

Frenchman triumphs on the WRC’s season opener for a record-extending tenth time.
Sébastien Ogier has as soon as once more made motorsport historical past, securing a record-extending tenth victory on the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo, the opening spherical of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship.
Piloting a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, Ogier triumphed by an 18.5-second margin over teammate Elfyn Evans after an intense remaining day by the French Alps.
Sunday’s Excessive-Stakes Drama
The rally’s decisive leg introduced unpredictable circumstances that examined drivers’ methods. Ogier and Evans gambled on a mixed-tyre setup of studded Hankooks and super-soft slicks, an strategy that labored on icy roads however proved difficult on the drier penultimate stage.
Adrien Fourmaux, debuting with Hyundai, capitalized on his full-slick tyre selection throughout this stage, setting the quickest time and briefly threatening the rostrum order. Nevertheless, icy circumstances on the ultimate Wolf Energy Stage leveled the sphere. Ogier seized the chance, claiming one other stage win, whereas Evans fended off Fourmaux’s late cost by simply 7.5 seconds regardless of a near-miss with a rock face.
Ogier’s Reflections
“What a weekend,” Ogier mentioned. “I really feel like my fortunate star was with me, particularly my uncle, who we misplaced a 12 months in the past. This victory is for him. Whether or not that is my final Monte-Carlo stays to be seen, however it could be an important place to cease.”
Additional Down the Subject
The treacherous circumstances wreaked havoc past the rostrum battle. Toyota’s Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta, together with M-Sport Ford’s Grégoire Munster, suffered off-road incidents throughout Sunday’s levels.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak misplaced fourth place to Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä attributable to a tyre miscalculation, ending simply 4.7 seconds behind. Defending champion Thierry Neuville endured a sequence of setbacks, together with suspension injury, a deflated tyre, and electrical points, finally ending sixth.
M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean impressed with a seventh-place end in his Rally1 debut, whereas Yohan Rossel’s dominant WRC2 efficiency earned him an early championship lead.
Trying Forward
The WRC now heads to Sweden for its sole pure winter spherical, set to happen in Umeå from February 13–16.
Rallye Monte-Carlo Remaining Classification:
- S. Ogier / V. Landais (Toyota GR Yaris) – 3h 19m 6.1s
- E. Evans / S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris) +18.5s
- A. Fourmaux / A. Coria (Hyundai i20 N) +26.0s
- Okay. Rovanperä / J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris) +54.3s
- O. Tänak / M. Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N) +59.0s
- T. Neuville / M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N) +5m 44.6s
Drivers’ Championship Standings (After Spherical 1):
- S. Ogier – 33 factors
- E. Evans – 26 factors
- A. Fourmaux – 20 factors
Producers’ Championship Standings (After Spherical 1):
- Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT – 60 factors
- Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT – 36 factors
- M-Sport Ford WRT – 11 factors
Supply: WRC
This text was crafted with help from Chatgpt
