Ogier was not the fastest driver of the day but managed to maintain his lead at around 20 seconds ahead of his teammate Elfyn Evans.
“I’m still in the lead and a few seconds more. It’s not increasing much, but it’s still going the right way. So of course it’s positive day for us,” Ogier said.
“Happy to have it behind me. It’s been challenging. Starting the last of the P1 today was like definitely the most challenging conditions in terms of road conditions.”
Ogier can afford to lose about six seconds per stage and still emerge as the rally winner, as only three special stages remain to be driven tomorrow. The situation, however, remains open, with Hyundai’s Ott Tänak and Adrien Fourmaux also within less than 30 seconds of Ogier, meaning there is no room for any mistakes.
The French star also emphasised the importance of receiving accurate information about the conditions from the weather team early on Sunday morning to ensure that tyre choices are not mishandled.
“We can be happy with what we’ve done. We had only one target, to focus on Elfyn and Adrian. We managed to be a bit faster than both of them today, I think especially with the conditions it´s still challenging because maybe some rain, maybe snow,” Ogier told.
“I have no idea what’s going to happen tonight, but something looks like something is falling from the sky.”
“Hopefully we’ll get the right information tomorrow morning and put the right tires on the car. I mean, it’s a gap, but not a comfortable one. So we still need to drive well.”
Ogier is aiming for his tenth career victory in Monte-Carlo. If he wins tomorrow, he will stand alone at the top of the victory statistics, considering only WRC events. Both Ogier and Sebastien Loeb currently have eight WRC victories in Monte-Carlo, with Ogier also holding an additional win from when the event was part of the IRC series.
Sunday will also offer extra points for the fastest drivers of the day. Although the primary goal is to secure victory in his home rally, Ogier cannot afford to play it safe with such a narrow margin.
“I think at the end of the day, if I want to win the rally, I will still have to keep a strong rhythm tomorrow. Obviously, I’m not targeting the maximum points as I’m not doing the full championship. But if I can make as many points as I can for my team, I will be happy for that. But of course, the main target is victory.”
