The Hyundai driver set a strong fastest time on the first stage of Saturday afternoon’s loop. Tänak beat Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, who took second on the stage, by 1.9 seconds.
“We had a good rhythm, quite consistent conditions and I had a better feeling in the car,” Tänak said.
In the overall classification, Tänak moved up to fourth, surpassing Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä by 3.6 seconds. Rovanperä finished the 13th stage 4.6 seconds behind Tänak’s time.
“Decent stage. It felt good, but the time is really poor. With these tools, we can’t go any faster,” Rovanperä, now fifth overall, admitted.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier continues to lead the event, ahead of teammate Evans, who took second place from Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux. The gap between Evans and Fourmaux is just 1.7 seconds.
Ogier, however, holds a 18.4-second advantage at the top of the standings in his home rally.
“A good stage for me. Good conditions, good grip. Tried to keep the tyres. You need to be consistent,” Ogier explained.
Two more stages remain in Saturday’s action. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Monte-Carlo Rally standings after SS13/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:21:11.3 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +18.4 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +20.1 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +42.9 |
| 5. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +46.5 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:34.4 |
| 7. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3:53.8 |
| 8. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +5:17.1 |
| 9. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +7:40.0 |
| 10. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +7:47.1 |
| 11. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +7:54.0 |
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
