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Razgatlioglu unbeatable as frantic final day of Portimao testing closes: WorldSBK
Heading to Phillip Island as the man to beat, Toprak Razgatlioglu pips Scott Redding whilst Loris Baz impresses to make for an unpredictable opening event…
Razgatlioglu tops SBK testing on Monday in Portimao. A WorldSBK image Portimao, 27 Jan 2020: The final day of 2020 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship testing from Portimao has ended with a flurry of action taking place at the rollercoaster venue. Despite numerous incidents bringing out several red flags, nothing and nobody could stop Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK official team) from hitting the top of the standings in Portugal, with Yamaha’s new recruit the man to beat heading to Australia.
Beavering away frantically in the last testing day before jetting off to Phillip Island in Australia, it was Pata Yamaha WorldSBK official team who featured prominently on the final day. Toprak Razgatlioglu was on top at lunch as he worked his way towards a better front end set up, whilst also adapting his style towards the 2020 R1 Yamaha. He set quick laps on both of his bikes to finishing top overall, whilst teammate Michael van der Mark was also right up at the sharp end too, placing fourth and looking to conserve tyre life more ahead of Phillip Island.
Having led the way on day one at Portimao, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) placed at the front again, saving his pace until the final ten minutes to initially deny Loris Baz top spot, before being pipped himself by Turkish star Razgatlioglu. Redding focussed on tyre life and especially grip, with Portimao offering the perfect opportunity to do so ahead of the equally as fast Phillip Island, with the Brit second overall. Teammate Chaz Davies was outside of the top ten in the later afternoon, eventually ending in fifth after a late charge.
At Jerez, he was quick but Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was a stand-out performer at Portimao, proving that the wet weather in the south of Spain was absolutely no fluke. The 26-year-old was right on the money in Portugal and continued his back-to-back testing with the 2019 and 2020 Yamahas. He was third at the end of testing, with fellow Independent Yamaha riders Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) and his teammate Garrett Gerloff impressing in ninth and tenth respectively.
There were more positives for the HRC Team, who continued their work, keeping their cards close to their chest throughout Portuguese testing. Leon Haslam once again led the charge from the Japanese manufacturer, setting a faster lap time than he managed throughout racing action at Portimao to go sixth. Alvaro Bautista was less prominent and was down in 15th place ahead of the trip to Australia in a few weeks’ time.
German manufacturer BMW were inside the top five at Portimao on the second day, with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) enjoying plenty of positives at Portimao. Sykes was relentless and was continuing to focus on set-up, whilst Laverty enjoyed an incident-free day on day two. Sykes was seventh, whilst Laverty concluded his action in eighth.
Outside of the top ten, there were plenty of positives carried forward for Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven) in 11th, whilst Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) was 12th. Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 13th ahead of Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance), whilst Sandro Cortese (Barni Racing Team) was 16th, having suffered a crash at Turn 7 this morning.
WorldSBK Portimão Test Day Two Unofficial Times: 1.) Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK official team) 1’40.804
2.) Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.079
3.) Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.190
4.) Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK official team) +0.622
5.) Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.795
6.) Leon Haslam (HRC Team) +0.851 -
Hattrick of National titles in Junior Supercross for Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh: MRF Mogrip Nationals
Sachin D (#40) winner of Indian Experts Class flanked by 2nd placed Rajendra (#31) and Kalimohan (#72) at Pune on Sunday. Madhusudhan of MRF is on the right. An INDIAinF1 photo By David Bodapati
Pune, 26 Jan 2020: Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh was crowned the Junior Supercross National champion for the third year running as he dominated the proceedings once again winning both the motos in two classes. He was also declared as the Best Rider of the Race as the sixth and final round of the MRF Mogrip National Supercross Championship 2019 promoted by Godspeed Racing under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) concluded here on Sunday.
