The WRC World Rally Championship began this Thursday. This new global event kicked off with the Monte Carlo Rally, celebrating its 110th anniversary. Unfortunately, with the closed-door measures, fans will not be able to enjoy this historic moment.
Throughout the first day in the heights of Monaco, world champion Ott Tänak made the difference on SS1 and SS2. The Estonian driver from Hyundai delivered the best performances to take the lead.
In SS1, it took him only 12 minutes and 5 seconds to cover the 20.58 km through the Dévoluy massif. His three most serious competitors trailed by just a second. In second place was 20-year-old young driver Kalle Rovanperä, who positioned himself between Tänak and Elfyn Evans, the 2019 vice world champion. On the track linking Saint-Disdier and Corps Sébastien, Ogier took fourth place. In the last part of the race, Teemu Suninen had a spectacular off-road incident into the ditch. Fortunately, the accident was not serious for the Finn.
For the second, more challenging stage, once again Ott Tänak took the lead over the Toyota team. Between Saint-Maurice and Saint-Bonnet, the world champion covered the 20.78 km of the special in 12 minutes and 11.8 seconds. In a very close race, he snatched the lead from the young wolf Kalle Rovanperä by just three tenths of a second. Unsurprisingly, Tänak is first in the standings thanks to his very solid first day. This Friday, for the next five stages, he has a three-second lead over Rovanperä, eight over Evans, and 16 over Neuville and Ogier, who are within the same second.
Here is the program for the Monte Carlo Rally for the upcoming days:
