WRC 3
Royère inherits WRC3 lead as Rossi’s Monte-Carlo dream ends in heartbreak
Eric Royère will carry an unexpected WRC3 lead into the final day of Rallye Monte-Carlo after a punishing Saturday turned the category on its head.
The Frenchman, competing in a Ford Fiesta Rally3, inherited the top spot early on Saturday morning when long-time leader Ghjuvanni Rossi was forced to retire. Rossi, who had controlled the category since Thursday night, saw his rally end just kilometres into SS10 (La Bréole / Bellaffaire 1) after sustaining terminal suspension damage.
Rossi’s exit opened the door for Royère, who adopted a safety-first approach through a treacherous mix of snow, slush and mud and rounded out the day with a lead of more than eight minutes.
While Royère heads the standings, the performance of the day belonged to reigning WRC3 champion Matteo Fontana. Although his rally unravelled when he slid off the road on Thursday night, the Italian produced one of the standout drives of the event on SS11 (Vaumeilh / Claret 2).
Taking advantage of improving conditions, Fontana pushed his Fiesta Rally3 to the limit to set the third-fastest time overall for the stage, beaten only by the rally’s overall leader Oliver Solberg and WRC2 star Yohan Rossel.
Fontana’s charge lifted him into third overall in WRC3 by the end of the day, behind second-placed Jean-Christophe Guibert.