The 15-year old Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh of Ajmera Racing won the first Moto in the premier Foreign Open class beating veteran rider CD Jinan of TVS Racing while Jinan’s teammate Rugved Barguje ended up third. In the second Moto too, Yuvraj dominated the race and won but it was Rugved who was in the second this time with Jinan relegated to third place.
Astride a KTM 250, Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh also won both the Motos in the Class 8 Junior Supercross 1 to steal the day’s honours. Now the Pune youngster will be back to the studyroom with exams looming large from Jan 29.
Sachin D brought some relief to the TVS Racing camp winning the Class 5, Indian Experts Class C beating teammates Rajendra RE and Imran Pasha to second and third positions respectively.
“I am really thrilled to win the Rider of the Day. I won both motos in both the Foregin Open and the Junior classes. I am grateful to my sponsors Racing India, Mountain Dew, Go Pro and especially I thank my parents and friends and all those who supported me,’’ said a visibly pleased Yuvraj.
With the Pune leg, the MRF Mogrip Supercross Nationals 2019, the biggest off-road two-wheeler Nationals, came to an end. The previous five rounds of the season were held in Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Baroda, Nashik and Goa.
Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh photo courtesy FB @yuvrajmotocross Provisional results (Round 6 in Pune):
Class 1: SX-I foreign open class (up to 250 CC/500 CC): 1. Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh (Ajmera Racing) 40 Points; 2. Rugved Barguje (TVS Racing) 32; 3. CD Jinan (TVS Racing) 32; 4. Mahesh VM (Thrissur) 24; 5. Prithvi Dhillon (Chandigarh) 23.
Class 2: Novice Group C (up to 260 CC, Moto 1): 1. M Kali Mohan (TVS Racing) 20; 2. Sachin D (TVS Racing) 17; 3. RE Rajendra (TVS Racing) 15; 4.Banteilang Jyrwa (TVS Racing) 13; 5. Sabrish R (Coimbatore) 11.
Class 4: Local class (up to 260 CC, Moto 1): 1. Pinkesh Thakkar 20; 2. Lokesh Bhosale 17; 3. Nikhil Kamthe 15; 4. Prasad Ghorpade (Kolhapur) 13; 5. Shivam Kamble 11. (all others from Pune).
Class 5: Indian Experts Class C (up to 260 CC): 1. Sachin D (TVS Racing) 20; 2. RE Rajendra (TVS Racing) 17; 3. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing) 15; 4. M Kalimohan (TVS Racing) 13; 5. Banteilang Jyrwa (TVS Racing) 11.
Class 6: Private experts (up to 260 cc): 1. R Sabrish (Coimbatore) 20; 2. Ankush Rao (Goa) 17; 3. Shivam Kamble (Pune) 15; 4. Pinkesh Thakkar (Pune) 13; 5. Bhushen Bhosale (Kolhapur) 11.
Class 7: SX-2 (up to 250 cc): 1. Prithvi Dhillion (Chandigarh) 40; 2. VM Mahesh (Thrissur) 34; 3. Zabi Mulla (Goa) 30; 4. Tanika Shanbhag (Satara) 23; 5. Pravith P (Ernakulam) 20.
Class 8: JR SX-1 (up to 250 cc): 1. Yuvraj Konde Deshmukjh (Ajmera Racing) 40; 2. Gaurang Naik (Pune) 28; 3. Ishan Shanbhag (Satara) 28; 4. Sarthka Chavan (Pune) 25; 5. Tanika Shanbhag (Satara) 24.
Class 9: JR X-2 (up to 250 cc): 1. Ikshan Shanbhag (Satara) 40; 2. Shlok Ghorpade (Satara) 34; 3. Jinendra Sangave (Ichalka Racing) 30; 4. Akshat Huple (Pune) 26; 5. Abhimanu Bose (Goa) 21.
Best Rider of the Race: Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh
All photographs for INDIAinF1 by Special Arrangment with Mr Sandeep Konde Deshmukh, Pune.
