At the end of the third day of the Monte Carlo Rally, Frenchman Sébastien Ogier is poised to claim the overall victory. Leading the first round of the WRC World Rally Championship, the Toyota driver has a 13-second advantage over his sole direct competitor, Elfyn Evans.
It was under the snow that the drivers vied for the best times. The stages concluded with SS11, a course deemed the simplest of the day. Road and weather conditions varied several times but became more favorable towards the end of the day.
The manufacturer Toyota met all its expectations by placing three of their drivers on the podium. Third place, at 56.8 seconds, the young prodigy Kalle Rovanperä has proven equal to all the hopes placed in him. Second and still in the running to win the Monte Carlo Rally, the Brit Elfyn Evans caught up 1.3 seconds on the poleman Sébastien Ogier.
The seven-time world champion spoke at the press point about his very good performance.
“It was a good day, but not perfect. The first stage went very well in super tricky conditions. I really pushed hard so I was happy to cross the finish line and keep the car on the road at that kind of speed. The second stage was much more difficult for us. The conditions were really extreme and I had absolutely no grip, and we lost quite a bit of time compared to the drivers starting ahead. Maybe we also didn’t do the perfect job with tire management, but they are new and we are still learning.
In the final stage, conditions had changed a lot since the first pass and also since the passage of the openers, but it was a clean road for me. Most importantly, we are in the lead and now we have to keep it.”
Here is the Monte Carlo Rally program for the ultimate and last day:
