Sebastien Ogier retained the event lead at his home event of Rallye Monte-Carlo after the third day of stages. The Frenchman now leads by 20.3 seconds over Evans.
Morning Loop
Sebastien Ogier held onto the event lead after the first three stages of the day. The 9-time Monte-Carlo winner heads into the afternoon loop with a 17.2-second lead over Adrien Fourmaux. Elfyn Evans fell to third, now 2.8 seconds behind Fourmaux and 20 seconds behind Ogier. Gregoire Munster, Ott Tänak and Takamoto Katsuta each won a stage during the loop.
Afternoon Loop
Sebastien Ogier extended his lead on the last three stages of the day. Ogier ends the day with a 20.3-second lead over Elfyn Evans. Adrien Fourmaux fell to third during the loop and now sits 4.3 seconds behind Evans and 24.6 seconds behind Ogier. Ott Tänak won all three stages of the afternoon loop.
Quotes
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Jari-Matti Latvala – Team Principal
“It’s been another good day today, we can be very happy. There was not so much ice out there today but there was a lot of dirt coming to the road, making it difficult to judge the grip levels. All our drivers have been doing a good job and making improvements, starting with the big steps we’ve seen from Sami and from Taka. Kalle had some very good splits and was struggling in the more twisty places but he knows the season is long and he just needs to take points, so he’s doing a clever job. Then it’s been a big fight at the front, with Seb handling his lead very well and Elfyn fighting very hard with Fourmaux and Tänak and managing to hold onto second position. Tomorrow it looks like it might be raining heavily, maybe even snowing, so we need to be prepared for everything and nothing is secured at this point.”
Sebastien Ogier – 1st Overall
“Again it was not an easy day. Some sections were fun to drive and others were tricky, especially at the end of the day when it was getting dark and I had some little moments on the mud, so I’m glad to have this day behind me and that we could increase the gap a little bit. The gap is not a comfortable one but it’s still a positive one to take into the last day. Like usual it will be difficult until the end because the weather tonight looks unpredictable so we need to make the right tyre choice and stay focused.”
Elfyn Evans – 2nd Overall
“Overall I’m pretty happy with the day and we’re still in a pretty good position tonight. We had some very mixed conditions out there with a lot of pollution on the stages, and our performance was a bit mixed with it. We pushed when we felt good and maybe took a little bit too much caution at other times. I was pretty happy with the last stage of the day, to not lose too much time to Ott and to take back second from Adrien, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow: we don’t know fully what to expect, but we could be facing some quite difficult conditions.”
Kalle Rovanperä – 5th Overall
“It was still quite a challenging day today. Some stages and some sections were pretty good and then we were just losing a bit too much time in other places. I was just not feeling completely confident, so it was still a difficult day. With the team we’re trying to change some small things and at least we still have tomorrow, when we can try something new and see how it’s going. We’ll try to do our best of course and hopefully get some extra points.”
Takamoto Katsuta – 6th Overall
“It was a very good and positive day for me. Last night with the team we changed some things in the setup and today I felt a much better feeling with the car, so I was able to push more. I was able to go much quicker than yesterday and we set some good times, which was giving me better confidence. Tomorrow will be quite a big day and the weather could be very interesting. I will try to do my best to take some points.”
Sami Pajari – 7th Overall
“Today we did a clear step forwards and I had a much nicer and more enjoyable feeling. We didn’t really change the plan but the feeling was getting better and also the times were nicer, so that made it more enjoyable also. We can see that we just need some time and experience and the times get better. From what we’re hearing, the conditions tomorrow could be even more challenging so it could be another different and difficult day ahead.”
Hyundai Shell Mobis
Adrien Fourmaux – 3rd Overall
“It’s been quite a rollercoaster at this Monte-Carlo. I was not so happy with my pace this afternoon, I was struggling to get the grip. Tomorrow is a big day; we have kept a reasonable gap to Elfyn but then Ott came back really strong this afternoon so we will see what happens. He had a really goodpace today, so our focus will be understanding why this afternoon I didn’t have the same. Tomorrow will be a big challenge with the rain that is expected and the potential of black ice, so it’s going to be an interesting day. ”
Ott Tänak – 4th Overall
“It’s been a very positive afternoon. Finally I found a good feeling in the car and immediately I had a good rhythm to actually enjoy myself. The gravel crew did a very good job in these very tricky conditions, particularly in the last one, that helped me find my confidence. This morning we found which way to go with the setup. I had no mileage with this tyre at all so we didn’t know which direction to go, but we began to understand and it started to work for me. I’m looking to keep a good rhythm and enjoy myself in the car tomorrow. ”
Thierry Neuville – 8th Overall
“We slightly touched the wall on stage 14 and I was bit surprised, we weren’t aware it was wet in that corner, but it was nothing major. I don’t know if the progress we made today is enough to maximise our day tomorrow, and the weather conditions could have a huge impact. We have to prepare as best as we can and make some changes to the setup because things are not feeling as they should. Maybe we change the gearbox and then see how things are in the morning – with Super Sunday and the Power Stage there is still an opportunity to bring some points home.”
Hyundai Motorsport Technical Director – François-Xavier Demaison
“Today was a better day for the team. Thierry had more issues this morning and had to do a reset during the stage, and we want to apologise to him for that on our side. The rest of his day was about concentration and preparation for the last day and the final push on the Power Stage. Ott was on the slick tyres which gave him the chance to improve his pace and finish the day with a really strong stage time, putting him back in the fight tomorrow. Adrien had a very good day. He followed the plan we had made with him and improved step by step to get to know the car and the team, putting him in a position to fight all the way to the end of the rally. A strong team effort is needed to bring home the best result we can, we are aiming to make the most out of the Super Sunday points. ”