The first day of Rallye Monte-Carlo has come to an end. Pepe López leads the WRC2 class after the days stages.
SS1, Thoard – Saint-Geniez
Pepe López kicked off his 2024 season with a stage win. As the Spaniard posted a time 9.2 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to top the stage. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 4.4 seconds slower than Rossel. Chris Ingram set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.5 seconds slower than Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, 4.5 seconds slower than Ingram.
SS2, Bayons – Bréziers
Pepe López was once again the fastest driver on the second stage. As López would set a time 0.6 seconds faster than Nikolay Grayzin to go two-for-two on the first day of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 10.1 seconds slower than his teammate Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 7.1 seconds slower than Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin rounded out the top five on the final stage of the day, finishing with a time 3.4 seconds slower than Lefebvre.
WRC2 Overall Heading Into Rallye Monte-Carlo Day Two
Pepe López takes a 14.2-second lead over Nikolay Gryazin into the second day of the event. Last year’s winner Yohan Rossel sits third overall, 5.7 seconds behind Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre is fourth overall heading into day two, 20.5 seconds slower than Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin rounds out the top five in class after the day. Ciamin sits 4.5 seconds behind Lefebvre heading into day two.
What To Expect From Rallye Monte-Carlo Day Two
In about 11 hours the second day of Rallye Monte-Carlo will kick off. Drivers will contest 105.72 km across six stages. Drivers will face varying conditions throughout the day, including another night stage to cap off the day. Day two could end with a driver clear in the lead, or a driver leading by a handful of seconds. Anything can happen throughout the days stages.
The first day of Rallye Monte-Carlo has come to an end. Elfyn Evans leads the event after the first day.
SS1, Thoard – Saint-Geniez
Elfyn Evans kicked off the first stage of the 2024 season with a stage win. As the 2023 WRC Vice-Champion posted a time 5.2 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to top the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 3.1 seconds slower than Tänak. Reigning Rallye Monte-Carlo winner Sebastien Ogier set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.5 seconds slower than Neuville. Adrien Fourmuax rounded out the top five, finishing 6.4 seconds slower than Ogier on the stage.
SS2, Bayons – Bréziers
Elfyn Evans also took the stage win on the second and final stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo day one. With the Welshmen setting a time 6.8 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to top the stage. Sebastien Ogier finished third fastest on the stage, 5 seconds slower than Neuville. Ott Tänak posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 5.8 seconds slower than Ogier. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, 4.4 seconds slower than Tänak.
Overall After Rallye Monte-Carlo Day One
Elfyn Evans takes a 15.1-second lead over Thierry Neuville into the second day of competition. Sebastien Ogier sits third overall, 6.5 seconds back from Neuville. Ott Tänak ends the day in fourth, 1.2 seconds behind Ogier. Adrien Fourmuax rounds out the top five after the first day, 16.2 seconds behind Tänak.
What To Expect From Rallye Monte-Carlo Day Two
In about 11 hours the second day of Rallye Monte-Carlo will kick off. Drivers will contest 105.72 km across six stages. Drivers will face varying conditions throughout the day, including another night stage to cap off the day. Day two could end with a driver clear in the lead, or a driver leading by a handful of seconds. Anything can happen throughout the days stages.
The Rallye Monte-Carlo shakedown stage has come to an end. Ott Tänak and Nikolay Gryazin topped the stage in their respective classes.
Rally1
Ott Tänak set the fastest time on the first shakedown of the season. Tänak would set a time 0.1 seconds faster than championship rival Elfyn Evans to top the Rallye Monte-Carlo shakedown. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest, 0.7 seconds slower than Evans. 2023 Rallye Monte-Carlo winner Sebastien Ogier posted the fourth fastest time, 0.2 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the shakedown stage, finishing 2.2 seconds slower than Ogier.
WRC2
Nikolay Gryazin topped the Rallye Monte-Carlo shakedown for the WRC2 class. Gryazin would post a time 0.5 seconds faster than last year’s winner Yohan Rossel. Oliver Solberg finished third fastest on the shakedown stage, 1 second slower than Rossel. Pepe Lopez set the fourth fastest time, 2.4 seconds slower than Solberg. Sami Pajari rounded out the top five in the WRC2 class on the shakedown stage, finishing 1.3 seconds slower than Lopez.
