Category: Tin Top Racing

Just a few stages left then to decide this seasons Safari Rally. Adrien and Alex returned to the action in their Hyundai and would open the road throughout the six stages. There would be extra points to grab for the final day as well.

First up was SS17 Mzabibu 2 – 8.27 km and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Kalle. Rally leader Elfyn was fourth and just bringing it home holding a one minute and fifty-one second lead over Ott. Worthy mention for Oliver in his Rally2 Yaris who was fifth fastest and ahead of a few Rally1 cars. This was impressive! Despite Kalle’s good pace he’s suffered another puncture. He also needed to change a part in the engine bay following the stage.

Onto SS18 Oserengoni 1 – 18.33 km and before the stage started we had a retirement in the shape of Kalle as he did not make it to the start of the stage. Takamoto was fastest from Adrien and Thierry. With the retirement of Kalle, Sami moved into fifth place.

Time then for stage SS19 Hell’s Gate 1 – 10.53 km and Adrien was fastest from Thierry and Takamoto. You could tell that this was not just a normal stage as Josh had a close call with a herd of zebra! The Irishman did well to finish the stage in sixth and continued to hold eleventh overall.

After a short service break came SS20 Oserengoni 2 – 18.33 km and Takamoto was fastest in this one from Adrien and Thierry. Elfyn continued to hold the top spot and just had one stage left.

Into SS21 Hell’s Gate 2[Power Stage] – 10.53 km and Adrien set the pace in this one from Thierry, Ott was third, Greg fourth and Sami fifth. There was drama for Takamoto early in the stage as he spun on a right-hander leading to a slow roll. Thankfully there were a few spectators nearby and once the car was back on it’s wheels they got underway again. They completed the stage, but there were huge questions about the possibility he would make it back to the service park. The car was not working well at all. All of this meant that Sami was now into fourth place. The podium looked like this however with Thierry third, Ott in second and Elfyn took victory, the first for a Brit since Colin won for Ford in 2002.

Let’s take a look at the finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Safari Rally Kenya Final Classification

1	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	4:20:03.8
2	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+1:09.9
3	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+3:32.0
4	S. Pajari	M. Salminen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+7:18.7
5	G. Munster	L. Louka	Ford Puma Rally1	+11:35.3
6	G. Greensmith	J. Andersson	Škoda Fabia RS	+14:11.6
7	J. Solans	R. Sanjuan	Toyota GR Yaris	+17:26.6
8	J. Serderidis	F. Miclotte	Ford Puma Rally1	+28:45.5
9	F. Zaldivar	M. Der Ohannesian	Škoda Fabia RS	+35:38.8
10	J. McErlean	E. Treacy	Ford Puma Rally1	+37:15.8

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s amazing to have won this rally. It’s not quite sunk in fully yet but the Safari Rally is a special event to win. A huge well done to the team, who work very hard to give us an amazing car, and I’m proud to be a very small part of Toyota’s great history on this rally. It’s been a massively demanding weekend, probably the most extreme Safari we’ve seen since we’ve been coming here, and the weather added an extra twist on Saturday. It was not easy to manage the final day, having quite a big lead and needing to bring it home. There was the temptation of extra points to play for on Sunday, but in the circumstances it was important to get the car to the finish, and I’m very happy at the end of it.”

Sami Pajari

“It is really a big relief to cross the finish line, which was our only plan for the whole rally. It has been quite a long week, from the recce and through four days of rallying. It can be quite exhausting, but we managed it quite well. There were no big mistakes or issues, which is exactly what we wanted from this event, so I can be super pleased with that. I’m happy for the team to have won this rally once again and with the experience we gained here, we can be even stronger next time.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It has been a difficult weekend, but we hoped to still try and take some good points from the final day. Everything was fine in the first stage this morning but on the road section to the next stage, we started to see some electrical issues on the car. We tried to fix them, but we couldn’t make it happen in the end and we had to retire from the rally. It’s really disappointing to leave without any points, but we will go again in the next rally.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m devastated to end the rally in this way. Near the start of the Power Stage, we had a half spin, we caught the inside bank and then we started to roll. It was a very unexpected thing, and I don’t know exactly what happened. It has been a very difficult rally and of course I had to try to push, and this kind of thing can always happen. But I’m just very, very sorry for the team.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“Really happy with the result today. A difficult and demanding weekend, but we are happy to bring both cars safely home on the podium. Our chances of victory went on Friday, but after that we kept it clean and now we’ve scored strong points on Sunday. There’s a lot of positives to take from this weekend. Really thankful to the team and the mechanics for keeping us in the game, there was never an easy service so a massive thank you to them. The cars were really put on the limit, but the team has improved the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 and its reliability – we’ve been moving in a really good direction since Friday.”

Thierry Neuville

“We can breathe now; it was a very stressful day today, always thinking something could break. I think we have been rewarded for our hard work on Friday and Saturday. It was an enormous job between stages for me and Martijn fixing the car, and the team always had a massive job to fix it at every service. But we never gave up, even when things were looking bad, and that paid off. We finally got the result we deserved.”

Adrien Fourmaux  

“A really tough weekend for us with the technical issues that started on Thursday, which was difficult to accept. I’m very proud of our performance on the stages today; we have scored some good points, and it is really positive to come home with those after a difficult event. I’d like to thank the team for giving me such a strong car today that allowed me to fight for maximum Power Stage and Super Sunday points.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Grégoire Munster

“I wanted to do well for my grandfather this weekend. It didn’t start too well on Friday, we encountered so many issues between brakes, engine overheating, the steering arm, punctures and of course the gearbox on Sunday too.

“But we never gave up and that was the only thing I wanted to do, to finish the rally, and apparently with Taka retiring we will be in the top five, so we’ve come a really long way this weekend. We wanted to start the season how we ended last year, and I’m really happy we managed to secure that top five finish here in Kenya.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“It was very good because we have a top result here, ninth overall against those top guys is great, especially considering the conditions. It has been very difficult, the first and the second days with the rain were completely different but really challenging. We survived well, showed some pace as well, but we didn’t push too much when there were no reasons to anyway – we already had a good result.

“It’s been a great weekend with M-Sport, the three crews getting to the end has been nice. With the help of Romet [Jürgenson] as well, we have had a fantastic team.”

Josh McErlean

“It’s been quite crazy, quite surreal. Honestly, it’s really nice to get to the finish. Okay, we had our problems, but we persevered and made it through.

“You have to come to Safari Rally and expect these conditions, it’s part of what it’s about. Not only that but the people and everyone involved, from the organisers to the teams, it’s a huge effort to come out here and put on a show as a non-European event, it’s such a huge spectacle so congratulations to everyone for making it happen.”

 

Oliver Solberg (WRC2)

“It’s definitely a little bit of a bitter-sweet feeling. “Getting stuck in the fech fech on Friday was so disappointing. There was literally nothing we could do about it; we were the first Rally2 car into that section. That’s it, sometimes this is the way the sport is working.

“The positive we can take away from here is the pace we showed and to know that none of us could have done any more than we did. Honestly, I feel like me, Elliott and the team deserved this one. Like I said, sometimes it doesn’t go this way.

“This was the first time we drove the Yaris on gravel, and I have to say I was really impressed. I want to say a big thank you to everybody in the Printsport team and, of course, to Elliott. We know this event is probably the toughest of the year and we definitely felt that again this time.

“We did everything we could, we won a lot of stages and took some points, but now we look ahead to the next event in Spain. It’s always such a big pleasure to come here and drive these roads and to spend time in such a special country with such incredible fans. I love this place and these people.

“And next time, I will come back even more determined to win!”

 

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 3

1	E. Evans	88
2	T. Neuville	52
3	O. Tänak	49
4	S. Ogier	33
5	A. Fourmaux	31
6	K. Rovanperä	31
7	T. Katsuta	25
8	S. Pajari	19
9	G. Munster	14
10	M. Sesks	8

 

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 3

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	148
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	122
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	47
4	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2	25

 

Summary

Well, what a fantastic rally this was. It had everything out there – fast flowing stages, tricky sections with huge rocks and also huge rain.

 

Elfyn and Scott conquered these conditions with a fantastic drive to their first win in Kenya. They set the pace required to take the lead and in the stages which were tricky they got through at the right pace and safe approach. With this win and the second this year, they now have thirty-six-point lead over the second placed crew in the championship, Thierry and Martijn.

 

Ott and Martin took second overall after a drive which saw them lead and have a big lead before issues with the driveshaft on one corner of the lost them time on the following two stages. They took the most stage wins as well and second place as well. It was a good recovery drive.

 

Thierry and Martijn did what they could out on the challenging stages dealing with technical problems with their car and somehow made it to the final podium place. It was a drive which was typical of the Belgian pair, getting something from a rally which could have finished in a very different way.

 

 

Looking ahead to the next rally which will be held called Rally Islas Canarias over the weekend of the 24 April to 27 April.

Onto the second full day then and the crews had 146km’s over six stages ahead of them. Adrien would not return as the Hyundai team decided to save his car for Sunday’s stages. This would mean Jourdan and Fred would open the road thought the day.

