Ogier posted the fastest time, beating Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux by 3.9 seconds. This performance propelled him past teammate Elfyn Evans into the overall lead.
“I tried my best like always! So many of my family and friends are on this stage and i’ve never won it,” Ogier said.
Evans spun on an icy section, losing about ten seconds in the process. His gap to Ogier’s stage time grew to 14.7 seconds, putting him 6.8 seconds behind the Frenchman in the overall standings.
“I was proper steady, it just started to go and I couldn’t recover. There was a ditch outside that I couldn’t drive out. We had the information, I was like Bambi on ice,” Evans joked.
Fourmaux remains third overall, just 11.4 seconds off the lead. Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä dropped more than ten seconds to Ogier’s stage-winning time but holds fourth place, 29.1 seconds behind the leader.
“I think it was pretty okay. I don’t know where the difference came, but it’s first pass conditions so the road was getting muddier, specially the downhill was more s**t,” Rovanperä said.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is fifth, 8.6 seconds behind Rovanperä. Sixth-placed Gregoire Munster of M-Sport Ford is followed by Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. Toyota’s Sami Pajari remains ninth, trailing the leader by three minutes.
Rally Monte-Carlo continues with one more stage on Friday. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Monte-Carlo standings after SS8/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 1:16:25.0 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +6.8 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +11.4 |
| 4. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +29.1 |
| 5. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +37.7 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:15.1 |
| 7. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:24.9 |
| 8. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:52.4 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2:59.8 |
| 10. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +4:13.1 |
| 11. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +4:22.2 |
| 12. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +5:02.8 |
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 (17,85 km)
14.59 SS13: La Motte-Chalancon / Saint-Nazaire 2 (27,00 km)
16.05 SS14: Aucelon / Recoubeau-Jansac 2 (20,85 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