What To Expect From Rallye Monte-Carlo Day One
In about 12 hours the first real day of the 2024 World Rally Championship season will kick off. Day one of Rallye Monte-Carlo will see drivers contest two-night stages. These stages total 46.20 km in length. Elfyn Evans will be first on the road tomorrow. As he finished second in the championship last season. Since Kalle Rovanperä won’t be competing this weekend, Evans moves up in the start order. As the reigning champion is supposed to start. At the end of day one’s stages we should get a slight idea of how the event will go. As there’s a lot of time to be gained and lost in 46 km. However, anything can happen as there are still lots of kilometers to race after day one.
The 2024 World Rally Championship season kicks off this weekend with the Rallye Monte-Carlo.
A New Season
Rallye Monte-Carlo will kick off the new World Rally Championship season. Due to this being the first round, there aren’t any championship standings to go over. This means this will be a slightly different preview than the other 12 rounds of the championship. Below I will go over what to expect from the historic event as well as all the teams participating in the event.
Team Rundowns
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team enters the 2024 WRC season as manufacturer champions. They have also won two of the last three Rallye Monte-Carlo’s. With Sebastien Ogier winning both events for the team. Ogier is the favourite to win the event for the 10th time in his career this weekend. However, drivers such as Elfyn Evans, Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak will look to stop him. Nevertheless, Ogier’s experience at the tricky event will likely be what leads him to victory at his home event. Takamoto Katsuta will join Elfyn Evans and Sebastien Ogier this weekend.
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT
Realistically speaking, Hyundai has the only drivers that can challenge Ogier for the win this weekend. As Thierry Neuville won the event in 2020. Ending the domination from Sebastien Ogier and Loeb at the event. Rallye Monte-Carlo will also be Ott Tänak’s first event back in a Hyundai. This comes after the Estonian spent last season with M-Sport Ford. Another driver returning to Hyundai will make their debut this weekend. As reigning WRC2 champion Andreas Mikkelsen will suit up for his first event back with Hyundai this weekend. With a team of Neuville, Tänak and Mikkelsen, Hyundai have a strong contender to Toyota’s trio of drivers.
M-Sport Ford WRT
With all due respect to Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster, don’t expect much out of M-Sport Ford this weekend. Realistically speaking this is Fourmaux’s first event in a Rally1 car since 2022. Sure he contested Forum8 Rally Japan in a Rally1 car last season. However, he had very few stage kilometres in the car before he went off the road and ended his event. As for Munster, this will be his first time in the car competitively since the Central European Rally. Fourmaux and Munster will likely use this weekend’s event to get used to the car. Rather than pushing for a high finish.
Driver Quotes
Jari-Matti Latvala, Team Principal, Toyota
“We have enjoyed some fantastic success over the last few seasons and we naturally hope to continue this in 2024. We expect an even greater challenge and it will be even tougher to claim all the titles. To win the manufacturers’ championship once again will be our primary target, and if we can achieve the drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles too, that would be a really great bonus. Our team is working hard all the time to develop the car through the season and make it an ever-better car. With Rallye Monte-Carlo, we start with one of the most demanding rallies, and I think a good weekend there can really give you a confidence boost. So Elfyn and Taka will be trying to make the best possible starts to their seasons, and it’s always exciting to have Seb driving with us on his home roads where he has been so strong before. We’re also really excited to see the GR Yaris Rally2 in action: after testing we’re feeling confident in the car, but it’s only now in competition that we can really see the level it’s at and gather more feedback for future development.”
Sebastien Ogier, Car 17, Toyota
“I’m happy to be at the start of another season after all these years, and I take this opportunity with both hands. The last couple of years have been good fun with the team and we managed to secure some good results. I think we want to keep going this way as long as we can and that’s the plan for 2024, starting with Rallye Monte-Carlo of course. For me this is a must-do event and there’s a lot of hopes for this first rally. I think it’s the rally that you need to respect more than any other as the conditions can be so challenging, which means that nothing is guaranteed. Numbers are never my main motivation, but if I could get a 10th win on this event it would be something very special.”
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal, Hyundai
“Our goal is to have a clean weekend and maximise the opportunity of the fresh start. It will also be everyone’s first time competing with the updated points-scoring system, which will add a new dynamic to the event.”