First up then was SS11 Sleeping Warrior 1 – 26.97 km and Elfyn would set the fastest time from Kalle and Takamoto. The three Toyota’s were making a very good start to the day’s stages. Elfyn had increased his lead over Kalle to almost 16 seconds. At Hyundai and M-Sport the crews all had either tyre or steering problems.

Onto SS12 Elmenteita 1 – 17.31 km and it was a top three fastest again for Toyota as Elfyn was fastest from Takamoto and Kalle. Kalle lost some more time to Elfyn as one of his tyres came off the rim of the wheel. It was a tricky stage as some sections had mud and standing water.

The final stage of the morning then, SS13 Soysambu 1 – 28.97 km and Takamoto was fastest from Ott and Elfyn. Kalle had yet more problems with tyres with another puncture. The result of this was that he lost one minute and twenty seconds and was still in second and now a minute and thirty-two seconds from Elfyn who was clearing the stages with no problems.

The afternoon stages started with SS14 Sleeping Warrior 2 – 26.97 km and the rain had hit the stage right as the first crews were starting. This meant the earlier crews would have more favourable conditions. Ultimately Takamoto would set the fastest time from Kalle and Elfyn. There was some more drama for Kalle as he suffered with broken rear left suspension though. Ott lost more time in this one and now Takamoto was only around sixteen seconds from him.

Next up was SS15 Elmenteita 2 – 17.31 km and yet more rain hit this stage. The two Pumas’ were able to take advantage of their early starting time and Greg won the stage with Josh second fastest. Sami was the highest placed Toyota with the fourth fastest time. Kalle took it very easy through the stage, protecting the rear left suspension which he and Jonna had made a temporary repair too on the road section. Kalle dropped from the podium and into fourth with Ott now second and Takamoto third. Greg’s stage winning pace took him up two positions and into seventh overall.

Time then for the final stage of the day then, SS16 Soysambu 2 – 28.97 km and there was more rain for all the crews in this one. Ott made the best of the conditions and set the fastest time from Thierry and incredibly Oliver was third in his Yaris Rally2. What a drive!

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

1	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:38:39.3
2	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+1:57.4
3	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+4:33.4
4	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+5:06.6
5	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+6:06.0
6	S. Pajari	M. Salminen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+7:00.4
7	G. Munster	L. Louka	Ford Puma Rally1	+11:02.0
8	G. Greensmith	J. Andersson	Škoda Fabia RS	+12:08.3
9	J. Solans	R. Sanjuan	Toyota GR Yaris	+12:14.1
10	J. Serderidis	F. Miclotte	Ford Puma Rally1	+24:39.1

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been remarkably difficult out there today. This has definitely been a proper Safari. Even this morning the conditions were really quite tricky after a lot of rain overnight. Then the rain came again immediately as we started the afternoon loop. The conditions were horribly inconsistent, and I was trying to treat everything with care but it’s easy to drop a lot of time. I couldn’t see much at all at the end with so much mud, but I’m happy we managed to get through it. Even with this gap, nothing is guaranteed on this rally. Tomorrow will be demanding and rough and anything can still happen, so we need to stay focused.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“Today was not an easy day for us. It started well this morning but then we had some bad luck with some punctures, and the afternoon was even worse; in Sleeping Warrior we hit a big loose stone in a muddy section, and it broke something in the suspension. We tried to make a small fix before each stage, and although it didn’t last we could at least get through the stages and get back to service. It’s still a long day ahead tomorrow with some tricky stages and a lot of points available, and we’ll do the best we can.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It has been a really frustrating day. The last two days have been tough for me with sickness, but the team has been supporting me well and I’ve been able to keep driving. The pace was there, and I was enjoying the driving and doing some good times. It was really disappointing to lose time with the punctures, but there are still five more stages to go. Just over 30 seconds to the podium is not so much on a rally like this, so we will keep pushing and see what happens.”

Sami Pajari

“Today was extremely tricky with a lot of learning. Already this morning we faced some very different challenges to yesterday, with a lot of wet and muddy places and it was tricky for me to predict the grip, or to know exactly what speed you can carry and what line to take. This afternoon the conditions were even tougher, but the pace was better which was nice to see. I could see some improvement in my driving even in the extreme conditions, and with every kilometre the feeling is getting better.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“There has been a lot of action today, especially this afternoon – it was proper wet and tricky conditions. Unfortunately, we had some trouble with the windscreen again and water in the car, which made it a very demanding loop. The conditions changes from stage to stage, so you never really know what you are going to find. There is always a new challenge you need to fight and overcome. Tomorrow should be smoother, but the roads are still very rough in places.”

Thierry Neuville

“Today has been challenging – it’s hard to describe just how tough it has been out there today, for several reasons. I wasn’t feeling well at all after a bad night and struggled to keep my concentration and do my job, but we kept fighting and we were rewarded with third place overnight. Those were some extreme conditions this afternoon – I haven’t seen anything like it in my career. We’ve had some rough Safari Rally Kenya’s in the past, but this is the roughest so far.”

Oliver Solberg (WRC2)

“Yesterday was tough. We did nothing wrong – I wouldn’t usually talk about luck, but I think we were unlucky to be the first car finding this fesh fesh. Today we came back to drive sensibly, stay in the middle of the road and take no risks. It was nice to be able to push a little bit harder where it was possible and winning Soysambu at the end was a good way to finish Saturday.

“Let’s see what Sunday brings. This is the Safari; it’s such a huge challenge and it will stay that way all the way to the final metre.”

Sunday

The final day then and anything can still happen. Let’s see if Elfyn and Scott can take victory in Kenya and be the first Brits to do this since Colin in 2002.

 

Six stages remain with a total of 65.99km’s.

Coming into the first full day of action there’d been two stages to start this year’s rally on Thursday. We had a top three which was Ott from Takamoto and Greg. In addition the top five were covered by just four and a half seconds.

First up then was SS3 Camp Moran 1 – 31.40 km and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Elfyn. The Welshman’s pace took him up three positions and into second overall, whilst Kalle moved into third. Ott now had a 13.1 second lead over his former M-Sport teammate.

Next came SS4 Loldia 1 – 19.11 km and Ott was again setting the pace from Thierry and Elfyn third. At this point there were three Hyundai’s in the top four fastest times. Setting good pace in his Puma was Josh who was holding fourth overall as his teammate fell nine positions to thirteenth overall.

The penultimate stage of the morning loop came next, SS5 Kengen Geothermal 1 – 13.18 km and Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Ott. Elfyn was sixth fastest and saw the gap to Ott grow to 19.3 seconds whilst Kalle was now 44.1 behind and holding third. Thierry was on the move up the leaderboard, past Josh and into fourth.

Onto the final morning stage then, SS6 Kedong 1 – 15.10 km with service to follow and Ott was fastest from Kalle and Elfyn. Further back Takamoto was gaining positions moving into seventh overall. He was climbing the field after his earlier puncture in the first stage of the day.

Into the afternoon stages then with a repeat of the morning loop and in the same order, first up was SS7 Camp Moran 2 – 31.40 km and Thierry took a stage win from Ott and Kalle. Takamoto was climbing some more passing Josh for fifth place. Also gaining quite a few positions was Sami in the fourth Toyota and he’d gained four positions thus moving into seventh overall. We lost Adrien in this one as the Frenchman tried to complete the stage with a puncture and ended up heavily damaging his front right suspension. He could not continue sadly and was out for the rest of the day.

Next up was SS8 Loldia 2 – 19.11 km and Ott was again fastest from Elfyn this time with Thierry third. Sami gained another position moving into sixth place overall. Ott now held a 46.1 second lead over Elfyn. This was some drive from the Estonian.

It was all change though at the end of SS9 Kengen Geothermal 2 – 13.18 km as the leading Hyundai suffered what would turn out to be a driveshaft problem the result being he’d lose over a minute on just this one stage and emerged 16.8 seconds behind new leader Elfyn and now in third overall. Kalle who was fastest in the stage from Elfyn was now second overall. Takamoto suffered a second puncture of the day.

Onto the final stage of the day then, SS10 Kedong 2 – 15.10 km and how would Ott get on? Well, it helped that he and Martin would be able to remove the driveshaft which had failed meaning he could push a bit more. He was twelfth fastest which doesn’t sound great but managed to keep the time loss down to 42 seconds meaning he’d keep third overall. Kalle won the stage from Takamoto and Elfyn.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

1 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:00:45.4 2 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +7.7 3 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +55.4 4 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +1:31.4 5 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +3:26.4 6 S. Pajari M. Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +4:19.1 7 J. McErlean E. Treacy Ford Puma Rally1 +5:35.4 8 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Toyota GR Yaris +5:53.8 9 G. Greensmith J. Andersson Škoda Fabia RS +6:04.4 10 J. Solans R. Sanjuan Toyota GR Yaris +6:34.1

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a clean and strong day for us. Maybe we were not always the fastest, but I’m happy to be at the end of the day with no trouble. It was a tough day, and this first stage of the loop was especially rough; the chance of damage was high with so many loose rocks. We definitely erred on the side of caution in places and that seems to have paid off, but there’s still a very long way to go. It can be a bit frustrating when you feel that you can go a bit faster and take more risk, but I just keep reminding myself where we are. Tomorrow might be slightly shorter but it’s still not going to be an easy day.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It has been a good day. The morning could have been better as I was losing some time in the more narrow and technical roads in the first two stages, but when we went to the faster stages it was much better and I had a really good feeling. The afternoon was much better overall. The conditions were really tough, but we were able to take care of the car like we planned: it’s always important on this rally to manage your pace and stick to your plan. You can go quicker but you can run into trouble easily. Tomorrow the stages have a different style, and the weather could play a big part too.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“The day started badly in the first long stage this morning with a lot of rocks, and we got a double puncture. It was very frustrating, and we had no spares left for the rest of the morning, so we had to be very careful, but we managed to get through it and back to service. This afternoon was even rougher, and we were trying to avoid mistakes. Unfortunately, we got another puncture but the pace when I pushed was quite OK and the feeling is nice in the car. There’s still two days to go, which is a long way in this rally, and everything is still possible.”

