Despite facing heavily polluted roads from his starting position of 10th, the Toyota GAZOO Racing star stayed focused on maintaining his lead at this opening round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season.
Ogier, targeting a record-extending 10th Monte-Carlo victory, delivered measured yet commanding performances across the Alpine stages west of Gap, outpacing both overnight threats Elfyn Evans and Fourmaux on two of the morning’s three speed tests.
"I tried to manage the risk, which is not easy in Monte-Carlo,” the eight-time world champion reflected. “In these conditions you need to be prepared to lose a bit of time.”
While Ogier maintained control, the battle for second heated up. Evans, runner-up overnight, slipped to third after a determined Fourmaux found his rhythm.

Sat 25 Jan 2025
Ogier Tightens Monte Grip as Fourmaux Shines in Second
Sébastien Ogier strengthened his grip on Rallye Monte-Carlo on Saturday morning, extending his lead to 17.2sec as Adrien Fourmaux surged into second place.

The Hyundai debutant narrowly trailed the Welshman on the opening Aucelon - Recoubeau-Jansac test but surged ahead with an impressive run over the following two stages. A minor stall didn’t deter Fourmaux, who edged clear of Toyota man Evans by 2.8sec before the mid-leg service.
Behind them, Kalle Rovanperä and Ott Tänak engaged in a tense scrap for fourth. Rovanperä’s preference for faster, flowing stages left him vulnerable on the tight and technical roads, and his 8.9sec overnight cushion over Tänak was reduced to just 1.0sec by midday. Tänak showed his intent by clinching a stage win, with sixth-placed Takamoto Katsuta also clocking a fastest time during the loop.
However, the standout performance came from M-Sport Ford’s Grégoire Munster, who celebrated his maiden WRC stage win on the morning’s opening test. The Luxembourger had been running as high as fourth overall before mechanical issues on the road section back to service on Friday evening forced him to restart further down the leaderboard today.

Sami Pajari held firm in seventh in his Toyota, while defending champion Thierry Neuville continued to face adversity in eighth. After losing several minutes on Friday due to a broken rear suspension and a deflated tyre, Neuville’s woes persisted this morning when a mysterious power loss slowed him on the opening stage. A quick system reset restored performance, but by that point the Belgian had already leaked another 50sec.
Yohan Rossel continued his domination in the WRC2 category, holding ninth overall, while Puma Rally1 debutant Josh McErlean broke into the top 10.