Ott Tänak, Car 8, Hyundai
“At the test, the feeling in the car was good and we found a nice rhythm. Our target at the rally is to achieve a podium finish, but of course we will push for the best result possible.”
We are weeks away from the start of the 2024 WRC season. Here are my predictions for the WRC2 class.
Solberg Wins The Championship
Oliver Solberg was arguably the fastest driver in the WRC2 championship. This season he will likely be the fastest again. All Solberg needs to find is the consistency to win. Solberg will make his season debut at the Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month. However, he won’t be scoring points. Solberg’s first points-scoring round will likely be his home event of Rally Sweden. An event that he won last season.
Greensmith Has Another Strong Season
Gus Greensmith finished second in the WRC2 championship last season. He was one of the only drivers to win multiple events last season. Greensmith is expected to have another strong season this year. However, I don’t have him winning the championship this year. For me, the championship is between him, Solberg and Pajari. However, as the previous section says, I have Solberg winning the championship. Greensmith will come close once again but will fall short again.
Pajari Wins The Challenger Championship
Sami Pajari finished third in the WRC2 challenger championship last season. However, Pajari would fall just eight points short of winning the championship. The 2024 WRC season will be Pajari’s second full season in the WRC2 championship. Last year he drove a Skoda Fabia Rally2. This season he will drive a brand new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. This will provide Pajari with a slight challenge to start the year. However, Pajari will use the Rallye Monte-Carlo as an event to get used to the car. He, much like Solberg, won’t be scoring points at the event, and will likely use his first point-scoring round at Rally Sweden next month.
Loubet Shines
Pierre-Louis Loubet has been moved down to the WRC2 category for the 2024 WRC season. This comes after a disappointing 2023 season. It wouldn’t come as much of a surprise to me if Loubet had a strong showing in the WRC2 championship this season. I don’t have him contending for the championship. However, I have him finishing fourth in the championship this season. Loubet will not contest the Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month. Loubet has previously won at the WRC2 level. However, that was some years ago.
Lindholm Bounces Back
Emil Lindholm had a disappointing 2023 season after winning the WRC2 championship in 2022. Lindholm spent part of the year driving a Skoda under Toksport, and the other part driving a Hyundai under Hyundai. Lindholm showed pace in the i20 Rally2. However, he didn’t win any events in the car. I have Lindholm finishing fifth in the championship this season. Which is four spots above where he finished last year.
Citroen Has A Down Year
Citroen was the only team besides Skoda to win an event in the WRC2 championship. However, I don’t see them doing as well this year. Last year Yohan Rossel finished third in the championship. I can’t see that happening again. As Toyota and Skoda are projected to dominate the class. A Citroen will still likely top a couple of events, but I can’t see either Rossel or Gryazin finishing high in the championship this season.
M-Sport Goes Winless Again
M-Sport was the only team besides Volkswagen to not win an event in the WRC2 class last season. A team of Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster just didn’t get it done in the class. Fourmaux led Rally Italia Sardegna heading into the Powerstage. However, the slick conditions resulted in Fourmaux going off the road and ending his event. Who will drive for M-Sport in the class is unknown at this time. Which makes predicting this slightly harder. However, I’m assuming they won’t have a contender to win at events.
Earlier this week it was revealed that Emil Lindholm would once again drive a Rally2 Hyundai in WRC2.
Sticking With Hyundai
2022 WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm will once again drive a Hyundai i20 Rally2 this season. Lindholm was rumored to be moving on from Hyundai. To join M-Sport for a Rally1 drive. However, that didn’t happen so Lindholm stayed with the Korean manufacturer. Teemu Suninen is expected to join Lindholm as the other WRC2 driver this season. However, Suninen has also been involved in rumors about leaving Hyundai.
Lindholm’s 2023 Season
Emil Lindholm had a down year last season. Failing to win an event after winning the championship the year before. Lindholm’s highest finish in 2023 was second overall at Rally Sweden. That was when he was with Skoda. Lindholm began the season in a Toksport backed Skoda Fabia Rally2. He would join Hyundai before Rally Estonia. The 27-year-old driver showed decent pace in the i20 Rally2. Challenging for the win at his home event in Finland. Which came after he challenged for the win at his first event in the car, Rally Estonia. Lindholm ultimately finished third in Estonia and 13th in Finland. With a suspension issue forcing Lindholm out of Rally Finland temporarily.
