Special Stage 11 of the Monte-Carlo Rally was certainly the most exciting, the most unpredictable, the one that gave the greatest emotions and revolutionized the ranking in a very important way.
Sébastien Ogier and Benjamin Veillas were the fastest in the 20.79km Saint-Geniez / Thoard 1, the Sisteron special in which ice, black ice and snow played a fundamental role. Perhaps the only “true” test of this atypical Monte-Carlo in terms of weather and ground conditions.
The Toyota Racing crew made the difference in the first part of the test, the one on asphalt, even though they also used 2 spiked tires as did most of the rivals. On the snow, he also risked a lot in a right-hand bend, going very close to going off the road and ending up in a ravine.
Having escaped the danger, Ogier made yet another masterpiece of his career, winning the test and going to the top of the general classification overcoming Sébastien Loeb, now second after the fourth place obtained in the PS11 at 5 “4 from Ogier.
Now between the two there are just 5 “4, because they started in the test with the same overall race time. If there was an important change in the first two positions, an equally vital fact took place behind the two Sébastien too. perhaps even more important in view of the fight for the 2022 Drivers world title.
Elfyn Evans, author of an excellent test up to the third intermediate, made a bad right-hand corner on dry asphalt, arriving too fast in that section. The Welshman hit the inside of the curve and was catapulted out, ending up in a ravine that was not at all dangerous, but from which he was no longer able to get out.
For Evans the retirement was inevitable, just as he was signing a time that would certainly bring him back into the fight to win the event. For the umpteenth time Elfyn melted like snow in the sun at the most important moment of an event. Fortunately for him, the mistake arrived at the World Cup just started. There will be plenty of time to try to recover.
The black day of Hyundai Motorsport continues, with Ott Tanak who, while he was intent on signing a great time, ended up against a rock after nearly ending up in a ravine. Initially the impact did not seem to have had any noteworthy consequences, but arrived at the finish, the Estonian found himself with the windshield full of oil. For this reason he was forced to retire once the test was over.
Tanak and Neuville had chosen to gamble, not choosing studded tires for this test. And they probably would have been right, but for different reasons they failed to take advantage of this opportunity. Thierry Neuville, in fact, arrived unscathed at the end of the test, but continues to deal with a mechanical failure that occurred during the transfer between the PS9 and the PS10.
The Belgian has decided to grit his teeth and continue the race, although he is aware that in the next 2 tests he will lose several seconds from the best due to the mechanical failure on his i20. We also remind you that after this test the drivers will not be able to use the mid-day Service, but only the Tire Fitting Zone to choose the tires for the two tests this afternoon. So Neuville will continue the day with the problem that has haunted him since the beginning of the day.
Oliver Solberg is back in the race. The Hyundai Swede managed to re-enter after exiting in PS10 and completed both tests. Now the drivers can take advantage of the Tire Fitting Zone, choosing the tires for the afternoon lap which will consist of only 2 tests. The next stage will be the 17.04km PS12 Saint-Jeannet / Malijai 2. The first car will enter testing at 14:08 Italian time.
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