulted in the Estonian finishing fifth overall. The 2019 world champion did run as high as third after Thursday’s opening stages, but then struggled to acclimatise to the Puma’s characteristics. An intermittent power steering issue on Saturday then dropped him from fourth to fifth.
Tanak made progress in extracting speed from the car to deliver an extra four points from the powerstage after being pipped to the stage win by Rovanpera by 0.6s.
It ultimately proved to be a challenging weekend for M-Sport’s sister manufacturer entry driven by Pierre-Louis Loubet. The Frenchman was holding eighth before an off on Stage 5 which severely damaged his power steering, and without a midday service, he had to continue for three stages without steering assistance.
Loubet returned on Sunday but a water leak followed by a lack of fuel ultimately forced him out of the event.
A solid run from Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta netted the Japanese driver sixth but it wasn’t without drama on the final powerstage. A suspected rear suspension failure created late drama, but he was able to haul the GR Yaris home ahead Hyundai duo Dani Sordo and Esapekka Lappi.
The Hyundai pair struggled to find the set up sweet spot aboard their i20 Ns. Sordo suffered from persistent hybrid problems, while Lappi struggled to adapt to the new car, and was hit by a puncture on Saturday.
The WRC2 honours were claimed by Skoda driver Nikolay Gryazin, who edged Citroen’s Yohan Rossel by 4.5s.
UPDATE: Rossel has been awarded the WRC2 victory after a protest made against Gryazin was upheld by FIA stewards following a hearing.
Officials have imposed a five second penalty to Gryazin after he was found to have breached Article 19.2 of the 2023 FIA WRC Sporting Regulations during Stage 14. During the test Gryazin cut a corner at the 13.2km mark.
Gryazin had suffered a front right puncture prior to cutting the corner. As a result of the penalty, Rossel has been declared the winner with Gryazin demoted to second, 0.5s behind the Citroen driver.
Complete Rally Monte Carlo results
| Cla | Driver/Codriver | Total Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais | 3:12'02.0 | |
| 2 |  Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen | 3:12'20.8 | 18.8 |
| 3 |  Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe | 3:12'46.6 | 44.6 |
| 4 |  Elfyn Evans Scott Martin | 3:13'14.4 | 1'12.4 |
| 5 |  Ott Tanak Martin Jarveoja | 3:14'36.9 | 2'34.9 |
| 6 |  Takamoto Katsuta  Aaron Johnston | 3:15'34.6 | 3'32.6 |
| 7 |  Dani Sordo Candido Carrera | 3:15'49.2 | 3'47.2 |
| 8 | Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm | 3:15'53.3 | 3'51.3 |
| 9 |  Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov | 3:22'05.4 | 10'03.4 |
| 10 | Yohan Rossel Arnaud Dunand | 3:22'09.9 | 10'07.9 |
| 11 | Pepe Lopez Borja Rozada | 3:23'16.1 | 11'14.1 |
| 12 |  Erik Cais Petr Těšínský | 3:23'35.8 | 11'33.8 |
| 13 | Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria | 3:24'01.8 | 11'59.8 |
| 14 |  Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson | 3:24'20.6 | 12'18.6 |
| 15 | Chris Ingram Craig Drew | 3:25'12.1 | 13'10.1 |
| 16 |  Marco Bulacia Axel Coronado | 3:26'50.4 | 14'48.4 |
| 17 |  Ricardo Romagnoli Louis Louka | 3:26'54.9 | 14'52.9 |
| 18 | Stéphane Lefebvre Andy Malfoy | 3:27'46.1 | 15'44.1 |
| 19 | François Delecour Sabrina de Castelli | 3:28'12.6 | 16'10.6 |
| 20 | Alejandro Cachón Alejandro López Fernández | 3:28'50.8 | 16'48.8 |
| 21 | Matteo Gamba Nicolò Gonella | 3:31'59.2 | 19'57.2 |
| 22 | Mauro Miele Luca Beltrame | 3:32'46.6 | 20'44.6 |
| 23 | Josh McErlean John Rowan | 3:33'33.7 | 21'31.7 |
| 24 | Bruno Riberi Florian Haut-Labourdette | 3:35'43.4 | 23'41.4 |
| 25 |  Jourdan Serderidis Frédéric Miclotte | 3:38'52.2 | 26'50.2 |
| 26 |  Christian Merli Marco Zortea | 3:39'02.7 | 27'00.7 |
| 27 | Alessandro Gino Daniele Michi | 3:40'04.0 | 28'02.0 |
| 28 | Johannes Keferbock Ilka Minor | 3:40'24.0 | 28'22.0 |
| 29 | Philippe Baffoun Charlyne Quartini | 3:43'14.8 | 31'12.8 |
| 30 | Luc Pistachi Laëtitia Authier | 3:43'53.8 | 31'51.8 |
| 31 | Loïc Panagiotis Caroline Goddi | 3:45'53.6 | 33'51.6 |
| 32 | Romain Haut-Labourdette Fabien Tardito | 3:46'56.2 | 34'54.2 |
| 33 | Lorenzo Bontempelli Giovanni Pina | 3:47'24.3 | 35'22.3 |
| 34 | Mickaël Prévalet Jofrey Courtet | 3:47'27.0 | 35'25.0 |
| 35 | Simone Niboli Battista Brunetti | 3:49'02.6 | 37'00.6 |
| 36 | Jean-Charles Albertini Patrick Chiappe | 3:49'33.5 | 37'31.5 |
| 37 | Yanis Desangles Nicolas Theron | 3:50'22.2 | 38'20.2 |
| 38 | Ghjuvanni Rossi Maxime Martini | 3:51'00.4 | 38'58.4 |
| 39 | Zoltán László  Gabor Zsiros | 3:51'14.4 | 39'12.4 |
| 40 | David Ferraro Michel Corneglio | 3:52'53.6 | 40'51.6 |
| 41 | Eric Royere Gilbert Dini | 3:52'57.4 | 40'55.4 |
| 42 | Silvano Patera Stefano Tiraboschi | 3:54'09.8 | 42'07.8 |
| 43 | Wolfgang Irlacher Elke Irlacher | 3:56'05.4 | 44'03.4 |
| 44 | Massimiliano Pedala Denis Piceno | 3:56'09.6 | 44'07.6 |
| 45 | Matteo Fontana Alessandro Arnaboldi | 3:56'16.4 | 44'14.4 |