What To Expect
Emil Lindholm will make his season debut at the same event as last season, Rally Sweden. Lindholm will likely challenge for the event win. However, he may take some time to get back up to pace as it’ll be his first event in the car since the Central European Rally. Lindholm will have to shake off any rust quickly, as drivers such as Oliver Solberg, Sami Pajari, Mikko Heikklä among others will be looking for the event win as well. As far as Lindholm’s schedule goes, it’s unknown at this point. It’s almost certain that he’ll contest his home event of Rally Finland. Other than that everything is unknown. Nevertheless, Lindholm will be chasing not only the WRC2 championship, but also a Rally1 drive for next season.
Earlier this week it was announced that William Creighton will join M-Sport for the upcoming season. Find out more below.
Moving Up
William Creighton won the Junior WRC Championship last season. Yesterday the Junior WRC entry list was announced and Creighton’s name was absent. This was expected however. As for the most part drivers who win or do well in the Junior Championship move into WRC2 cars the year after. Creighton has previously driven a WRC2 car. Having driven a Hyundai i20 for the Motorsport Ireland Academy team at the 2023 running of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Creighton is the first driver confirmed to drive a Rally2 Fiesta for the team this season. It’s expected more will be announced before Rally Sweden next month. Creighton will make his season debut at Rally Sweden. From there it’s unknown what events the young Irish star will contest.
What To Expect From Creighton
William Creighton probably won’t be winning Rally Sweden. That’s expected, as it’ll be only his second event in the car. However, closer to the year’s end he’ll probably take a step on the podium a couple times. As he has the skill and talent too. He just needs to find his footing in the Fiesta before worrying about podiums or event wins.
Who Could Join Creighton
If M-Sport were announcing a second driver for Rally Sweden they probably would’ve done it at the same time they announced Creighton. 2022 JWRC champion Robert Virves comes to mind as a driver that could join Creighton. Virves drove a Fiesta Rally2 last season. Meaning he has experience in the car. Another driver that comes to mind is Martin Sesks who finished second in the European Rally Championship last season. Both Virves and Sesks would be strong choices for M-Sport. However, it’s all just speculation at this point.
We are weeks away from the start of the 2024 WRC season. Here are my predictions.
Tänak Wins The Championship
Ott Tänak is one of the three drivers expected to win the 2024 WRC Drivers’ Championship. I’d be surprised if Tänak didn’t beat Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans to win his second championship. Tänak is the only former World Champion contesting a full season. His previous championship experience is what puts him over the edge for me. He knows what it takes to win. It’s just up to Hyundai to give him a car that can compete with Evans Toyota.
Toyota Wins The Manufacturers Championship
If I’m being completely honest, Toyota is probably the favorite to win the Manufacturers’ Championship again. Even if Tänak wins the championship, I still can’t see Hyundai winning the Manufacturers’ championship. Why? It comes down to the other drivers. A trio of Sordo, Mikkelsen and Lappi isn’t as good as a duo of Ogier and Rovanperä. Sure Hyundai has the better second driver in Neuville, compared to Katsuta for Toyota. Nevertheless, the duo of Ogier and Rovanperä will likely win, or finish within the top five at every event they contest. Don’t get me wrong, Sordo, Mikkelsen and Lappi are all good drivers, but they aren’t better than two drivers who have 10 World Championships between them.
Katsuta Wins His First
Takamoto Katsuta has yet to take the top step of the podium at the top level. I feel as if this will be the season he finally takes that leap. He’s Toyota’s second full-time driver this season and is a talented driver. He just hasn’t been able to do it yet. He came close at the 2023 running of Forum8 Rally Japan, however a spin and subsequent damage ended those hopes. If Katsuta were to win an event it’ll probably be his home event of Forum8 Rally Japan.
Rovanperä Wins More Events Than Evans
Kalle Rovanperä has moved into a part-time role for the upcoming season. However, I don’t think that’ll stop him from winning more events than his teammate Elfyn Evans. Rovanperä is the best driver in the championship, there’s no denying that. At the events he competes at he will be one of the front runners. I have Rovanperä pencilled in to win over 75% of the rounds he contests. This is more than what I have Evans to win.
