Munster’s career milestone came on the second stage of the Saturday morning loop. Running first on the road, he beat Monte-Carlo veteran Sebastien Ogier by 0.8 seconds and outpaced Kalle Rovanperä by 1.8 seconds.
It’s been a rollercoaster weekend for Munster. On Friday, he was on track for the best performance of his career before an mechanical issue struck on the day’s final road section, halting his progress. But on Saturday morning, Munster experienced the highs that rallying can deliver.
“It’s a big thank you to the team for the job they’ve done this night. It’s a bit of a pity because there was good momentum and a good opportunity in this rally, but that’s how it is. That’s part of motorsport. We’ll make the best out of it today,” Munster said after the morning loop.
On the following stage, Munster dialed back the pace, but this was a deliberate move.
“In the next stage, we didn’t have the right tyre choice, so I didn’t want to risk anything after that high point,” he explained.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener was thrilled with Munster’s performance. The stage win was a major highlight for the entire team.
“I think in a driver’s career, they have small targets, small goals that get bigger and bigger,” Millener told RallyJournal.com.
“The first one is to finish stages. The second one is to get top five, top four stage times, leading up to a stage win, which he’s finally got,” Millener noted.
Millener believes this first stage win is a stepping stone to greater achievements.
“Every little milestone you reach, you tick off, and then you relax a little bit. So now that he’s got the stage win, the next goal is another stage win. And after five or six stage wins, you want to be looking at a podium.”
“I think we saw it last year with Adrien (Fourmaux). As soon as he got that first podium, he relaxed a little bit because he knew he was capable of doing it. Then he got three more.”
“I think there is an opportunity for Greg to do another good stage this afternoon. He’s been really strong in these tricky conditions. It’s great to see that he can consistently bring the pace to the other guys. We’ve got to be careful. We don’t want him to go too fast, because the expectation is not to do it everywhere,” Millener explained.
Millener also set a clear objective for this season.
“But the goal for this year is to show more and more throughout the rallies that he can do it. We’ve had a really strong event so far. We don’t want to go too fast because it’s very easy to make a mistake, which can knock your confidence and set you back,” Millener emphasised.
Munster had a tough 2024 season, with many questioning whether he belonged in the WRC’s top tier. However, his performance in Monte-Carlo is beginning to quieten those doubts.