Sami Pajari

“We knew that today would be challenging and it was the case already in the first stage this morning, where we stopped to change a tyre and again got a stone to the windscreen somehow. But we were able to regather ourselves with a couple of clean stages to end the morning, and then the afternoon was really good. The car is working really nicely with no issues and the times are also pretty solid, so I can be happy with that. I’m getting more used to the conditions and reading the changes in the road, and I’m starting to understand where I can push and where I need to be cautious, so it’s a good feeling to end the day.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“At the end of the second stage of the afternoon, I noticed we had a driveline issue, but we managed to finish the stage. We then realised it was an issue with the driveshaft, but we were unable to remove it before the penultimate stage, so we had to drive through it carefully to stop it from damaging the engine. Luckily, we managed to remove it for the final stage, so we didn’t have to nurse it. We will try to come back tomorrow but we know it’s rough, its demanding and its hard on the car.”

Thierry Neuville

“It has been a really challenging day, but we were giving our best. We had some cooling issues this afternoon that we tried to fix by dismantling the whole front end of the car and putting it back together, but it didn’t work as well as we wanted it to, so we had to take care on the stages. It was extreme conditions, but we are happy to be here at the end of a difficult day. If we take away our penalties and the time we lost from the puncture, we would have been leading the rally today, but it is what it is and there is still a long way to go.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“I was happy with the car and the balance today, and I was being careful in the rocky places but then pushing where I knew I could.  I was feeling really comfortable but then everything went wrong this afternoon. We had a slow puncture, so we managed to continue for a few kilometres before the tyre started deflating, then in the fesh-fesh I didn’t see a rock and we had a big impact which broke the suspension. It is frustrating and we should have stopped to change the puncture, but it is easy to say this in hindsight. We will come back fighting tomorrow and target Super Sunday points.”

 

Oliver Solberg (WRC2)

“I came out of a hairpin and into the first fesh fesh section. The sand was so, so soft and so deep. Because we’d come from a slow corner, we weren’t carrying any speed to come through the fesh fesh and we got stuck. “We were the first Rally2 car in there, so it’s tough. There was no warning, nothing.

“It’s such a shame, everything was going really well. Me and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] were really controlled with no risk – just steadily building the lead and then this happened. There was literally nothing I could do, we tried to come through, but the car just dug in and bottomed out. The marshals tried to move us, but we couldn’t find a rope strong enough.

“It’s tough to go out like this, the car is just perfect. But OK, this is Safari, and it can do these kind of things to you, we have seen it before. We will keep pushing and come back tomorrow.”

Saturday

The second full day of action will see the crews tackle 146.5km’s over six stages. Who will be in the lead by the end of the day? We may see the rain out there and this can-do crazy things to the stages.

Time then for round three of this year’s championship and crews head to the wilds of Kenya. Elfyn and Scott lead the championship standings from their part-time teammates, Seb and Vincent by almost 30 points.

Of course, the British duo in their GR Yaris hold a very good lead over the regular crews such as Kalle and Jonne, Thierry and Martijn and Ott and Martin.

The crews have an incredible 384km’s ahead of them over twenty-one stages. The longest day is Friday at 157km’s whilst Saturday has 146km’s in total.

Let’s hear from the drivers!

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a good start to the year for us and we can be happy with how well the first two events have gone, but now the focus moves to gravel, where the learning starts again with another new tyre. While not representative of the roads in Kenya, our test last week was good familiarisation with this year’s specification of car on gravel and with the tyres. The Safari is a unique rally with a special set of conditions to face: it’s not easy even if it’s dry, but when you add the likelihood of rain and standing water, it can be a huge challenge just to get to the end. This has been an amazing rally for the team over recent years and while it’s not perhaps been my strongest event personally, we want to aim as high as possible and challenge for the win if it’s possible.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It has not been the easiest start to our season, but we’re not too far from the fight and now we move onto gravel, it’s a new chance to push harder and try to get back to where we want to be. The team has been really strong so far, and we just need to put all the pieces together on our end so that we can be on the same pace. The test last week was really important to try some different things and to find a good feeling with the car and tyres on gravel. The Safari is definitely one of the most special rallies in the season. It’s always really cool to go there and we’ll try to do another good result, as we really need that this year. It’s a hard rally to predict but we’ll try to push really hard and do our best.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Sweden was a nice rally for me, where I was able to show speed and finish with a strong result, and this gives me a good feeling for Kenya. The Safari is a special rally for me, and the team has been very strong there every year. They always prepare the car well and reliability has been our key strength. This year could be more challenging with the greater distance and new stages, so we need to prepare the pacenotes well during recce. We also have to find the best way to drive with this year’s car and tyres, but the feeling was quite good in our test. We always have a lot of support in Kenya, and I will try of course to finish on the podium again, but anything can happen there, and we need to prepare and manage it well.”

Sami Pajari

“The season has started with some very specific rallies, so it’s not been easy, but so far we have done some nice stage times and had many positive moments, and hopefully it can continue like this in Kenya. I was there for the recce last year, so I know a little bit what the roads are like, but it’s still going to be a huge challenge. The team has been really good there over the past few years, so I can expect the car to be strong, but I’m focused on my own performance as well. The target is just to gain as much experience as we can, but we’re also there to do our best and in a rally like this, anything can happen. It will be tough but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Safari Rally Kenya is very different from any other rally. Despite being rough like Greece, Kenya’s conditions, weather and surface can change very quickly. It’s rainy season over there, so if there’s precipitation, it’s very demanding both for the cars and for our visibility. The roughness of the terrain changes year on year; in addition to that, there are a couple of new stages as well as others that are run in the opposite direction to last time. Nevertheless, we need to have a clever drive. Taking care of the car and staying away from trouble will be key to that. Obviously, you need a bit of luck, but hopefully it’s going to work this year. While we expected more from Monte Carlo, the pace was definitely there, and that was shown in our performance in Sweden. We want to take it one step further in Kenya and finish on the podium steps.”

Ott Tänak

“Safari Rally Kenya is the most testing rally we have on the calendar. Generally, the roads are very demanding and rough, but super-fast at the same time. As we discovered last year, stones can appear from anywhere, so it’s a rally where we need to expect everything. The key is to find the perfect balance of risk and reward, but it is never easy. We need trust in our car to be reliable so we could push ourselves, as well as the places in the rough sections where we can carry as much speed as possible. The speeds are high and often we are competing on open sections where there is not much around us other than zebras and giraffes. This makes it quite tricky to perfect the pacenotes. We want to leave Kenya having had a trouble-free event and with a big trophy.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Finishing on the podium in Kenya last year, I learned that it’s a very different rally than the others: it’s all about endurance and managing both the car and the tyres. It’s a really long event and it’s very rough, so the fastest crew is not guaranteed to be on top every time – we need to be smart to get to the end. This is now my third different surface in three events with a new team, which is great as I can learn quickly the car in all the type of conditions. The car is prepared differently for Kenya: the suspension is really high to protect the car as much as possible, as well as us as a crew. My goal for the weekend would be to return to the podium, but I know it’s a big challenge. Anything can happen, so we will do our best to get the best result.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Grégoire Munster

“I’m really looking forward to Safari Rally Kenya, it’s probably my favourite event on the calendar, just because you experience things there that you don’t see anywhere else – not only with the wildlife but also with the tricky conditions. The heavy rain can be really intense, and the terrain is always changing so you have to pick a small track in the middle of tall grass fields which really adds to the character of the event.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge, I think we are well prepared with the team, and we had a good pre-event test in Greystoke earlier this week, so we just want to do well in Kenya and get a strong result.”

Josh McErlean

“This iconic event pushes drivers, co-drivers, and machines to their absolute limits, and I’m excited to take on its demanding terrain. The guys and girls at M-Sport have worked hard to prepare the cars into Safari spec, it’s pretty cool seeing the snorkel on the car. Both myself and Eoin are ready to face this adventure and whatever it throws our way.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“Kenya is where I have delivered my best results in WRC, with seventh in 2022 and ninth last year. I can’t wait to do it once again and to do my best to enter the top ten again! I know it is a tough rally and that we need to have a perfect run through the stages, and we also want to show our improvements that we have seen during the pre-event test.”

