The third day of Rallye Monte-Carlo has come to an end. Nikolay Grayzin retained his lead on the day.
SS9, Esparron – Oze 1
Pepe López kicked off the penultimate day of Rallye Monte-Carlo with a stage win. As the Spaniard posted a time 0.2 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to top the stage. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 6.5 seconds slower than Gryazin. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.5 seconds slower than Rossel. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, 15.4 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS10, Les Nonières – Chichilianne 1
Nikolay Grayzin took home his first stage win of the day on the second stage of the day. Posting a time 2.9 seconds faster than Pepe López. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than López. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 12.2 seconds slower than Rossel. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, 9.9 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS11, Pellafol – Agnières-en-Dévoluy 1
Yohan Rossel topped the final stage of the morning loop. Setting a time 1.8 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to top his first of the weekend. Pepe López finished third fastest on the stage, 1.9 seconds slower than Grayzin. Niclas Ciamin posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 8.1 seconds slower than López. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage once again, finishing 4.8 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS12, Esparron – Oze 2
Pepe López kicked off the afternoon loop with a stage win. Setting a time 6.4 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to top the stage. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 4.4 seconds slower than Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin posted the fourth fastest time on the stage 0.9 seconds slower than Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.3 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS13, Les Nonières – Chichilianne 2
Yohan Rossel topped the penultimate stage of the third day of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Posting a time 2.8 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin. Pepe López finished third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Gryazin. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 16.1 seconds slower than López. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.4 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS14, Pellafol – Agnières-en-Dévoluy 2
Yohan Rossel took home his second consecutive stage win to cap off the day. With the Frenchman posting a time 0.5 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to top the stage. Pepe López finished third fastest on the stage, 4.4 seconds slower than Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 15.7 seconds slower than López. Nicolas Ciamin rounded out the top five on the stage, 5.9 seconds slower than Lefebvre.
The second day of Rallye Monte-Carlo has come to an end. Nikolay Grayzin took the WRC2 class lead after the day.
SS3, St-Léger-Les-Mélèzes – La Bâtie-Neuve 1
Nikolay Gryazin kicked off the second day with a stage win. As the Bulgarian posted a time 0.7 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to top the stage. Stephen Lefebvre finished third fastest on the stage, 12 seconds slower than Rossel. Pepe López set the fourth fastest time, 3.4 seconds slower than Lefebvre. Nicolas Ciamin rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.2 seconds slower than López.
SS4, Champcella – Saint-Clément 1
Pepe López took his first stage win of the second day on SS4. With the Spaniard posting a time 0.5 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to top the fourth stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 13.9 seconds slower than Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.1 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS5, La Bréole – Selonnet 1
Pepe López ended the morning loop with a stage win. Setting a time 0.2 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to top the stage. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 1 second slower than Rossel. Chris Ingram posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 17.9 seconds slower than Gryazin. Nicolas Ciamin rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.2 seconds slower than Ingram.
SS6, St-Léger-Les-Mélèzes – La Bâtie-Neuve 2
Nikolay Gryazin kicked off the afternoon loop of Rallye Monte-Carlo day two with a stage win. As Gryazin posted a time 0.6 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to win his second stage of the day. Pepe López finished third fastest on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Rossel. Stephane Lefebvre set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 5.8 seconds slower than López. Nicolas Ciamin rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Lefebvre
SS7, Champcella – Saint-Clément 2
Pepe López took home his third stage win of the second day on SS7. Posting a time 2.1 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel on the stage. Nikolay Grayzin finished third fastest on the stage, 3.5 seconds slower than Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.4 seconds slower than Gryazin. Jan Solans rounded out the top five on the seventh stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo stage, 11 seconds slower than Ciaminz
SS8, La Bréole – Selonnet 2
Nikolay Gryazin ended the second day with a stage win. As the Citroen driver set a time 4.3 seconds faster than Yohan Rosssl on the stage. Pepe López finished third fastest on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 14.9 seconds slower than López. Jan Solans rounded out the top five on the stage, 9.2 seconds slower than Ciamin.
Overall After Rallye Monte-Carlo Day Two
Nikolay Gryazin heads into the third day of the event in the WRC2 class lead. However, it is worth noting that Gryazin did receive a minute and 50-second penalty for being late to a time control. However, that time hasn’t been added to Gryazin’s time at the end of SS8. If the penalty is removed Gryazin will take a 1.3 second lead over Pepe López into the penultimate day. Yohan Rossel sits third, 4.9 seconds behind López. Nicolas Ciamin sits far back in fourth. As the Frenchman sits 1 minute and 48.3 seconds behind Rossel. Stephane Lefebvre rounds out the top five, sitting another minute and 9.3 seconds behind Ciamin.
What To Expect From Rallye Monte-Carlo Day Three
The penultimate day of Rallye Monte-Carlo is set to be a good one. As Evans, Ogier and Neuville will battle for the event lead, and maximum points to end Saturday. Tänak will look to fend off Fourmaux, who has been on a heater. Tänak will have to rely on Sunday’s new points system to regain points lost. Day three will see drivers contest 120.40 km across 6 stages. Leaving lots of room for time to be gained and lost for the drivers.
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 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.
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.
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.
Earlier this week rumors began to circulate about a return to the WRC for Lancia. Find out more below.
The Rumour
Earlier this week an article was put out linking Lanica to a WRC return. This came from Lanica’s parent company, Stellantis. Stellantis also owns brands like Citroen, Fiat, and Dodge among others. The reason Stellantis is interested in a WRC return for Lancia is to help revive the brand. Lancia hasn’t produced any notable vehicles since the 90’s. Stellantis wants that to change. In their eyes, they want to revive the brand by doing the same thing that made the brand notable in the first place. There isn’t much to go off of with this rumor. It sounds like Lancia will start development of the new car this year. While it’s expected to be used in 2025 at the earliest.
Why A Return Makes Sense
Lancia could be Citroen’s replacement in the WRC2 class, and potentially become the fourth manufacturer in the top class. Citroen only has a couple of seasons of use remaining in the C3. Before the car’s homologation runs out. Citroen going out of the WRC would be unfortunate. As the manufacturer is one of the most successful in the WRC. Unfortunately, Stellanois doesn’t seem interested in having two manufacturers under their control compete.
A History In The WRC
Lancia is probably the second most iconic manufacturer in WRC history, behind Subaru. As Lanica helped make the WRC become what we know today. Before the Lancia Stratos, rally cars were often just slightly modified road cars. The Stratos was the first car designed specifically for rally. The Stratos went on to become one of the most legendary cars in WRC history. Winning Lancia three consecutive Manufacturers championships from 1974-1976.
From 1977-1981 Lancia was absent from the WRC. However, in 1982 the brand would return to start the Group B era. Lancia would return with the brand new and legendary 037 rally car. This rear-wheel drive beast won the 1983 manufacturers championship. However, in 1985 an issue with the 037 would become apparent. The car was rear-wheel drive while the likes of Audi and Peaugot were running all-wheel drive cars. To counter this Lanica built a brand new car, the Lancia Delta S4.
The Delta S4 was both supercharged and turbocharged, giving it a load of power. However, all that power came at a cost, the car was difficult to control. Nevertheless, with Henri Toivonen behind the wheel, the Delta S4 won its first two events and would’ve won the third if it wasn’t for an engine issue. The Delta S4 went on to win two more events in 1986, including the Olympus Rally, the final event of the Group B era.