The iconic Rally Monte Carlo will once again open the World Rally Championship season in late January. This year, a total of 66 crews have entered the rally.
As expected, 11 crews are entered in the top category: five Toyota drivers, three Hyundai drivers and three Ford pilots.
The entry list reveals a significant detail within Toyota’s line-up. Sami Pajari will once again compete under Toyota’s second team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2. Reigning champion Sebastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and the team’s latest signing Oliver Solberg will score manufacturers’ points for Toyota’s factory team at Rally Monte Carlo. As a result, Takamoto Katsuta will not need to worry about manufacturers’ championship points at the season opener.
Hyundai’s trio at Rally Monte Carlo will consist of Thierry Neuville, Adrien Fourmaux and New Zealander Hayden Paddon, who has been signed as a part-time driver for this season. Paddon will rotate this year with Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo in Hyundai’s third Rally1 car.
Josh McErlean and top-class debutant Jon Armstrong will form M-Sport Ford’s official driver pairing at Rally Monte Carlo. Also competing in M-Sport colours is Grégoire Munster, who represented the team last season but does not have a contract with the British outfit for this year. Munster will contest Rally Monte Carlo in a Ford Puma Rally1 owned by his long-time supporter Jourdan Serderidis.
Lancia’s long-awaited return
Rally Monte Carlo will feature Lancia’s long-awaited return to the World Rally Championship, as Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin enter the WRC2 category with Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 cars. Both drivers are among the favourites for victory in the class at the season-opening event.
The WRC2 field also includes several other interesting names, such as French veteran Eric Camilli, who has switched to Škoda machinery, Yohan Rossel’s younger brother Léo Rossel, experienced Czech driver Filip Mareš and the 2019 European champion Chris Ingram, for whom last season was more of a sabbatical from rallying. The entry list also features the latest prospects from well-known French rally families, Pablo Sarrazin and Eliott Delecour.
The Printsport team, now owned by Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala, will field Japanese driver Yuki Yamamoto at every round this season. Yamamoto is part of Toyota’s WRC Challenge Program. He will start Rally Monte Carlo in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, but he will not be competing for WRC2 points.
M-Sport’s WRC2 driver Romet Jürgenson will also be on the starting line at Rally Monte Carlo, but like Yamamoto, he will not be contesting points in the Rally2 category.
Rally Monte Carlo takes place from 22–25 January. Gap will once again serve as the rally’s main hub, while the ceremonial start, Saturday evening’s super special stage and the podium ceremony will be held in Monaco.
See the Rally Monte Carlo entry list below:
On desktop, the list is embedded; on mobile, the entry list opens via the link above.
