Solberg lost out by 20 seconds on the opening stage of the morning, but on the second sprint stage the young man showed that everything is still under control. Rally leader Solberg beat his team-mate Elfyn Evans by 11.4 seconds and extended his lead back to over a minute.
“It was a bit easier now. In the morning there was so much thick ice, and I didn’t prepare the studs well, so it was difficult. Now it was nicer to drive. There was a lot of mud though, so it wasn’t easy, as the grip was changing,” Solberg summed up.
Third-placed Sébastien Ogier lost as much as 18.7 seconds to his young team-mate. Ogier is now already well over a minute behind Solberg. The gap to second-placed Evans also grew to 10.3 seconds.
“The grip was changing a lot. Our information was a bit too much on the safe side. I couldn’t take advantage of it when the road improved. The situation is what it is,” Ogier commented.
“Really difficult when first there’s snow and ice, then it turns into slush. It’s a complete lottery. At the end of the stage the opening car had marked a lot of black ice, but the road had improved. I wasn’t brave enough to ignore their information,” Evans added.
Fourth in the rally continues to be Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who is more than five and a half minutes off the lead. Fourmaux’s team-mate Thierry Neuville is in fifth place ahead of M-Sport Ford’s Jon Armstrong and Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon.
In the WRC2 category, Citroën’s Leo Rossel continues to lead, but Lancia’s Nikolai Gryazin is lurking just over ten seconds behind.
Two more special stages will be run at the Monte Carlo Rally on Saturday. The event concludes on Sunday.
Monte Carlo Rally standings after SS11/17:
| POS. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | 2:50:57.5 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1:02.8 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1:13.1 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +5:36.7 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +6:31.6 |
| 6. | Jon Armstrong | Ford | +8:58.2 |
| 7. | Hayden Paddon | Hyundai | +9:52.0 |
| 8. | Leo Rossel | Citroen | +10:04.9 |
| 9. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +10:11.7 |
| 10. | Nikolay Gryazin | Ford | +10:15.7 |
Rally Monte Carlo itinerary (CET):
Wednesday 21 January
14:01 Shakedown: Gap (4.25 km)
Thursday 22 January
16:05 SS1: Toudon / Saint-Antonin (21.90 km)
18:35 SS2: Esclangon / Seyne-les-Alpes (23.80 km)
20:35 SS3: Vaumeilh / Claret 1 (15.06 km)
Friday 23 January
09:04 SS4: Laborel / Chauvac-Laux-Montaux 1 (17.95 km)
10:32 SS5: Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert / La Motte-Chalancon 1 (28.70 km)
11:50 SS6: La-Bâtie-des-Fonts / Aspremont 1 (17.79 km)
13:25 Service (33 min)
15:16 SS7: Laborel / Chauvac-Laux-Montaux 2 (17.95 km)
16:44 SS8: Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert / La Motte-Chalancon 2 (28.70 km)
18:05 SS9: La-Bâtie-des-Fonts / Aspremont 2 (17.79 km)
Saturday 24 January
08:31 SS10: La Bréole / Bellaffaire 1 (29.93 km)
09:55 SS11: Vaumeilh / Claret 2 (15.06 km)
11:15 Service (33 min)
12:31 SS12: La Bréole / Bellaffaire 2 (29.93 km)
14:00 Remote service (20 min)
18:35 SS13: Monaco Circuit (2.69 km)
Sunday 25 January
08:05 SS14: Col de Braus / La Cabanette 1 (12.50 km)
09:35 SS15: La Bollène-Vésubie / Moulinet 1 (23.45 km)
11:09 SS16: Col de Braus / La Cabanette 2 (12.50 km)
13:15 SS17: La Bollène-Vésubie / Moulinet 2 (23.45 km) *Power Stage