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“The challenge from Sweden to here is so different,” said the Monster Energy driver. “This is one of the really cool aspects of the World Rally Championship: we go from minus 15 and proper snow and ice to this… Look at this place,” he smiles. “It’s incredible.

What a beautiful place to go rallying. We have done a few runs already today and everything is feeling good. We have worked a little bit with the suspension and the set-up, and the car is feeling really nice. “Since I joined this team and started driving the Toyota at the start of the season, I was feeling comfortable and really at home. Both the Yaris and the team is fantastic, it gives a lot of confidence coming to an event like the Safari.

“There’s no doubt, we have to take a different approach for this one – you can’t drive flat-out all of the time, there will be a rock waiting for you somewhere. But at the same time, you can’t afford to take it too steady, the competition is super-tough in WRC2. We need to find a quick and consistent speed this week.

“But also, we have to enjoy competing in Africa. It’s an incredible place with some of the best fans in the world – I love coming here! We came directly from competing at Race of Champions in Australia, that was a really cool event. I stayed on for a few days to relax in Sydney after the race and actually proposed to my partner Chloe. It was a cool moment on Bondi beach. What was even cooler was her saying yes!”

Summary

The action has already started with shakedown earlier today. Kalle led the way from Thierry and Ott whilst Welshman Elfyn was seventh fastest.

Who can win this weekend then? Well, it’s hard to not look past Kalle who won this rally last year and also in 2022 as well. Toyota have dominated this rally ever since it returned to the championship in 2021 winning every event as well.

Hyundai have led the event previously – can they take a victory and beat the Toyota team? Only time will tell…..

For the three M-Sport crews this will be a learning event in particular for Josh and Eoin. Greg and Louis will have some experience to rely on from. Jourdan keeps returning to this event which had seen his best result at the top level, and he clearly loves it.

Onto the final day then and ahead of the crews were two close to 30km stages and the shorter 8.6km powerstage. Adrien and Alex returned to the action and would open the road throughout the three stages. Elfyn held a small three second lead over his teammate Takamoto with Thierry a further three seconds away.

First up was SS16 Västervik 1 – 29.35 km and Takamoto was really fast winning the stage from Ott and Kalle. Elfyn was 7.5 seconds slower and dropped to second overall, now 4.5 seconds behind his teammate. Thierry remained third overall. Further down the standings Greg passed Oliver for eighth position.

After a short break and service, the crews returned to SS17 Västervik 2 – 29.35 km for a second run. The top three fastest were Elfyn, Thierry and Ott. Takamoto could only manage the same time as Ott which was 8.2 seconds slower than his teammate and fell back to second place, now 3.7 behind Elfyn. Elfyn was really quick on this one, beating Thierry by almost seven seconds. It was a fantastic drive for the Welshman to regain the lead.

The time had come to run the final stage, SS18 Umeå[Power Stage] – 8.62 km. Adrien set the early pace and Ott was unable to beat his teammates time. However, each driver that came through after Ott beat the previous best time and we ended up with the top five looking this way. Adrien secured a single point with fifth. Fourth was Kalle, Thierry third, Takamoto second and Elfyn taking not only top spot in the powerstage also setting the pace throughout Sunday as well and he’d also secured victory. It was a brilliant drive for him, and Scott and they’d secured victory in the most remarkable way, from opening the road throughout Friday’s stages yet still taking stage wins.

Let’s take a look at the final standings and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Rally Sweden

1 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:33:39.2 2 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +3.8 3 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +11.9 4 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +16.8 5 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +32.8 6 M. Sesks R. Francis Ford Puma Rally1 +2:09.4 7 S. Pajari M. Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +2:27.0 8 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 +4:08.6 9 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris +8:23.1 10 R. Korhonen A. Viinikka Toyota GR Yaris +9:05.6

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been an amazing weekend. We led for a lot of the rally, but the margins were always tight and it was never really comfortable. This morning I got caught napping a bit in the first stage by Taka, who really made me fight for it, and thankfully we managed to turn it around and unlock good pace on the next stage. I’m very happy with the end result and to have won the Power Stage as well. It’s been a very good start to the season for us and we couldn’t really have dreamed of much better. Usually after a good Rallye Monte-Carlo it’s hard to score well in Sweden but the good conditions gave us a chance and I feel we made the most of it.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“Overall, it’s been a difficult weekend for me. We were trying to push hard but we could not have the pace or the performance that we wanted, even on this final day. It’s a big disappointment but this is the only snow rally in the season and now we need to focus on the next rally on gravel with a completely different tyre and work to be stronger there. I’ve been closely following the battle at the front and I’m really glad that both drivers could bring home the one-two and the maximum points for the team: well, done to Elfyn who’s done a really good job, and I’m proud of my friend Taka also.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s been a really nice fight with Elfyn and with the Hyundai drivers not far behind us as well. It’s been a really intense battle for the whole rally and there was some pressure throughout, but I enjoyed it a lot. At the end, I’m happy to have done a good job for the team, to bring the car to the finish and score some good points. Well done to the team for this result and hats off to Elfyn, who did an amazing drive on the penultimate stage. Next time I will be ready to push more to try and take that victory. I was able to manage the speed through the whole weekend and this is giving me more confidence for the future and a good feeling for Kenya.”

Sami Pajari

“Overall, it has been a really enjoyable rally and it’s good to reach the finish without any big mistakes. It’s still quite disappointing what happened on Friday morning when the tyre came off the rim and we lost quite a lot of time, which then maybe gave us not such a good starting position for the next days. Still, I think we had some nice pace and some good moments, including some top-three stage times, and the feeling has been good. It’s been valuable learning and I’m grateful to the team for the support.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“We are happy to be on the podium, but nevertheless we are disappointed that we weren’t able to score the big points. We were still struggling today with the balance and tyre degradation. The feeling wasn’t there 100% even though we were improving, and it seems it has been better for our competitors than for us. Our first event in the upgraded car felt good, overall, the performance was there. It’s hard to really analyse everything as we saw the variation based on road position was crazy this weekend. You could be in the middle of the group and have the best conditions at some points or have the worst. We were in the game this weekend and that’s what counts.”

Ott Tänak

“Friday was not the greatest day, but we were still very much fighting for the victory. On Saturday, we lost some time driving in a safer mode through the stages. This morning we tried to catch the leaders, but on the second loop the road conditions were still cleaning so much. I’m not sure we got the best out of the new car this weekend, but I would say when the car is working it’s nice to drive and we just have to put the package together now. Toyota has been very strong; they are doing a good job and it’s something we need to catch up with.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“We have been competitive all weekend so I would say the positive thing is we have the pace, but we need to avoid the mistakes and go from there. I am happy we could score at least one point in the Power Stage; it’s the bare minimum but it’s something so we didn’t come back with nothing. We are focused on the future – there are still 12 events and a lot to be done, so I will keep my head on my shoulders. Yesterday’s mistake will not happen again. Kenya is next and anything can happen, so I will be working a lot with the team to make it successful.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Mārtiņš Sesks

“That’s Rally Sweden done and dusted! I’m quite happy actually about our performance and our consistency. With our ‘safe speed’, we managed to get through the rally and collected some decent times as well. Especially on the second passes, where we were a bit more used to the road conditions, we were able to get some top-three times which was the big positive of the weekend.

“On some other stages we posted some competitive split times, so I think the good thing is that we can see we have the speed here and we can drive really fast in some circumstances. I think the big thing this weekend was the experience and to build some consistency for the future, and for the rest of the season to come this is a good start. I think it was quite a decent result.”

Grégoire Munster

“For sure, not the result we wanted here on Rally Sweden, but lots of positives to take home. We reached the finish without making any big mistakes; but we have some regrets from the first stages on Friday morning and the big-time loss there, which caused us to open the road on the following days.

“Still, we learned a lot and we’ve worked with the engineers on the set-up and have done some analysis and on-board comparisons to be able to keep improving. Although it doesn’t reflect in the stage times, we made some good improvements despite opening the road.”

Josh McErlean

“It’s been a really positive and strong weekend, the team’s done a fantastic job preparing the car and Eoin’s done a brilliant job on the notes. It’s been a real step forward since Monte-Carlo, we’ve shown some strong pace in terms of stage times and it’s something we can take forward with us. It’s given me huge confidence to say that I can actually fight with the top guys, and delivering top-five times has been really good to see.

“Honestly, it’s been really fun and so enjoyable to drive one of these cars on this surface and through these forests, it’s been simply incredible. I’m very humbled and appreciative of the opportunity. It was a shame with what happened today considering the pace we’ve been showing all weekend, we just ran a bit wide on a fast right-hander, got into the soft snow and it sucked us into the snowbank which stopped us in our tracks. The spectators did a fantastic job getting us out of there, so a big thanks to them and thanks to everyone supporting us this weekend. I’m really looking forward to Kenya next, it’s going to be a great adventure.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“Well, with so little experience on snow, it was a hard start on Friday, and we made some mistakes on setup. Then, we improved stage after stage, giving a better performance and having some fun! We took a lot of confidence in Umeå, and I am sure it will help us for the next events, Kenya and our national rally in Greece.”