And the BIG trophy, the best rider of the event
Yuvraj in action on Sunday
Takes the chequered flag with a big jump
All photos by arrangement with Sandeep KondeDeshmukh for INDIAinF1
Trophy for the Moto 2 victory
MRF’s Madhusudhan awarding the best rider trophy -
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul take first Rallye Monte-Carlo win
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul receive the trophy after winning the Monte Carlo Rally, the first round of the WRC on Sunday. Photo: Fabien Dufour /Hyundai Motorsport GmbH Monte Carlo, 26 Jan 2020: Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul have triumphed on Rallye Monte-Carlo for the first time, after winning all the stages on the final day: including the rally-closing Power Stage – which awarded the Belgian pair five additional championship points – by a margin of just 0.016 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier.
The duo only moved into the lead again on Sunday morning, having been fastest after the two Thursday night stages that opened the rally. In total, Neuville claimed nine of the sixteen Monte-Carlo stages this year – to snatch the victory by just 12.6 seconds. Behind them, the Toyota crews of Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans were separated by less than two seconds at the finish in second and third respectively.
Evans and Ogier had both led throughout Friday and Saturday, but Neuville gained more confidence in his set-up and pace notes throughout Saturday and his two rivals dropped time – especially during the repeated Col de Turini stages on Sunday, which was characterised by black ice.
Ogier only overhauled his team mate on the very last stage, claiming four extra championship points for second-fastest time on the Power Stage. In the end though, all three podium finishers were separated by less than 15 seconds after 304 competitive kilometres, showing how close the margins had been throughout the most famous event on the World Rally Championship calendar.
Neuville now leads the drivers’ championship by eight points from Ogier, while Hyundai has a two-point advantage over Toyota in the manufacturers’ standings.
On Sunday morning, M-Sport’s new recruit Esapekka Lappi passed Monte legend Sébastien Loeb for fourth. Due to a wrong choice of tyres for Sunday as he thought that it would rain, the Frenchman first went briefly off on worn tyres.
The problem continued to affect him on the final loop of stages, which made him loose another position to the promising Kalle Rovanperä, who finished his first event with a World Rally Car in fifth, behind Lappi.
Both Finns said that they were learning more about their new cars, with Lappi’s progress having been hampered by mechanical problems on Thursday night.
In seventh, more than six minutes behind Loeb, was Toyota protégé Takamoto Katsuta, completing his first Rallye Monte-Carlo in a World Rally Car. The Japanese driver finished in front of the M-Sport factory Fiesta WRC of Teemu Suninen, eighth overall after being badly affected by the same overheating problems as Lappi on Thursday night. Third place on the Power Stage was a good consolation for Suninen, with three extra championship points.
Two Citroën C3 R5 cars completed the top 10 in Monaco, with the privateer Eric Camilli winning the FIA WRC 3 class, ahead of PH Sport’s factory driver Mads Østberg, the FIA WRC 2 winner in 10th overall.
2020 Rallye Monte-Carlo – Final Official Results
1. Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 10min 57.6sec 2. Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 11min 10.2sec 3. Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 11min 11.9sec 4. Esapekka Lappi (FIN) / Janne Ferm (FIN) Citroën C3 WRC 3hr 14min 06.6sec 5. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN) / Jonne Halttunen (FIN) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 15min 14.8sec 6. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (MNC) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 16min 02.3sec 7. Takamoto Katsuta (JAP) / Daniel Barritt (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 22min 25.5sec 8. Teemu Suninen (FIN) / Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 24min 28.0sec 9. Eric Camilli (FRA) / F. Buresi (FRA) – FIA WRC3 Citroën C3 3hr 24min 39.8sec 10. Mads Østberg (NOR) / T. Eriksen (NOR) – FIA WRC 2 Citroën C3 3hr 25min 19.4sec -
Elfyn Evans of Toyota reclaims lead in the Monte Carlo WRC round
Monte Carlo action Photo MSport Ford Gap (France), 25 Jan 2020: Today’s itinerary on Rallye Monte-Carlo contains the longest road distance but a comparatively short 75-kilometre competitive distance, featuring two identical loops of two stages split by the midday service in Gap before the crews make their way down to Monaco in the evening. Because of the icy conditions, most drivers chose studded tyres to ensure maximum grip.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, who led most of the action on Friday before losing the lead to his team mate Sébastien Ogier on the final stage yesterday, reclaimed the top position on the second stage this morning, thanks to a time that was 7.6 seconds faster than his closed rival.
