The drama started right at the beginning of the stage. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta slid off the icy road into the bushes. The impact wasn’t particularly severe, but Katsuta’s car became stuck against a tree and could not be freed. As a result, Katsuta was forced to retire.
Immediately after, there was another crash. This time, Katsuta’s teammate, Sami Pajari, competing in the top category at Monte-Carlo for the first time, hit a bridge railing. The impact was relatively heavy, but thankfully Pajari and his co-driver, Marko Salminen, were unhurt. However, the crew had to retire. Pajari was somewhat fortunate in that, although the car slid off the bridge, it did not overturn but landed on its wheels.
Neither Katsuta nor Pajari scored any points for Toyota in the manufacturers’ championship in Monte-Carlo.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä, following behind, noted his teammates’ retirements.
“When I saw that Sami and Taka had gone off, I obviously approached those sections very cautiously. The conditions were very challenging, with a lot of black ice,” Rovanperä commented.
Sebastien Ogier of Toyota posted the fastest time on the first stage of the morning, beating his teammate Elfyn Evans by four seconds. Rovanperä was 13 seconds behind Ogier’s leading time. Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville (+13.7) and Ott Tänak (+14.5) were fourth and fifth, respectively, on the morning’s opening stage.
In the overall standings, Ogier strengthened his lead. Heading into the final two stages, he is 24.3 seconds ahead of Evans.
Ott Tänak moved up to third place, overtaking Adrien Fourmaux. The Estonian is now 41.6 seconds behind the leader. Rovanperä remains in fifth place, 1 minute and 8 seconds adrift of Ogier.
Rally Monte-Carlo concludes on Sunday with two remaining special stages.
Rally Monte-Carlo standings after SS16/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:53:38.2 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +24.3 |
| 3. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +41.6 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +46.1 |
| 5. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +1.08.0 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +5:31.2 |
| 7. | Josh McErlean | Hyundai | +9:06.8 |
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