Lappi Wins His Second Event
Esapekka Lappi has moved into a part-time role with Hyundai for the 2024 WRC season after he contested a full 2023 season. Lappi has only won a single event so far in his career. I have a feeling he’ll take his second career win this season. Which event that’ll be at I don’t know. However, Lappi showed good pace in the Hyundai last season and was on pace to win Rally Mexico before he hit a power pole.
M-Sport Has At Least Three Podiums
It’s no secret that the M-Sport Ford WRT doesn’t have a championship-calibre driver, no offence to Fourmaux or Munster. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the duo managed to finish on the podium a couple of times this season. Munster is really good on tarmac. Something he proved at the Central European Rally this past season. Fourmaux wasn’t bad on rough gravel either. Nearly winning the WRC2 class at Rally Italia Sardegna. The rallies the M-Sport will podium at is something I won’t try to predict.
Pierre-Louis Loubet has announced his plans for the 2024 WRC season. Find them out below.
Moving Down To WRC2
Pierre-Louis Loubet has been moved down to the WRC2 class for the 2024 season. This comes after he had a very disappointing 2023 season with M-Sport. Out of the 12 events Loubet contested, he only finished 5 events without restarting. Loubet didn’t really have any standout moments in 2023. He had a decent showing in 2022, which is why he got a full-time drive last season. However, between the reliability of the Puma Rally1 and Loubet making mistakes he didn’t have the best season.
Joining Skoda
Pierre-Louis Loubet will drive a Skoda Fabia Rally2 for the 2024 WRC2 season. Loubet is hoping this step down will help him find what got him a top-level drive in the first place. Loubet won the 2019 WRC2 championship before joining 2C competition for the 2020 season and getting a drive in a Hyundai i20 WRC. The Frenchman spent two seasons with 2C, only managing two top-10 finishes. Loubet has the talent to be a top-level driver, he just hasn’t found much luck.
Loubet will be joined by Oliver Solberg and Gus Greensmith. Both Solberg and Greensmith have previously driven Rally1 cars. Greensmith was Loubet’s teammate in 2022 and Solberg drove for Hyundai. Both Solberg and Greensmith were moved down to WRC2 after the 2022 season for the same reasons as Loubet. Nevertheless, all three should be good drivers for Skoda and should give them a good chance at winning another championship.
What Events Will Loubet Do?
The full list of events that Pierre-Louis Loubet will compete at is unknown currently. Loubet won’t contest Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month. He is expected to make his season debut at Rally Sweden however. From there he will likely contest one or both of Rally Italia Sardegna and Rally Vodafone De Portugal.
Earlier this week Gus Greensmith confirmed his plans for the 2024 WRC season.
Sticking With Skoda
Gus Greensmith will once again drive for Skoda this upcoming season. Greensmith finished second in the WRC2 championship last season. Greensmith was demoted to WRC2 at the end of the 2022 season. After a poor performance with M-Sport forced the team to drop the British star. The 27-year-old will once again be joined by Oliver Solberg this season. Greensmith is expected to make his season debut at Rally Sweden. As he is not contesting Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month. Last season Greensmith debuted at Rally Mexico. An event in which Greensmith topped the class.
What To Expect From Greensmith
Gus Greensmith is arguably the favorite to win the 2024 WRC2 championship. As he finished second in the championship last season, and Andreas Mikkelsen, who won the championship is no longer contesting the championship. Greensmith will have to fend off the likes of Oliver Solberg, Yohan Rossel and Sami Pajari who are also championship favorites. Greensmith won’t have an easy time achieving his goal of becoming WRC2 champion. Nevertheless, he will give it his all. Just like every other driver. Greensmith won two out of the seven events he contested last season. He will likely win the same amount or more this season.
What Events Will Greensmith Do?
Gus Greensmith has yet to reveal his full schedule for the upcoming season. However, he is expected to make his season debut at Rally Sweden next month. From there he will likely do Rally Vodafone De Portugal. After that, nothing is really expected. Greensmith will likely contest most of the European rounds and one of the non-European rounds. That lone round will likely be Rally Chile BioBio. The same round he chose to do outside of Europe last season.