GAP, FRANCE – The 94th Rallye Monte-Carlo bared its teeth on Friday, delivering a classic day of Alpine carnage that saw Oliver Solberg tighten his vice-like grip on the leaderboard while his rivals faltered in treacherous conditions. What began as a snow-covered morning loop descended into a foggy, slush-filled nightmare by late afternoon, claiming victims among the sport’s elite and reshuffling the top ten in dramatic fashion. “It’s been another really incredible day and I’m very happy. The goal was to try and stay consistent and avoid problems. We did have one slow puncture but the rest has been really good. This afternoon was more about trying to survive. In the first one we could still be fastest, and then when it got dark it was a bit too risky to push. There was also a lot of mud being further back on the road, and having to do big cuts in those conditions for the first time with this car. So there’s still a lot of learning going on, and still a crazy long way to go" said Solberg.
Toyota’s new golden boy, Oliver Solberg, defied his lack of Rally1 asphalt experience, mastering the changing grip levels to extend his lead to over a minute. While Solberg danced through the danger, his teammates were left fighting for survival. Reigning champion Sébastien Ogier and Welshman Elfyn Evans traded blows for second place, with Evans ending the day just 6.5 seconds ahead of the Frenchman, locking out a provisional Toyota 1-2-3.
The afternoon loop, particularly the final run through La-Bâtie-des-Fonts, proved disastrous for Hyundai. Thierry Neuville, running fourth, slid wide into a snow-filled ditch on SS9. "Zero confidence, zero," the Belgian had muttered earlier, and his day worsened as he lost three agonizing minutes while fans frantically pushed his i20 N back onto the tarmac. He plummeted to fifth overall.
Adrien Fourmaux fared little better, battling a bizarre mix of weather and fan interference. "There is quite a lot of fog... and the spectators put a lot of smoke," Fourmaux vented after dropping five minutes. "I went in the ditch without seeing where I was." Meanwhile, Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta endured a "disaster" of a day, suffering two punctures in the morning before clattering a bank in the slush and losing power steering, tumbling down to 12th.
As crews returned to Gap, the service park was abuzz with tales of near-misses, but for M-Sport’s Jon Armstrong, survival was the only victory; the Irishman gritted his teeth to hold an impressive sixth overall amidst the chaos.
Overall Standings After Day 2 (SS9)
- Oliver Solberg (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)
- Elfyn Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1:08.4
- Sébastien Ogier (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1:14.9
- Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5:05.2
- Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +6:05.3
- Jon Armstrong (Ford Puma Rally1) +7:18.8
- Hayden Paddon (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +8:45.1
- Léo Rossel (Citroën C3 Rally2) +9:12.0
- Eric Camilli (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +9:35.5
- Nikolay Gryazin (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF) +9:58.2
Report: Neil McDaid