| 46 | William Creighton Liam Regan | 3:56'58.9 | 44'56.9 |
| 47 | Nicolas Ressegaire Marina Micheli | 4:00'45.5 | 48'43.5 |
| 48 | Jérémy Prat Yves Semete | 4:01'03.9 | 49'01.9 |
| 49 | Filippo Marchino Pietro Elia | 4:01'58.4 | 49'56.4 |
| 50 | Jérôme Aymard Sandrine Aymard | 4:07'08.1 | 55'06.1 |
| 51 | Julien Charnay Maxime Gomez | 4:07'38.5 | 55'36.5 |
| 52 | Gilles Michellier Christophe Richard | 4:09'24.0 | 57'22.0 |
| 53 | Fabrizio Arengi Massimiliano Bosi | 4:09'30.5 | 57'28.5 |
| 54 | Sebastiano Ciato Andrea Budoia | 4:09'31.2 | 57'29.2 |
| 55 | Baudouin Baugé Nicolas Blanc | 4:09'48.7 | 57'46.7 |
| 56 | Lilian Vialle Manuel Ghirardello | 4:10'28.0 | 58'26.0 |
| 57 |  Henk Vossen Annemieke Hulzebos | 4:14'05.8 | 1:02'03.8 |
| 58 | Christophe Berard Christophe Bernabo | 4:16'50.0 | 1:04'48.0 |
| 59 |  Olivier Burri Anderson Levratti | 4:23'06.1 | 1:11'04.1 |
| 60 | Daniel Alonso Adrián Pérez | 4:34'35.1 | 1:22'33.1 |
| 61 | Giorgio Marazzato Elisa Sommariva | 4:43'46.0 | 1:31'44.0 |
| 62 | Grégory Fontalba Stéphan Hermet | 4:43'57.7 | 1:31'55.7 |
| 63 | Grégory Dal Hervé Dubreuil | 5:03'56.6 | 1:51'54.6 |
| View full results | |||
Related video
WRC Monte Carlo: Ogier edges closer to victory after halting Rovanpera charge
Ogier: Priceless record Monte Carlo WRC win will take time to sink in
Gasly: F1 success with Alpine would be "amazing" way to honour Hubert
Pierre Gasly believes success in Formula 1 with Alpine would be an “amazing” way to honour his late friend, Anthoine Hubert.
Pramac unwraps 2023 MotoGP livery
The Pramac Racing team has become the latest MotoGP outfit to unveil the livery it will race with in 2023.
WRC: No plans to alter Monte Carlo Rally route after lack of snow
The World Rally Championship has no plans to make changes to the Rally Monte Carlo route in the near future despite an absence of snow and ice last weekend.
Interview with Toto Wolff: How TeamViewer solutions support the Mercedes F1 Team
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, has a saying: “The days we lose are the days our competitors will regret, because we learned the most.”
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
He may only be contesting a part-time campaign in the World Rally Championship these days, but Sebastien Ogier underlined that he's lost none of his speed in the 2023 season opener. Storming to yet another victory on the Monte Carlo Rally, the eight-time world champion rewrote the history books again as Toyota served notice of its intentions with a crushing 1-2
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
Audi should have been invincible in the snowy conditions that typically greeted the World Rally Championship paddock in Monte Carlo. But unexpectedly warm weather for the 1983 season opener, combined with some left-field thinking from the Lancia crew turned the tables. Forty years on, team boss Cesare Fiorio reflects on a smash and grab
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
M-Sport had a disastrous 2022 with its Rally1 Ford Pumas following Sebastien Loeb’s first-time-out win on the Monte. But now things are looking up with 2019 world champion Ott Tanak leading its attack, and the Cumbrian operation has optimism that it can challenge for a first title since Sebastien Ogier's departure at the end of 2018
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
As Kalle Rovanpera begins his World Rally Championship title defence in Monte Carlo, the Finn knows he has a target on his back. But who is best placed to knock the Toyota ace off his perch?
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Question: what could be harder than becoming the youngest-ever World Rally champion? Answer: becoming the youngest-ever two-time World Rally champion. That's quite the challenge facing Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera in 2022, particularly against rejuvenated opposition in the second year of the WRC's hybrid regulations
From F1 to WRC: Why Hyundai's new boss could be an inspired signing
OPINION: New Hyundai WRC team boss Cyril Abiteboul admits he’s got a lot to learn as he leads the marque's efforts to dethrone Toyota. But could his Formula 1 experience and evident strengths mean he turns out to be an inspired choice?
The ultimate rally car project the WRC is glad COVID killed
Toyota was unstoppable in the 2021 World Rally Championship, with an excellent 75% strike rate from 12 rallies. But in a scary proposition for its rivals, the Japanese marque had built a car for the final year of the previous regulations set which it believes was much faster and could feasibly have crushed the opposition completely. Here the story of its mothballed world-beater
Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2022
The season just gone was a memorable one for many of our staff writers, who are fortunate enough to cover motorsport around the world. Here are our picks of the best (and in some cases, most eventful) from 2022
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.