Gregoire Munster, having the rally of his life, was the first car on the road and delivered a shock by posting the fastest time. This marked Munster’s maiden stage win in the WRC’s top category.
Yesterday, Munster endured significant bad luck. He had been driving an excellent day before a road-section electrical issue forced him to retire.
However, Munster redeemed himself immediately on Saturday morning by notching up his first-ever fastest stage time. He edged Monte-Carlo’s king, Sebastien Ogier, by 0.8 seconds.
“It’s a really tricky one, a bit of everything. A wet section with some muddy cuts, a much faster and wider road. It is a tricky one for sure, happy to be first o the road for this one,” Munster commented at the finish.
Ogier came close to snatching victory from Munster’s grasp at the end of the stage but ultimately couldn’t. The French champion was genuinely pleased for Munster’s success.
“Congrats to Munster. Well done, he did already some good times yesterday” Ogier acknowledged with a smile at the finish.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä also started well. The Finn clocked the third-fastest time, just 1.8 seconds off Munster’s benchmark.
Overall, Ogier remains at the top of the standings. He now leads the rally by 16.8 seconds over teammate Elfyn Evans. Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux holds third place, 18.4 seconds behind the leader.
Rovanperä is still fourth, 39.5 seconds off the lead, while Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is fifth, trailing by nearly a minute (+56.6).
Five more stages remain in Saturday’s Monte Carlo. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Monte-Carlo standings after SS10/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 1:43:30.0 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +16.8 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +18.4 |
| 4. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +39.5 |
| 5. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +56.6 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:39.9 |
| 7. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3:43.3 |
| 8. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +4:59.1 |
| 9. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +5:50.9 |
| 10. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +6:17.6 |
| 11. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +6:18.5 |
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
