Wed 22 Jan 2025

Monte-Carlo opens with Tänak on top in tricky shakedown

The 2025 FIA World Rally Championship roared into life on Wednesday afternoon as Ott Tänak set the pace in Rallye Monte-Carlo’s shakedown.

Held on the damp and slippery 3.28-kilometre Route de la Garde, just minutes from the service park in Gap, the test offered crews a taste of some of the treacherous conditions awaiting them at this opening round of the season.

Grip levels grew increasingly unpredictable as mud was dragged onto the road with each passing car. However, when the rally’s official stages kick off tomorrow evening in the higher altitudes, it’s snow and ice that could present the greatest challenge.

Tänak, driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 equipped with new-for-2025 Hankook-supplied tyres, set the benchmark on his opening run through the stage - outpacing Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä by 0.7sec.

“It felt quite wet, to be honest. It’s quite tricky with the grip being so unpredictable,” said the Estonian.

Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, chasing an unprecedented 10th victory on these roads, was just 0.1sec behind Rovanperä in his GR Yaris Rally1. The Frenchman acknowledged the difficulty of the conditions, echoing Tänak’s comments: “It’s quite typical Monte-Carlo - not much snow here, but a lot of water. The roads are getting dirty quickly, so it could be a very challenging weekend.”

Elfyn Evans ensured three Toyotas featured in the top four, just a tenth behind Ogier, while reigning world champion Thierry Neuville slotted into fifth in his Hyundai. The Belgian, sporting the coveted number one on his car, struck an optimistic tone ahead of the new campaign.

“We’re happy to be back,” he said with a smile. “It's an honour to have the number one on the car but it doesn't mean it will be any easier this year, we have to fight for it again. We have clear targets as a team for this year. We have to make the most out of it, to fight for both titles again would be nice.”

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top six as Hyundai’s new recruit Adrien Fourmaux made an encouraging start in seventh. M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean cautiously eased into his maiden Rally1 outing but ended just ahead of his Puma team-mate Grégoire Munster in eighth, while Sami Pajari completed the top 10.

Sweden
Starts: Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 8:00:00 AM
Spain
Starts: Thursday, April 3, 2025 at 7:00:00 AM
Turkey
Starts: Sunday, November 10, 2024 at 8:30:00 AM