After extending slightly his overnight lead on the first stage this morning, Ogier dropped to second after the incredible run from Evans. The Frenchman is now 4.8 seconds off the lead with two stages to run this afternoon.
Thierry Neuville won the opening stage of the day but couldn’t match the pace on the following tests. The Hyundai i20 Coupe driver ended Saturday morning in third place, 16.6sec behind the flying Welshman.
Neuville’s team-mate Sébastien Loeb maintained a lonely fourth, now more than a minute and a half behind the leader. Loeb tried to save his tyres in the first part of the stage but said that he
probably slowed down too much.He’s now coming under threat from M-Sport’s Esapekka Lappi, now within 35 seconds of the Frenchman, while Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä continued his solid progress in sixth overall on
his World Rally Car debut.In seventh, more than six minutes behind, is the FIA WRC3 leader Eric Camilli with his privately-run R5 Citroën, going from strength to strength.
Unlike yesterday, this morning’s action featured a classic Monte weather in the mountains around Gap, with black ice on the road causing hazardous road conditions for the competitors. One of the victims was Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, who lost three minutes when he spun and hit a snow bank on SS9, dropping down to eight overall behind Camilli.
Frenchman Nicolas Ciamin is ninth overall in another Citroën C3 R5, while Norway’s Mads Ostberg is 10th, leading FIA WRC 2 in an identical factory-entered car.
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Elfyn Evans sets the pace in Monte Carlo; Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja safe after a heavy crash
Elfyn Evans takes the lead on Friday in the Monte Carlo WRC round. An FIA image Gap (France), 24 Jan 2020: Elfyn Evans snatched the Rallye Monte-Carlo lead from Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville after dominating Friday morning’s loop of three stages around Gap, while reigning World Rally Champion Ott Tänak crashed out.
Tänak’s crash was the biggest drama of this first full day of action, when the Estonian rolled his i20 Coupe WRC halfway through SS4 as he was challenging for a top three position. He and his co-driver Martin Järveoja got out of the car on their own following the incident and were taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
Tänak’s team mate Neuville had led after yesterday’s opening pair of night stages but the Belgian was overhauled this morning by Toyota’s debutant Evans, who led by 8.9 seconds as the cars reached the midday service, having won all three Friday morning stages.
The asphalt was generally dry and clean, with none of the snow seen on SS2 yesterday, although some crews were affected by rain during the final stage this morning.
Neuville still managed to keep pace with Evans and finished Friday morning in second, while Sébastien Ogier is less than a second behind in third on his first rally with a Toyota. The local hero is ahead of another well-known Rallye Monte-Carlo master, Sébastien Loeb, who however is more than 30 seconds further back. Ogier promised that he had more in hand but was just concentrating on finding out more about his new Yaris WRC today.
This makes two Toyotas and two Hyundais in the top four so far, while their closest challenger is Esapekka Lappi in fifth, driving M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta. Lappi recovered from the overheating issues that were affecting all the Fiestas yesterday but still didn’t feel so confident. His team mate Gus Greensmith was another retirement after going off the road on the first stage this morning.
M-Sport’s third factory driver Teemu Suninen is still in the rally, albeit far down the order in 22nd position.
In sixth and seventh overall are two young Toyota drivers, with 19-year-old Kalle Rovanperä leading the team’s Japanese protégé Takamoto Katsuta, who will complete a partial WRC learning programme this year.
