Ogier has dominated Rally Monte-Carlo from the start, and the Frenchman is now on course for his 10th career win at the legendary event. However, a strong performance will still be required on the Power Stage to secure it.
With this victory, Ogier would surpass Sebastien Loeb to stand alone at the top of Monte-Carlo’s win tally. Both Ogier and Loeb currently have eight wins in Monte-Carlo when counting only WRC rallies. Additionally, Ogier has one Monte-Carlo win from when the rally was part of the IRC series.
The previous special stage claimed two “victims,” with Toyota drivers Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta crashing out and retiring. On the rally’s penultimate stage, there was yet another retirement as Ford’s Gregoire Munster, who had been enjoying a strong rally, went off the road and had to withdraw. Munster can only blame himself for the mistake, as he approached the corner far too fast.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä pushed the limits on the penultimate stage of Monte-Carlo, delivering a blistering performance.
“Really difficult condition to be honest. Frosty and icy corners on the section, where the stage is dry or just wet. Definitely not easy,” Rovanperä said at the stage finish, having half-spun at one point.
Rovanperä significantly closed the gap to Hyundai’s Ott Tänak. On the penultimate stage, Rovanperä outpaced Tänak by 27.8 seconds, leaving just a 3.1-second gap between them. Rovanperä drove the stage on slick tyres. Tänak wasn’t surprised by Rovanperä’s strong performance.
“Makes sense that Rovanperä is so much faster with his tyres. So many black ice places which we didn’t know about, so how can you push in conditions like this?” Tänak lamented at the stage finish.
Despite Rovanperä’s impressive drive, it wasn’t enough for the fastest stage time. Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux delivered a stunning run, setting the fastest time and moving into third place overall. He edged out Rovanperä by 4.5 seconds on the stage.
In the overall standings, Ogier remains in the lead. He is now 18.2 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans. Fourmaux sits in third, 22.2 seconds off the lead.
Rally Monte-Carlo is set for a thrilling Power Stage finale. The top positions are still up for grabs, and even Ogier cannot yet be certain of victory.
Rally Monte-Carlo standings after SS17/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 3:06:07.6 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +18.2 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +22.2 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +45.5 |
| 5. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +48.6 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +5:28.4 |
| 7. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +9:33.3 |
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 (15.48 km) 14.59 SS13: La Motte-Chalancon / Saint-Nazaire 2 (27.00 km) 16.05 SS14: Aucelon / Recoubeau-Jansac 2 (15.48 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
