Ogier takes Monte-Carlo stage 1 win - stage 1 in details 25.01.2018: WRC RALLYES Rallye Monte-Carlo Thursday, January 25th 2018 Thu 22:41 - Monte after SS1 1.Ogier 23m16.6s, 2.Mikkelsen +7.7s, 3.Lappi +19.4s, 4.Sordo +19.7s, 5.Breen +24.6. Evans puncture, Neuville and Meeke ditch delays

WRC RALLYES
Rallye Monte-Carlo
Thursday, January 25th 2018






Thu 22:41 - Monte after SS1
1.Ogier 23m16.6s, 2.Mikkelsen +7.7s, 3.Lappi +19.4s, 4.Sordo +19.7s, 5.Breen +24.6. Evans puncture, Neuville and Meeke ditch delays




Thu 22:43 - SS1: WRC 2 Abbring
"A puncture in a deep cut - I was just following the lines. After that we lost the brakes. I had to drive slowly to the finish. Not the start we hoped for."





Thu 22:37 - SS1: WRC 2 De Mevius
"Three spins in the stage and a gearbox problem but we survived."




Thu 22:34 - SS1: WRC 2 Kopecky
"Quite difficult. Okay on the Tarmac, but on the ice and in the dirty sections in the cuts I was very, very careful."



Thu 22:34 - SS1: WRC 2 Suninen
"Okay, but a difficult stage with all the snow and ice."



Thu 22:32 - SS1: WRC 2 Camilli
"Not so bad. I really enjoy the car and the chassis in here. I lost the brakes for about 5km, so I was very cautious. They came back before the finish."




Thu 22:30 - SS1: Bouffier
"I think my pace was not fast enough to get a spin! My car was amazing but it's very difficult for me. I have lots of flat out sections in my notes which are not flat out in this car! In some paces I was not driving so well, but I'm happy to be here."



Thu 22:27 - SS1: Mikkelsen
Second quickest - 7.7sec off Ogier's pace. "It was an okay stage. Difficult to know how much to push. I lost my brakes towards the end - so not the best confidence in the downhill section!"



Thu 22:27 - SS1: Lappi
Third quickest so far. "The Tarmac section itself is okay but I have a few things to learn about the surface. The ice I took very slowly, I don't know the fastest way there. To minimise the mistakes there is the way. I'm pretty satisfied. I don't care about the time. Personally, an okay start."



Thu 22:26 - SS1: Breen
"A disaster - I got stick in the snow. Not in a bank but we couldn't move. Spectators helped us back out. Difficult."



Thu 22:24 - SS1: Meeke
"I got stuck in a ditch. Really simple - caught a patch of ice. I had to wait for spectators and lost a minute - minute and a half. It's a long rally, we'll keep going, but it's not a good start."



Thu 22:20 - SS1: Evans
3m48s slower than Ogier. What happened? "We got a puncture about 12km in. We had to stop and change it. A bit of drama too on the ice too. A disastrous start."



Thu 22:19 - SS1: Sordo
"It's not bad, but I don't think I did a very good time." In fact he's fourth quickest - just 19.7sec off Ogier's pace.



Thu 22:18 - SS1: Latvala
"Difficult. I spun twice and stalled twice. I think I lost 20 seconds, something like this. Difficult. I saw Neuville - I caught him in an icy section."



Thu 22:16 - SS1: Neuville
He completes 4m16sec slower than Ogier. "I got stuck on a snow bank. I pulled the handbrake but locked all four wheels and went off wide. There were only a few people around so it took time to get back again. It's part of the game."



Thu 22:13 - SS1: Tanak
There is some light bodywork damage to the front of his Yaris. "At the beginning of the ice we went out into a bank at like 10kph and I had to reverse. It was very tough."



Thu 22:11 - SS1: Ogier
First to complete in 23m16.6s. "We lost time in a spin on the ice. We knew it would be tricky - no surprise that so many drivers have had problems!"



Thu 22:04 - SS1: Splits watch
Ogier fastest of the three cars to have reached the 18.83km split. Tanak is +25s. Neuville is +3m4s!