Romet Jürgenson

“For our first ever WRC2 round, we’ve had a very good trouble-free event with a solid result on the board. We actually hit one of our targets already on Friday, when we were constantly in a good place pace wise compared to the fastest crews. There were definitely some difficult moments during the weekend, for example on Saturday, but now on Sunday in similar conditions we once again improved quite a lot. So, all in all, a very good start to the season. Big thanks to all the people at M-Sport for a good effort! Let’s go again soon!”

 

Oliver Solberg (WRC2 winner)

“It’s a fantastic feeling to win my third Rally Sweden in three years. It’s incredible. I love this event, these people and these roads, so to come home and win again is something very special.

“I have to say, this one was quite tough at times. The conditions were proper for the winter rally, we could see that with the beautiful blue sky and the incredible ice, but at the same time the road was changing a little bit. We were getting some ruts coming and you had to pick your line carefully at times. In the second stage this morning, I was steady. I felt it would have been easy to make a mistake there, so we took our times and brought the car home – and then went fastest on the last one. I love that Umeå stage, it’s so much fun!”

“This is what we wanted,” said Oliver. “We wanted to come here, to come to my home rally and put down a good result which would make a good start to the year. For me, this has been such a happy place to rally for the last few years and now it’s the same this season.

“The focus now is on moving forwards with the WRC2 title race. We want that championship this year.” 

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings 
After round 2

1	E. Evans	61
2	S. Ogier	33
3	K. Rovanperä	31
4	T. Neuville	29
5	O. Tänak	26
6	T. Katsuta	25
7	A. Fourmaux	21
8	M. Sesks	8
9	J. McErlean	6
10	S. Pajari	6

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 2

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	120
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	72
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	25
4	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2	11

Summary

What an amazing rally! Elfyn and Scott put a fantastic drive together this weekend to take a second Rally Sweden victory. Seven stage wins showed the pace they had, even though they’d opened the road throughout Friday’s stages. This win has taken them firmly into the lead of the championship.

Takamoto and Aaron were incredibly quick as well all weekend with two stage wins. They’d also been quick all weekend. It was a fantastic performance which they should be very proud of. That first win is certainly coming.

The reigning world champions had a mixed bag of performance. They were not on the pace to run at the front of the field, but eventually dialled some performance into the car. This led to four stage wins and some pace that took him to the podium.

Looking ahead, the teams have a few weeks before Safari Rally Kenya next month.

Day two dawned with stunning snow-covered stages just like Friday and a beautiful blue sky. There had been some snow fall overnight and this left the stages with some loose snow for the early crews to sweep. Jourdan would open the road throughout the day.

First up then was SS9 Vännäs 1 – 15.65 km and it was a 1-2-3 for Toyota as Kalle, Takamoto and Elfyn took the top positions respectively. Takamoto closed the gap to his teammate Elfyn to just one tenth of a second whilst Ott remained third overall. Further back Sami was on the move and passed Josh for eighth overall.

Into SS10 Sarjöliden 1 – 14.23 km and Elfyn set the pace in this one setting the fastest time from Kalle and Adrien. Takamoto set the same time as Adrien, seeing Elfyn increase his lead over him to two seconds. There was an overshoot at a junction for Josh and the gap to Sami who was ahead of him grew to almost six seconds.

The final stage of the morning loop, SS11 Kolksele 1 – 16.06 km saw Thierry take a stage win at last. Kalle and Sami were second and third fastest behind the Belgian whose pace had brought him into third overall. Kalle was also on the move passing Adrien for fifth overall. The Frenchman had to stop after he’d started the stage when he realised that he’d not done up his helmet strap and he dropped from fourth to sixth.

After the service break came SS12 Vännäs 2 – 15.65 km and Adrien came back from the set back on the previous stage to set the fastest time from Ott and Elfyn. The Welshman increased his lead over his teammate to six seconds as well after Takamoto set the sixth best time after a brief off road moment. Sami also had a small moment after an overshoot.

Next up was SS13 Sarjöliden 2 – 14.23 km and Elfyn was fastest from Thierry and Kalle in this one increasing his lead over Takamoto to 8.6. Thierry also moved back into third overall pushing Ott down to fourth. Unfortunately, we lost Adrien in this one as he clipped a snowbank which took his i20 and pulled the car into it which ended up facing the opposite direction and completely beached. He and Alex tried to dig the car out, but this didn’t work, and they were forced to retire for the rest of the day.

Onto the penultimate stage then, SS14 Kolksele 2 – 16.06 km and Thierry was fastest from Takamoto and Ott. Elfyn was fourth and maintained a six second lead over his Japanese teammate. The Welshman had a moment but managed to survive it and complete the stage. It was close though. There were also moments for Josh and Martins as they suffered a stall and spin in the stage.

The final stage then, SS15 Umeå Sprint 3 – 5.16 km and whilst it was a god one for the top three of Thierry, Takamoto and Ott, Elfyn had a moment under braking and a brief stall. He lost a few seconds and now Takamoto was only three seconds and Thierry a little over six seconds from him.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Saturday

1 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:00:04.2 2 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +3.0 3 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +6.3 4 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +12.8 5 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +22.9 6 M. Sesks R. Francis Ford Puma Rally1 +1:31.4 7 S. Pajari M. Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +1:43.6 8 J. McErlean E. Treacy Ford Puma Rally1 +2:05.8 9 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 +2:45.9 10 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris +6:09.6

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“Overall, today has been pretty good. It’s a close fight and I think there have been ups and downs for almost everybody at some point. There were just a couple of small mistakes in the last two stages which were quite costly: when the times are so tight there’s not much margin for error. On the penultimate stage I just lost the line ever so slightly, and in the last one the rear stepped out under braking, I locked the wheels and stalled. We need to try and avoid such mistakes tomorrow. Everything is to play for, and it should be an exciting day.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“Today was definitely much better than yesterday. We did a lot of work with the setup last night, and it felt pretty good on the first stage this morning which was narrow and technical. There we could feel comfortable and have some pace. When the stages are wider with long and fast corners, I’m still looking for some more precision. For tomorrow we’ll try to put everything we have learned this weekend together and aim to score some good points.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It has been a challenging day but quite a strong day I think. This morning I was not completely happy with the feeling in the car and this afternoon I was struggling a bit with the conditions. I had an overshoot and had to reverse, but I think we managed to gain some time back afterwards. The gap is not big in front or behind, but it feels good for me to be in this position. Tomorrow will be interesting, but I will just try to continue what I’ve been doing the whole weekend and see what happens.”

Sami Pajari

“It has been quite a solid day today. The morning especially was really nice and enjoyable for us. There were some stages where I felt I left some margin and some room to improve but still the times were OK. This afternoon there were some trickier conditions on the second pass, and I felt I was struggling a bit more there. But overall, it has been a good clean day full of learning in different conditions, so there are a lot of good things to take into tomorrow.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“The target of the day was to get closer to the lead and finally we achieved that. I’ve been satisfied with our performance; step by step we’ve been able to increase the speed. We’re still fighting a bit with mid-stage sections, but overall, I think we went in the right direction, and we know now what to do. There are extra points to take tomorrow, so in such a close battle everyone will be flat out. Let’s cross our fingers that everything will go our way tomorrow, and we will see.”

Ott Tänak

“This morning I had a better feeling chassis-wise, and it only improved from there. The first stage was positive, but then after this we lost some speed. The rest of the day we had to maximise everything we could. Some stages were bad, some were good, but that’s just the way it’s been. I think with the pace we’ve had this afternoon, a fight for the win tomorrow doesn’t look too promising. When it’s icy, the new tyres are consistent and tyre wear is not too bad, but we will see what the conditions are like tomorrow.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Today was not my day definitely, on SS11 I had to stop to tighten my helmet and lost more than 20 seconds, and then this afternoon I get trapped in a really soft snowbank. The car was in the snowbank on the outside and it pushed the front into it after that, so for 60 metres we were forced along it. At some point it caught the front and then we got stuck in the really fresh snow; it was really deep and there were no spectators. A difficult day, but I just want to refocus on tomorrow and try to get some points for the championship where we can.”

 

Oliver Solberg

“It’s been a good day today, the conditions were a little bit different from yesterday, but the focus for me and Elliott has been to stay on the road, stay sensible and stay out of trouble.

“Like yesterday, there were plenty of fans out there and, once again, I’ll say thank you for waving the flags – it’s an incredible feeling to drive at home like this.

“So far, so good. We need to stay like this for one more day and tomorrow is not going to be easy – it’s a proper day with the two long stages.”

 

Sunday

The final day will see the crews tackle 67km’s over three stages, with two runs of a 29km stage before the final stage to decide the winner, podium positions and points for the championship.

The first full day of action on Sweden’s snow- and ice-covered road would see some fantastic action and very interesting stage results. Coming into the seven stages Elfyn led from Ott and Kalle. It was a very good start for the Toyota pair.