They are classified ahead of Eric Camilli, the FIA WRC3 leader – and fastest non World Rally Car – in eighth overall.
He leads the R5 contingent ahead of FIA WRC2 leader Ole-Christian Veiby, officially representing Hyundai in ninth overall with the NG i20. Frenchman Nicolas Ciamin rounds out the top 10.
This afternoon, the cars are tackling three more stages as a repeat of this morning, before returning to final service in Gap.
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3-time National champion driver, Chidanand Murthy is no more
File photo of Chidanand with the trophy in 2014. INDIAinF1 photo Bengaluru, 24 Jan 2020: Well-known motorsport personality and multiple-National champion driver in the Indian National (TSD) Rally Championship, Chidanand Murthy passed away here in the early hours of Friday. He is 43 and leaves behind wife and a daughter.
A businessman, who spent most of his free time either organising or taking part in motorsport activities, Chidu, as he was popularly known, was a dynamic and jovial person with a friendly nature. He won the Indian National Rally Championship in the Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) format for three successive years with BS Sujith Kumar, the current chairman of the 2w Rally Commission. The duo won a hat-trick of National titles culminating in 2014 and had many other achievements as driver-navigator pair from Bengaluru. They last took part on behalf of Tata Motors Full Throttle team in the Pro-Stock class.
“It is really shocking and sad news. I can’t believe that he is no more. My deepest condolences to his family at this hour of grief. Rest in peace, Chidu. You will be in our hearts forever,’’ said Sujit Kumar.
Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) of which Chidu was part of, sent their condolence message. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of a champion. KMSC sends our heart-felt condolences to all the family members and freinds of Chidanand,” said Shivu Shivappa, president of KMSC and vice-president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).
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Dakar rider Edwin Straver succumbs to his injuries
Riyadh, 24 Jan 2020: The motorcycle rider Edwin Straver, who suffered a fall in pk 124 of the special of the 11th stage Shubaytah – Haradh on Thursday, January 16, 2020, has died as a result of these injuries, as reported by his family on Friday morning.
Edwin was revived on the track by the medical team that came by helicopter and attended the pilot in a state of cardiac arrest. Transferred to the Riyadh hospital, he was treated by the center’s resuscitation team before being repatriated to the Netherlands last Wednesday.
Former motocross rider, Edwin Straver – 48 years old – participated in his 3rd Dakar. He finished 30th in 2019, proclaiming himself winner of the Original by Motul category in which he enrolled again in 2020.
The whole of the Dakar caravan presents its deepest condolences and its most sincere condolences to Edwin’s family, friends and relatives.
File photo of Dakar rider Edwin Straver during Stage 10 in Saudi Arabia on Jan 10. May his soul rest in peace. DPPI image -
Hyundai Motorsport crew Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja safe after a big crash
Gap (France), 24 Jan 2020: Hyundai Motorsport crew Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja crashed during the fourth special stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo (SS4 Saint-Clément – Freissinières) on Friday morning.
The Estonians, driving the #8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, went off 9.2 kilometres into the 20.68km stage. The driver and co-driver were both able to exit the car on their own after the incident.
Tänak and Järveoja have been taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks, as is standard procedure following a crash of this nature.
Hyundai Motorsport will provide any further updates in its end-of-day rally report.
