Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville set off first but made a critical driving error, crashing his car on a right-hand corner. The impact severely damaged Neuville’s car, with one rear wheel visibly askew but still attached. He now faces the challenge of patching up his vehicle enough to reach the service park. Per regulations, he must drive the liaison section with all four wheels turning.
“I think we paid the price of not having enough experience with the tyre for the dry section, it felt like the tyre was quite stable then suddenly I lost the brakes, saw the ditch and lost the rear. The car is fine to go back to service,” Neuville said.
Neuville wasn’t the only one in trouble. His teammate Ott Tänak and Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier also had near misses. Tänak ended up off the road briefly, and later it emerged that the Hyundai’s rear trunk section was completely missing. Luckily for Tänak, a midday service break was coming up.
“There is a lot missing (of the car), but I am happy to be here. Some black ice was there,” Tänak recounted.
Adrien Fourmaux, who joined Hyundai this season, surprised everyone by setting the fastest time on the stage, outpacing the field by a hefty 7.9 seconds. Meanwhile, M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster produced an even bigger shock, clocking the second-best time and trailing Fourmaux by just 4.2 seconds.
Kalle Rovanperä in his Toyota was fifth quickest, 11.1 seconds off the pace.
Overall, Elfyn Evans continues to lead the rally, 1.5 seconds ahead of Ogier. Fourmaux has climbed to a commendable third, followed by Munster in fourth. Tänak holds fifth place, while Rovanperä remains sixth, 23.1 seconds off the lead. Neuville’s troubles have dropped him to ninth overall, just behind Sami Pajari in eighth.
The Rally Monte-Carlo continues on Friday afternoon with three more stages following the service break, and the event concludes on Sunday.
Rally Monte-Carlo standings after SS6/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 56:09.8 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1.5 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +6.2 |
| 4. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +22.5 |
| 5. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +23.0 |
| 6. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +23.1 |
| 7. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:15.0 |
| 8. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:45.7 |
| 9. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:48.6 |
| 10. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +2:33.4 |
| 11. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +2:52.0 |
| 12. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +3:26.7 |
Itinerary, Rally Monte-Carlo (CET):
Wednesday 22.1.
16.01 Shakedown: Route de la Garde (3,28 km)
Thursday 23.1.
18.05 SS1: Digne-les-Bains / Chaudon-Norante 1 (19,01 km)
19.53 SS2: Faucon-du-Caire / Bréziers (21,18 km)
21.06 SS3: Avançon / Notre-Dame-du-Laus 1 (13,97 km)
Friday 24.1.
09.31 SS4: Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne 1 (18,68 km)
10.34 SS5: Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes / La Bâtie-Neuve 1 (16,68 km) *CANCELLED
11.42 SS6: La Bréole / Selonnet 1 (18,31 km)
15.23 SS7: Saint-Maurice / Aubessagne 2 (18,68 km)
16.26 SS8: Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes / La Bâtie-Neuve 2 (16,68 km)
17.34 SS9: La Bréole / Selonnet 2 (18,31 km)
Saturday 25.1.
08.59 SS10: La Motte-Chalancon / Saint-Nazaire 1 (27,00 km)
10.05 SS11: Aucelon / Recoubeau-Jansac 1 (20,85 km)
11.08 SS12: La Bâtie-des-Fonts / Aspremont 1 (17,85 km)
14.59 SS13: La Motte-Chalancon / Saint-Nazaire 2 (27,00 km)
16.05 SS14: Aucelon / Recoubeau-Jansac 2 (20,85 km)
17.08 SS15: La Bâtie-des-Fonts / Aspremont 2 (17,85 km)
Sunday 26.1.
06.39 SS16: Avançon / Notre-Dame-du-Laus 2 (13,97 km)
08.32 SS17: Digne-les-Bains / Chaudon-Norante 2 (19,01 km)
12.15 SS18: La Bollène-Vésubie / Peïra-Cava (17,92 km) *Power Stage
