The Rallye Monte-Carlo 2022 resumed this morning with Special Stage 9, the 16,80-kilometer Le Fugeret / Thorame-Haute. In this test we witnessed the first special victory of this season signed by Elfyn Evans.
The Toyota Racing driver stopped the clock in 9’12 “8, beating by just 7 tenths of a second a Kalle Rovanpera who appeared transformed compared to yesterday. Evans, thanks to this success, made up for it against Sébastien Ogier . Between the 2 teammates there are 8 “2.
The 8-time world champion completed the Toyota hat-trick at the top of PS9 by signing the third time 3 “9 behind Evans. This result certifies that the GR Yaris Rally1, at least at the moment, follows the characteristics of the previous Yaris, which is very strong. in tests – like this one – in which there are several guided and tortuous sections.
The only driver who managed to get close to the Yaris trio was Thierry Neuville, fourth at the wheel of the first Hyundai i20 N Rally1. At the end of the test, the Belgian complained that he experienced the same problems reported yesterday, therefore a lot of understeer and the car sliding on the most insidious surface, where there is more ice.
It will therefore be interesting to understand how the Hyundai will face the Sisteron test, today’s third, where there will be points with black ice, with compact snow and ice. The Alzenau team chose only Soft and Supersoft tires, without carrying spiked tires. A diametrically opposite choice compared to the opponents. At the end of the lap we will see who will be right.
In the meantime, at Hyundai, we must take note of the puncture that made Ott Tanak lose more than a minute. The Estonian said he was held back by a slow puncture, which is why he chose not to stop in practice to change the tire and, on balance, perhaps he was right.
In doing so, both Craig Breen and Gus Greensmith, now fifth and sixth respectively, gained a position in the overall. Sébastien Loeb, on the other hand, struggled to find the right test pace as he himself stated, thus losing precious seconds from Ogier. Between the two, now, there are 6 “5 in favor of the Alsatian of M-Sport. Ogier seems to have opened the chase in first place.
WRC – Rallye Monte-Carlo 2022 – Ranking after PS9
Pos. | Pilot / navigator | Car | Time / posting |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Loeb / Galmiche | Ford Puma Rally1 | 1h32’09 “1 |
2 | Ogier / Veillas | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +6 “5 |
3 | Evans / Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +14 “7 |
4 | Neuville / Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +45 “5 |
5 | Breen / Nagle | Ford Puma Rally1 | +58 “0 |
6 | Greensmith / Andersson | Ford Puma Rally1 | + 1’08 “7 |
7 | Tanak / Jarveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | + 1’34 “9 |
8 | Katsuta / Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | + 2’06 “2 |
9 | Rovanpera / Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | + 2’06 “2 |
10 | Solberg / Edmondson | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | + 2’31 “5 |
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