First up then was SS2 Bygdsiljum 1 – 28.27 km and it was Elfyn who was fastest from Takamoto and Ott. A nice surprise for the number 33 crew as they increased their lead over the Estonian’s to 2.7 seconds. Takamoto’s pace brought him and Aaron into third overall, 6.5 from the leaders and past Adrien, Thierry and Kalle. The Finns were really struggling out there. There was drama for Sami and Marko. Earlier in the stage they were setting a really great pace before hitting a snowbank and pushing a rear tyre off the wheel rim. They dropped a couple of positions to ninth place after looking likely to move up the leaderboard.

Onto SS3 Andersvattnet 1 – 20.51 km and Adrien showed great pace winning the stage from Elfyn and Ott. Takamoto was also right on the pace setting an identical time to Ott. Adrien’s pace brought him ahead of Takamoto and into third overall. Meanwhile Elfyn continued to lead the rally now with a 3.9 second lead over Ott.

The final morning stage then, SS4 Bäck 1 – 10.80 km and it was a second stage win in a row for the French duo at Hyundai. Elfyn was still setting great pace going second fastest and Takamoto third. Adrien moved into second overall pushing his teammate Ott down to third. Further down the leaderboard Kalle was on the move, passing Thierry for fifth overall.

After the lunchtime service came SS5 Bygdsiljum 2 – 28.27 km and Takamoto was fastest this time from Thierry and Martins. The Japanese star with his Irish co-driver moved into the lead as Elfyn and Scott could only manage the seventh best time and was now 5.8 seconds from their teammate.

Following that was SS6 Andersvattnet 2 – 20.51 km and Ott was fastest from Elfyn and Martins. Elfyn moved back into the lead with Takamoto and Ott remained third. Martins remained the top placed Ford driver holding seventh place.

Onto the penultimate stage of the day then, SS7 Bäck 2 – 10.80 km and Thierry found some pace at last going fastest from Ott and Sami. This all led to a change at the top as Elfyn could only manage the eighth best time and was now half a second from new overall leader Ott who leapfrogged Takamoto and Elfyn.

There were more changes at the end of SS8 Umeå Sprint 2 – 5.16 km as Elfyn was fastest from Thierry and Takamoto. Ott fell again to third place. At the end of the final stage just 2.5 seconds covered the top three.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Saturday

1 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1:08:36.5 2 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +0.6 3 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +2.5 4 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +7.9 5 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +9.1 6 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +25.5 7 M. Sesks R. Francis Ford Puma Rally1 +43.6 8 J. McErlean E. Treacy Ford Puma Rally1 +1:02.6 9 S. Pajari M. Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +1:10.6 10 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 +1:22.5

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been very close out there today. Sometimes it’s suited us to be running at the front and sometimes it hasn’t. This morning it was pretty good for us but the grip was still quite changeable and difficult to read. The afternoon was not so kind for us and even the last stage felt quite messy but still the time was good. Compared to how it’s been when we’ve opened the road here in the past, we should probably be quite happy to be in the lead after Friday, but the gaps are very tight so let’s see how tomorrow plays out.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Today has been very good. It has felt very comfortable: we have not been pushing crazy hard but still the times have been coming. I’m enjoying it a lot so it’s going well so far but there’s still some way to go. At the moment it’s very tight in the top five; one mistake could cost a lot, so I will try to continue in the same way and have another clean day tomorrow. The starting positions should be more equal, and the conditions should be good so I’m looking forward to it.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It hasn’t been the best day for us. I was struggling more than I was expecting with my feeling in the car and how my driving style is working together with the tyre. We tried many small things during the day and made some steps, so we had a slightly better feeling this afternoon, but we’re still not in the place we want to be. If we can find something more for tomorrow then hopefully it will be a better day and we can be more among the top times.”

Sami Pajari

“The feeling was really good in the first stage this morning: it felt quite clean with a nice flow, and I didn’t feel I was pushing that much. In one place we hit the snowbank, which is quite normal on a snow rally, but for some reason the tyre came off the rim. It was disappointing to lose so much time, and without that it could have been a really good day. But it’s all about the learning, and there’s still two more days to drive and enjoy.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“We tried to put a consistent run together, but it was not so much fun in the car today, so we are for sure looking forward to tomorrow. We need to use the used tyres in the right moment and make sure you finish them, but the last two stages were more icy and the fresh tyre was probably more needed there. Normally when it’s icy it’s very good for the first car on the road and then normally the ice breaks down more and more, the layer seems to be a bit thicker so maybe it will last a bit more tomorrow, but we will see.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“It was a really positive day; I think everybody enjoyed the conditions; it was really nice this morning with a lot of ice. This afternoon, as expected, we saw the gravel in the ruts, and we had to manage our tyres a bit more to try our best to not be lose too much to the others with better road positions. I don’t have too much experience on snow, but I am enjoying it, trying to do my best and use my experience from last year. It seems to be working really well and we want it to continue like this tomorrow. It will be more icy, and the loop is shorter than today so it’s going to be easier for the tyres. Tomorrow will be full attack for everybody.”

Thierry Neuville

“We knew this morning that we had to keep calm and accept that we were losing time, but we also knew that the afternoon would be to our advantage. I think we made the best out of it and I’m pretty satisfied with how the second loop went – the feeling was better. We are missing experience on the tyres and with the setup as well; the amount of understeer left me a bit surprised. It’s going to be a big push out there tomorrow, but if the feeling is like it was this afternoon then we will definitely be in the game.”

 

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“Honestly, I can tell you, I have been really feeling the love coming from the forest today.”

“It’s so nice to see so many fans out there – I have to thank them all very much for the cheering and the waving of the flags! For the driving, it’s been good. We have made some nice times and we’re in the lead, but I think there is still some more speed to come from me and the car.

“I feel like we’ve visited nearly every snowbank along the way today!

“We’re going to have a look at the car tonight and see if we can change something for tomorrow. The conditions have been nice and quite consistent for us – it’s such a pleasure to drive a winter rally when it’s like this.” 

Saturday

The second full day will see the crews tackle 97km’s over seven stages. Who will make the best of the conditions out there? Elfyn and Scott’s drive on the full first day has been remarkable given that they were opening the road and to lead this rally shows they are right there this year. Long may it continue!

It’s already round two of this years championship. The teams head north to Sweden and the snow-covered roads around Umea. Coming to the rally, with their teammates Seb and Vincent not competing, Elfyn and Scott are the effective championship leaders and will open the road throughout Friday’s stages.

This year there are 300km’s over 18 stages. Friday sees the second longest stage run of the whole weekend at 28km’s and with being run twice also means that this is the longest day as well at almost 130km’s.

Saturday sees 102km’s over seven stages. These are shorter stages throughout the second full day of action.

Sunday sees just three stages with a total of nearly 69km’s. However, one stage is 29km’s and is run twice before the short 10km powerstage.

Let’s hear from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“Our podium in Monte Carlo was a solid start to the year and we’re looking forward to the next challenge in Sweden. It’s an event that’s always a lot of fun to drive with the stages being as fast as they are. Opening the road could make for a difficult start to the weekend if there’s a lot of fresh snow like last year. On the other hand, if it’s icy, it could play into our hands; we’ll be giving it our all regardless. There’s a lot of learning to do at the start of the year about the new Hankook tyres and for Sweden it’s no different. So far the feeling is quite different to before and we have to try and adapt to that and get the most out of it.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It was not the easiest start to the season for us at Rallye Monte-Carlo, but we ended the weekend with some good points and now we want to try and have a strong performance in Sweden. Driving on snow is always a lot of fun and doing the Arctic Rally along with our pre-event test has been also really important to get some good kilometres on this surface with the new tyre and to get a feeling for it. We’ve been working hard with the team to find the best setup and the right direction for us to take, and so far the feeling has been pretty good. We’ll have to see what the conditions will be like but hopefully it can be a good rally for us.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Rally Sweden is one of my favourite rallies and I will try to do my best there for the team. It’s going to be a big challenge with the new tyre for this event, which means that the feeling in the car will probably be a bit different to previously on this surface, but I will try to adapt to this. A lot can depend on the conditions we face. If there is a lot of snow like last year, then our road position could be good, but if the surface is just pure ice it could be more difficult for us. Naturally I’m hoping for plenty of snow, but I will do my best either way.”

Sami Pajari

“I’m really looking forward to Rally Sweden. It’s one of my favourite events in the whole WRC season. It’s a completely different event compared to Rallye Monte-Carlo: the conditions are usually more stable, and the tyre choice is a lot simpler with just one type of tyre available. In that sense, the approach can be more straightforward. Perhaps some people are hoping that I can fight for a top result there, but for me it’s very much still a learning event, because it’s my first winter rally in Rally1. So I’m not setting such high expectations: I just hope that we can enjoy the rally and have a good solid event.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“Finishing on the podium at Rallye Monte-Carlo was great for both us and the team. Ending a notoriously challenging event like that is great for our motivation. When we left Monte, we knew we had a tough challenge coming in Sweden – and when you do well in round one, you have a tricker road position at round two. We did two days of testing on snow in December, and then another test in January, so we have had some experience with the car on snow and feel confident going to the event. We want to push and do our best to replicate our podium finish from last year, but we know it’s a big challenge being second on the road. We need to score as many points as possible at this rally, and we’ll see where we end up.”