The crash video here. (courtesy Tomi T Twitter @T_Tuominen )
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Final MotoGP calendar for 2020
Following is the final MotoGP calendar for 2020
Date Grand Prix Circuit
8 March Qatar* Losail International Circuit
22 March Thailand Chang International Circuit
5 April USA Americas Circuit of the Americas
19 April Argentina Termas de Rio Hondo
3 May Spain Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto
17 May France Le Mans
31 May Italy Autodromo del Mugello
7 June Barcelona Catalunya
21 June Germany Sachsenring
28 June Netherlands TT Circuit Assen
12 July Finland** KymiRing
9 August Czech Republic Automotodrom Brno
16 August Austria Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
30 August Great Britain Silverstone
13 September San Marino Misano Circuit Marco Simoncelli
4 October Aragón MotorLand Aragón
18 October Japan Twin Ring Motegi
25 October Australia Philip Island
1 November Malaysia Sepang International Circuit
15 November Valenciana Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo
* Evening ** Subject to FIM Homologation
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Ogier leads his first shakedown in the Toyota Yaris WRC: Rallye Monte-Carlo shakedown
Sebastien Ogier and J Ingrassia during shakedown in the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 01 / Rallye Monte Carlo on Jan 22, 2020. Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Monte Caarlo, 22 Jan 2020: Sébastien Ogier recorded the fastest time in shakedown for Rallye Monte-Carlo: his competitive debut behind the wheel of the Toyota Yaris WRC. Two-thirds of the team’s all-new line-up featured in the top three, with Elfyn Evans in third, while Kalle Rovanperä was seventh as he prepares for his first appearance at rallying’s highest level, a Toyota Yaris release says.
The shakedown was held on a 3.35-kilometre stage close to the service park in Gap, with dry conditions giving the drivers a chance to get a good feeling with their machinery.
Ogier recorded a time of 1m57.1s on his first run over the stage, with that time remaining unbeaten. Evans was just six tenths of a second slower with his best effort, set on his second run. Rovanperä also improved on his second pass, finishing less than three seconds behind his team-mates.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top 10 as he prepares for the first of eight events this season in an separately-run Toyota Yaris WRC.
Quotes:
Tom Fowler (Technical Director)
“Going into our first rally with the new drivers, they were all pretty settled on their setups after our successful pre-event tests, so there wasn’t much to do from a setup point-of-view in shakedown. Given the unpredictable nature of the weather on the Monte, we have a few different settings for the car depending on the conditions, so we did change a few things during shakedown just to run the parts in anticipation of the different possibilities that can come up over the weekend. Everything went smoothly for everybody, and Ogier posted the fastest time with the first run. You can’t take too much from the shakedown results, but it’s always nice. The road was then getting muddy so it was difficult to take much from the later runs. But everyone is feeling confident, so it’s a good start.”Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“So far, everything is good and running like we were hoping. Shakedown doesn’t mean much and you don’t need to make any conclusions from the results, but it’s always a good sign if you are in the rhythm already. I’ve had the chance to have a good amount of testing already in the car before the start of the season. Of course, there are still some details to learn but the general feeling is there, and the sensations from the test came straight away here in shakedown. We can be confident heading into the rally, but this is probably the one rally of the season where you need to stay humble at the start as the conditions can make it so tricky.”Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It was a really nice feeling to get started with the Yaris here in shakedown. I found a good feeling pretty much straight away. The car was working really well and I’m looking forward to getting going now. The shakedown was very dry to begin with, so I doubt it will be representative of the whole rally, but that’s typical Rallye Monte-Carlo. It would be nice if we can start the first stage with a clear, dry road, but I’m sure it will get interesting after that.”Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It felt amazing to be in the car in shakedown. It was my first time back on asphalt after one month, and it was not so easy on the first run, but the second run was already better. The car was feeling really good and the setup also, and I think the small changes that we did in the test were now correct. There is still some work to do with myself for sure, but it feels good.”Shakedown times:
1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC) 1m57.1s
2 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +0.1s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC) +0.6s
4 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1.2s
5 Teemu Suninen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.3s
6 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.6s
7 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC) +2.9s
8 Gus Greensmith/Elliott Edmondson (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3.1s
9 Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +3.3s
10 Takamoto Katsuta/Daniel Barritt (Toyota Yaris WRC) +4.8sWhat’s next?
The rally starts from Monte Carlo’s famous harbour on Thursday evening before two night-time stages en-route back to Gap. The first test, Malijai-Puimichel, is being run for the first time since 1994. The darkness and falling temperatures can often combine to make a particularly tricky start to the season.
