The French Sebastien Ogierdriver of the official team Toyotawon for the ninth time the traditional Monte Carlo Rallyquite a record.
Ogier, who this year has a partial program in the WRC, won this first round of the year ahead of his teammate and the current world champion, the Finn Kalle Rovanpera, and with the Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) in third position.
Photo: Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool.
The 39-year-old pilot now surpasses his compatriot in the record of the Monegasque event Sebastien Loebwho has achieved eight victories on his account, including the previous one in 2021 in command of a Ford.
“It is huge (…), we have to enjoy these moments and that is why we are still going, to achieve victories like this. Getting a victory as famous as this one in Monte Carlo is priceless.” savored Ogier, who is now a team with vincent landais as co-pilot. “I am very happy for Vincent. It is a dream for him to achieve his first WRC victory ”he added.
Photos: Toyota
The Toyota driver dominated the event from start to finish, winning 9 of the 18 timed stages held on the roads of southern France.
At the foot of the podium, the British Elfyn Evans (Toyota) took fourth place, ahead of the 2019 world champion, the Estonian Ott Tanak (M-Sport Ford).
The World Rally Championship will continue with the rally sweden, from February 9 to 12. It is a 100% snow test, a few hundred kilometers from the polar circle.
Sebastien Ogier at the Monte Carlo Rally
| YEAR | AUTO | TEAM |
| 2009 | Peugeot 207 S2000 | Citroen Junior Team |
| 2014 | VW Polo R WRC | volkswagen motorsport |
| 2015 | VW Polo R WRC | volkswagen motorsport |
| 2016 | VW Polo R WRC | volkswagen motorsport |
| 2017 | Ford Fiesta WRC | M Sport WRT |
| 2018 | Ford Fiesta WRC | M Sport WRT |
| 2019 | Citroen C3 WRC | Citroen Total WRT |
| 2021 | Toyota Yaris WRC | Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT |
| 2023 | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT |
Monte Carlo Rally Results
- Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) 2h27m11.5s
- Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +16.0s
- Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +32.0s
- Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +56.5s
- Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) +1m37.3s
- Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +2m15.7s
- Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +3m08.8s
- Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +3m11.4s
- Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +8m06.1s
- Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) +8m21.3s
WRC Championship Ranking
- S. Ogier (Toyota) – 26
- K. Rovanpera (Toyota) – 23
- T. Neuville (Hyundai) – 17
- E. Evans (Toyota) – 15
- O. Tanak (Ford) – 14
- T. Katsuta (Toyota) – 8
- D. Deaf (Hyundai) – 6
- E.Lappi (Hyundai) – 4
- Y. Rossel (Citroen) – 2
- N. Gryazin (Skoda) – 1