Ott Tänak

“Monte was full of surprises this year and we struggled to adapt immediately to the new tyres in the changing conditions. This will still be a challenge in Sweden, but with no tyre choice we just need to focus on maximising our performance as quickly as possible. Road position plays a key role in Sweden, especially on the second loop of some stages, but aside from that, speed and performance are still the most important factors. We had a test day in December and another one after Monte-Carlo and so far it’s all been positive. There will be some big challenges, but we are feeling motivated ahead of the weekend – we are hoping to push for a strong result.”

Thierry Neuville

“Rally Sweden is a unique event that demands a lot from us as crews and the car. We need a good setup so we can feel as comfortable as possible – reactivity, precision and traction are crucial to finding success in Sweden. There is still more to test with the new tyres: learning how long the studs last and how much camber you can run are all things we still need to learn. The new stages this year also add to these challenges; with new pace notes and only two passes to learn them, it always makes it tougher. We want to take good points home from the event, and we are determined to be fighting for a podium finish. More important to us than winning is a clean points haul for the championship, and we want to maximise this on Sunday.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Grégoire Munster

“I’m looking forward to driving on snow and ice again, it’s something that we’re not so used to and don’t do so often. Being able to do it with the Puma is really cool too. `We had the pre-event test earlier this week, where we learned a bit about how to work with the new tyres, and I think that’s going to be an interesting factor on this event.

“We are going to have a good starting position, after our result in Monte, so we will try to benefit from that on Friday and hopefully we will enjoy some good snow conditions. We had good pace in Monte-Carlo, and although this is a completely different surface, we hope to carry some of that momentum into Sweden.”

Josh McErlean

“Really excited for Rally Sweden! This event is always incredible, it’s such a special event with the unique challenge of competing on snow and ice. The grip these cars can generate with the studded tyres is something else. We learned a lot in Monte Carlo, and now the focus is on building momentum, taking another step, and building speed. I can’t wait to get back in the car and experience the thrill of flying through the forests at full speed.”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“I’m excited to be back in Rally1 with M-Sport and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to do half of the season this year with them, which gives us more chance to show our pace and maturity in the car.

“This will be our first rally of the season, and our first snow rally in the Rally1 car. It will be a good experience with a good learning curve for sure! Because we’re only doing half the season, we have less pressure on us long-term and we can just see rally by rally how we feel and how our pace is going to look. I’m excited to be driving on snow, I really enjoy driving in these conditions, using the snowbanks around the roads. It should be a fun weekend and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“Rally Sweden is our first appearance in the WRC in 2025 and we are excited to drift on snow again! While Sweden is not where we have the most experience, we believe that this event should help us to tackle higher objectives in Kenya in March. I can’t wait to be back in the Puma together with our team-mates in Umeå.”

Romet Jürgenson

“It’s going to be a big step up in Sweden for both me and Siim, but we are ready for the challenge! WRC2 at the moment is a different league and it will definitely take some time to be able to establish ourselves. I will take my time and try to prove my worth once we are settled in properly. We have an exciting year ahead of us and can’t wait to get started!”

 

Oliver Solberg

“Last year was so close, it really hurt that we were within touching distance and not able to clinch it. That frustration from last season is only serving as a greater motivation for this year.

“Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] and me are so determined to finish the job this year and that work starts next week.”

“I really feel at home in the snow,” said Oliver. “And Sweden is definitely one of the highlights, one of the favourites for the season. Like you can imagine, it’s a special feeling to compete at home in front of so many friends and family – and the fans are just amazing as well. But it’s the roads which make this one really special.

“I’m competing in the GR Yaris Rally2 for the first time in the full snow conditions, so this is something new. We will have completed our pre-event testing and, of course, we drove the Monte Carlo Rally last month. I was immediately impressed with the Yaris – it’s quite a different car from what I’ve driven before: more nimble and, with the three-cylinder engine, the delivery of power and torque is a little different. I love it.

“The priority is points next week and there’s no better way to score big points than to win WRC2 – so that’s what we’re aiming for.”

 

Summary

Well, here we go with a classic rally. The speed which the crews tackle the snow and ice roads. Road position will be key in this rally throughout Friday. It will be hard for Elfyn to finish on the podium but let’s wait and see.

Onto the final day then of this classic event and what would the final 50km’s give us? Overnight rain made the roads wet and then the clouds cleared which led to the roads freezing. There was also frost on the edge of the roads.

The different crews had to make their tyre choices as there would not be any tyre fitting zone before the end of the day. There was also the additional aspect that the power stage was only being run once.

First up then was SS16 Avançon / Notre-Dame-du-Laus 2 – 13.97 km and Seb was fastest from Elfyn and Kalle. Adrien could only manage the eighth fastest time and lost third place to his teammate Ott, now 4.5 behind the 2019 world champion. There was drama for Takamoto who went off the road and couldn’t get the car back on the road. Then Sami also went off at a bridge after losing control.

It all changed on the following stage, SS17 Digne-les-Bains / Chaudon-Norante 2 – 19.01 km with Adrien taking an amazing stage win by 4.5 seconds over Kalle and Elfyn. He’d narrowed the gap to Elfyn to just four seconds and also reduced the gap to Seb to just 22.2 from over 46 seconds. Also, to exit on this stage was Greg who’d hit some ice and hit the side of the mountain leading to damage which put him out for the rest of the day.

Onto the final stage then, SS18 La Bollène-Vésubie / Peïra-Cava [Power Stage] – 17.92 km and would the choice made by Elfyn and Seb to go with the studded tyres, or Adrien with the soft tyres and no studded tyres? Well, there was still quite a bit of snow and ice on the stage, particularly on the other side of the col du Turini. Well, the result showed that Seb and Elfyn took the right tyres to the stages as they set the pace with Adrien taking the third fastest time. Kalle was also on the pace and passed Ott for fourth overall.

Let’s take a look at the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Rallye Monte-Carlo

1	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:19:06.1
2	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+18.5
3	A. Fourmaux	A. Coria	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+26.0
4	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+54.3
5	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+59.0
6	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+5:44.2
7	J. McErlean	E. Treacy	Ford Puma Rally1	+10:15.1
8	Y. Rossel	A. Dunand	Citroën C3	+10:26.8
9	N. Gryazin	K. Aleksandrov	Škoda Fabia RS	+11:40.7
10	E. Camilli	T. De La Haye	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	+13:14.6

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“It’s amazing to win this rally for the 10th time: it makes me incredibly happy and proud. This rally is the one that gave me the dream to be a rally driver, so if I could pick only one to win in a season, it would always be this one. This year it’s been a huge fight up until the very last stage. We had changing conditions, difficult tyre decisions and pressure right until the end so I’m glad we managed to keep it under control. We definitely had some moments but to win this rally I think you always need a bit of luck too. It’s a perfect start to the year for the team so we couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Elfyn Evans

“This was a typical Rallye Monte-Carlo, a bit more extreme than in recent years and it was a properly challenging weekend. I’m very happy to be here at the end with a decent haul of points. Today started off with some very tricky conditions, we made a change at the last moment to take four studded tyres and I wasn’t sure it was the right call. In the end it seems there wasn’t a lot between the two choices, and we had a pretty thrilling Power Stage to finish: we had a close moment a few corners from the end but thankfully we managed to get away with it.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“Rallye Monte-Carlo is always tough, and it was especially so this year. For me personally it was a pretty difficult weekend. We didn’t have the result that we wanted or the pace that we wanted but we have to be happy at the end to have got some pretty good points. Today was not a bad day for us: we just tried our best, kept consistent and it paid off. A big thanks to the team, now let’s see what we can do in Sweden.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“This morning in the first stage we knew that the conditions could be quite tricky, but we came to one right-hand corner that was frosty where we didn’t have that information in our pacenotes. We were quite slow going into the corner, but the car went wide and got stuck in a small ditch which we couldn’t get out of. Until then it had been quite a good rally, especially Saturday when the pace was good. It’s a pity but I just need to refocus on the next rally in Sweden and try to do a good job for the team there.”

Sami Pajari

“The approach for today was the same as before and we were not planning to push particularly hard. There was just one surprisingly icy braking point which just caught us out. It was an unfortunate end to our rally, as it been going according to plan until then. On Saturday especially we saw that the times were getting better, and the feeling was getting better and the confidence was rising. Everything felt under control so it’s a pity to end the rally like this, but we will try to learn from what happened and look forward to Sweden.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“Monte-Carlo is always something special, and to have such a great start with Hyundai is really positive so I am really pleased with my weekend. We put a lot of pressure on Elfyn and Seb, but we couldn’t push it that little bit more with that much snow on the road as we didn’t want to risk too much. It’s a shame, but it’s a part of game – we have no regrets. Sweden will be good, for sure; we will be second on the road in the snow and the cold temperatures, but I am really looking forward to it.”

Ott Tänak

“It was quite an entertaining weekend but still lots of positives to take away. We got some good points and can be a bit happier with the road position going to round two. There were some things we couldn’t get right, but obviously the base was there. We will get it sorted and working, but it takes a bit of time. I am looking forward to Sweden, and we will be able to try the upgraded car for the first time so hopefully we will see an improved performance on that side as well.”