Thu 22:01 - SS1: Neuville update
Moving again. He has rejoined behind Latvala.



Thu 21:59 - SS1: Neuville stopped
His Hyundai is parked on the left-hand side of the road at 12.7km.




Thu 21:57 - SS1: Tanak update
Moving again.



Thu 21:56 - SS1: Tanak stopped
WRC+ live tracking shows his Toyota stopped at 11.1km.




Thu 21:56 - SS1: Ogier spins!
On a sheet ice-covered tight right-hander. Very slow speed. The car rotates 180 degrees and glides into the verge. Stops and gets going again. No damage evident.



Thu 21:53 - SS1: Ice watch
Watching onboard footage from Ogier's Ford Fiesta - he's driving very carefully through the snow and ice-covered section approaching the Col.




Thu 21:49 - Tyre choices
Update from Michelin on numbers and compound choices (Soft or Super Soft) drivers have for tonight's stages. Ogier/Evans/Neuville: 3S&2SS. Bouffier: 4S&2SS. Mikkelsen/Sordo/Latvala: 3S&3SS. Meeke/Breen: 6SS. Tanak: 4S&2SS. Lappi: 5S.



Thu 21:45 - SS1: LIVE
Ogier is underway! His start time: 2144hrs.




Thu 21:42 - SS1: Standby
WRC+ live tracking shows cars gathered at the start control. Ogier's start time: 2143hrs.



Thu 21:42 - SS1 Latest
From the start to 11.9km: no ice or snow. Broken ice from there to 14.2km on the downhill run to the Col. Very slippery. No information on the final section.



Thu 21:41 - Stage info
SS1 Thoard - Sisteron, 36.69km. What a way to open the season! A famous stage, but driven in the opposite direction for the first time and in darkness. It is a serious appetiser, mainly due to the Col de Fontbelle. At an altitude of 1304 metres, this pass is opened specially for the rally and is usually snowy and icy because snow ploughs and salt trucks never go there in winter. Four tricky kilometres at the col are the key part of a tough test, and they will be tackled downhill this time.



Thu 21:41 - WRC Live
Our radio service is LIVE with Lisa O'Sullivan and Becs Williams in the studio and Emyr Penlan and Colin Clark reporting from the stage ends. You'll find a link the LIVE CENTRE on the homepage.



Thu 21:40 - Start intervals
Two-minute intervals for the World Rally Cars. One-minute intervals for WRC 2 and WRC 3 competitors.



Thu 21:39 - Running order
Drivers will start in last season's championship order, starting with defending champ, Sébastien Ogier. Here's how they'll line up: 1. Ogier, 2. Neuville, 3. Tänak, 4. Latvala, 5. Evans, 6. Sordo, 7. Meeke, 8. Breen, 9. Lappi, 10. Mikkelsen, 11. Bouffier



Thu 21:39 - Weather
It was a crisp, dry and overcast day in Gap. Sunset was at 1733hrs and since then the temperature in town has dropped a couple of degrees to 7˚C. The WRC TV crew stationed at Col de Fontbelle on SS1 reports 5˚C. The crew at the end of the stage reports 10˚C. Rain is forecast later tonight and tomorrow.



Thu 21:39 - Stage live times
SS1: 2143hrs. SS2: 2251hrs.



Thu 21:39 - Thursday's vital stats
Start: 1750hrs. Number of stages: 2. Stage distance: 62.18km. Finish: 0044hrs.



Thu 21:38 - Thursday's itinerary 2/2
The second stage is the 25.49km test from Bayons to Breziers, which ends just 25km away from WRC central in Gap. A 45-minute service follows from 2356hrs while the drivers get off to bed, ready for a full day of competition on Friday.



Thu 21:36 - Thursday's itinerary 1/2
From Monaco, crews track north and tackle two stages in pitch darkness as they make their way back to Gap for the overnight halt. The first stage, Thoard-Sisteron, is effectively new, running in the opposite direction for the first time in the WRC. At 36.69km it's also the longest stage of the rally.




      
 
      
 
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