Toyota driver Elfyn Evans holds the lead in the Monte Carlo Rally at the end of Friday, but teammate Sebastien Ogier is just 4.5 seconds behind. Also in the battle for victory is Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who is 16.1 seconds off the lead.
“It has been interesting to follow the day as the gaps have continuously changed, and now they (Evans and Ogier) are within five seconds of each other at the end of the day. And Thierry isn’t far off either.”
“We want exactly this, a fair fight and excitement for everyone. Now it’s interesting to look forward to Saturday,” Latvala told RallyJournal.com at the service area in Gap.
Toyota’s Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta had a worse start to Friday morning, sliding off an icy corner into a ditch, losing about five minutes.
The situation left room for speculation, as Hyundai’s Ott Tänak made a mistake in the same place. However, the he quickly received help from the spectators and managed to continue with about a half-minute time loss.
Katsuta also tried to signal to the spectators for help, but the situation became confused. Eventually, the spectators began to push and got the Toyota back on the road.
“It’s a bit disappointing that ‘Taka’ went off in the morning, but of course, it was a difficult spot and others went off there too. However, a bit too much time was lost. Maybe if he hadn’t panicked, there might have been a chance to get through with less time lost,” Latvala regretted.
The WRC’s new points system is being tested for the first time at Rally Monte Carlo. The first conditional points are awarded on Saturday evening to the top ten. To claim the points, drivers must still finish the event on Sunday.
With the new system, there might be some tactics playing out behind the leaders on Saturday.
“Tänak and Taka have lost a bit of the game, so they will probably drive a bit more calmly tomorrow and save the soft tires for Sunday. Currently, the rally is mainly driven on soft tires, and everyone is trying to save them. These two drivers are already looking to Sunday,” Latvala speculated.
“But for the leaders, the competition is so fierce that they can’t afford to employ any tactics.”
On Sunday, separate day-specific points are available for the day’s seven fastest drivers, as well as on the Power Stage for the five best performers.
Rally Monte Carlo continues Saturday, with six special stages on the schedule.