Thierry Neuville

“All in all, it was a challenging weekend for us. It went wrong from the braking in the hairpin on Friday, and then the combination of our road position and the conditions today that didn’t favour us. Today there was less ice than expected, and cars were going faster on slick tyres – it was a difficult Sunday. We can optimistic about what’s coming next in Sweden; we will have a better road position and hopefully a better rally because of it, but we still need to make the most of it.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Josh McErlean

“Seventh overall at the Monte-Carlo Rally! What a way to kick off our Rally1 debut with the Ford Puma. It’s been a massive challenge with so many new elements – new car, new team, new co-driver, and Hankook tyres – but we kept our heads, did our own thing and learnt every step of the way. The conditions have been so demanding, but it’s been thoroughly enjoyable! Huge thanks to everyone who made this possible – we’re excited for our next event and to the snow of Sweden.

“It’s been an unforgettable experience, and I’m proud of what we achieved out there. The boys and girls at M-Sport have been phenomenal!”

Grégoire Munster

“I think there are quite a lot of positives to mention, I think generally we had some good pace and really improved day after day. We posted a fourth-fastest time on Thursday, two second-fastest on Friday and then our first stage win in the morning on Saturday. So, we’ve been consistently improving, and we’ve learned a lot as well. Thanks to the team for working late on Friday night to fix the car so we could go again on Saturday. It gave us a chance to grab some more experience which was super important, especially because we’re driving on the new tyres.

 

Oliver Solberg

“It’s been such a positive week. Apart from this silly moment on Thursday night, everything has gone really well. We’ve learned so much about the new car and straight away I want to say a big thanks to Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] and the team – all the people at Printsport have been fantastic in making me feel at home with the Yaris.

“I said before the start that it was nice to be part of this Toyota family and competing with the GR Yaris and this is really what I feel from doing the first event.

“The car was quite different from what I was driving before, but we did a lot of testing which really helped me find a good feeling. The times we were able to set were really strong, it was nice to win a lot of stages and I really think we had the pace to win this one. It’s a little bit frustrating that we had this damage on Thursday night, but this is the game, this is the sport.”

“I have enjoyed driving this car in some really tricky conditions on the Monte this week,” continued Oliver. “The last day, over the classic Col de Turini stage, it was really tricky with the ice, dry Tarmac and some snow – it was impossible to find the perfect tyre choice – but we made the finish.

“Now, it’s time for the snow and time to go home and compete in Umeå. As you can imagine, this is one of my favourite rallies for the year and I can’t wait to take this Yaris to those roads.”

Summary

Well, what a great start to the new season for Toyota. Seb taking his tenth victory in this classic rally was amazing considering his moment when he went off the road and fell behind. What came after that was a masterclass in driving.

Elfyn also had a fantastic rally as expected and led as well, maintaining great pace to keep himself in the podium positions throughout the weekend. This is a great start to his title hopes for this season.

Finally, Adrien had a brilliant first event at Hyundai and utterly deserved his sixth ever podium in his career. Taking a stage win along the way shows how comfortable he has become with his new car. There is every chance he and Alex could take their first win this year.

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings 
After round 1

1	S. Ogier	33
2	E. Evans	26
3	A. Fourmaux	20
4	K. Rovanperä	18
5	O. Tänak	11
6	T. Neuville	9
7	J. McErlean	6
8	Y. Rossel	4
9	N. Gryazin	2
10	E. Camilli	1

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 1

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	60
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	36
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	11

Onto the longest day then of the rally with 120km’s over six stages and a break in the middle for service. This day also featured the longest stage of the weekend with the 27km opening the day and the afternoon stages.

Greg and Louis returned to the action after having a problem on the road section following the final stage of yesterday which meant they’d not made it back to service. They would restart under the super rally rules.

First up then was SS10 La Motte-Chalancon / Saint-Nazaire 1 – 27 km and opening the road would be the place to be as Greg took his first ever stage win. He was sat on the road section watching the live coverage when the final car came through which of course was Seb. He was really close to Greg’s time and was second fastest whilst Kalle was third. Adrien and Elfyn set the same time as they continued to fight for second overall.

Next was SS11 Aucelon / Recoubeau-Jansac 1 – 15.48 km and Ott was fastest from Adrien and Elfyn. The Estonian had found some pace and was really quick in this one, moving to just three seconds of Kalle who was in fourth place. Meanwhile ahead of them both Adrien moved ahead of Elfyn and into second place.

The final stage before service SS12 La Bâtie-des-Fonts / Aspremont 1 – 17.85 km and Takamoto was fastest from Thierry and Seb. Elfyn lost a few more seconds to Adrien, the gap now 2.8 seconds. Ott was also looking to pass Kalle as he moved to within one second of the Finn.

After service came SS13 La Motte-Chalancon / Saint-Nazaire 2 – 27 km and Ott was fastest from Elfyn and Takamoto. The result of these quick times was that Elfyn was back ahead of Adrien and Ott moved ahead of Kalle. Seb was maintaining a very good pace and had a 18.4 second lead over his teammate.

Into SS14 Aucelon / Recoubeau-Jansac 2 – 15.48 km and Ott was fastest from Seb and Thierry. There was another swap between Adrien and Elfyn as the Frenchman moved back into second place. The gap was tiny though, just seven tenths separated them both. Meanwhile Ott was closing on them both and had the gap down to less than ten seconds.

The final stage then SS15 La Bâtie-des-Fonts / Aspremont 2 – 17.85 km and Ott was fastest again from Elfyn and Takamoto who’d had an excellent end to Saturday’s stages. Elfyn was back ahead of Adrien and Ott was now just 2.5 seconds from his teammate. The Estonian had had a brilliant day once he and his team had got the i20 into the sweet spot.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Saturday

1 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:42:48.2 2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +20.3 3 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +24.6 4 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +27.1 5 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +55.0 6 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +1:43.7 7 S. Pajari M. Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +4:09.9 8 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +5:17.5 9 J. McErlean E. Treacy Ford Puma Rally1 +8:25.4 10 N. Gryazin K. Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS +8:33.0

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“Again, it was not an easy day. Some sections were fun to drive, and others were tricky, especially at the end of the day when it was getting dark and I had some little moments on the mud, so I’m glad to have this day behind me and that we could increase the gap a little bit. The gap is not a comfortable one but it’s still a positive one to take into the last day. Like usual it will be difficult until the end because the weather tonight looks unpredictable, so we need to make the right tyre choice and stay focused.”

Elfyn Evans

“Overall, I’m pretty happy with the day and we’re still in a pretty good position tonight. We had some very mixed conditions out there with a lot of pollution on the stages, and our performance was a bit mixed with it. We pushed when we felt good and maybe took a little bit too much caution at other times. I was pretty happy with the last stage of the day, to not lose too much time to Ott and to take back second from Adrien, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow: we don’t know fully what to expect, but we could be facing some quite difficult conditions.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It was still quite a challenging day today. Some stages and some sections were pretty good and then we were just losing a bit too much time in other places. I was just not feeling completely confident, so it was still a difficult day. With the team we’re trying to change some small things and at least we still have tomorrow, when we can try something new and see how it’s going. We’ll try to do our best of course and hopefully get some extra points.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It was a very good and positive day for me. Last night with the team we changed some things in the setup and today I felt a much better feeling with the car, so I was able to push more. I was able to go much quicker than yesterday and we set some good times, which was giving me better confidence. Tomorrow will be quite a big day and the weather could be very interesting. I will try to do my best to take some points.”

Sami Pajari

“Today we did a clear step forwards and I had a much nicer and more enjoyable feeling. We didn’t really change the plan, but the feeling was getting better and also the times were nicer, so that made it more enjoyable also. We can see that we just need some time and experience, and the times get better. From what we’re hearing, the conditions tomorrow could be even more challenging so it could be another different and difficult day ahead.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“It’s been quite a rollercoaster at this Monte-Carlo. I was not so happy with my pace this afternoon; I was struggling to get the grip. Tomorrow is a big day; we have kept a reasonable gap to Elfyn but then Ott came back really strong this afternoon so we will see what happens. He had a really good pace today, so our focus will be understanding why this afternoon I didn’t have the same. Tomorrow will be a big challenge with the rain that is expected and the potential of black ice, so it’s going to be an interesting day.”

Ott Tänak

“It’s been a very positive afternoon. Finally, I found a good feeling in the car and immediately I had a good rhythm to actually enjoy myself. The gravel crew did a very good job in these very tricky conditions, particularly in the last one, that helped me find my confidence. This morning we found which way to go with the setup. I had no mileage with this tyre at all, so we didn’t know which direction to go, but we began to understand, and it started to work for me. I’m looking to keep a good rhythm and enjoy myself in the car tomorrow.”

Thierry Neuville

“We slightly touched the wall on stage 14, and I was bit surprised, we weren’t aware it was wet in that corner, but it was nothing major. I don’t know if the progress we made today is enough to maximise our day tomorrow, and the weather conditions could have a huge impact. We have to prepare as best as we can and make some changes to the setup because things are not feeling as they should. Maybe we change the gearbox and then see how things are in the morning – with Super Sunday and the Power Stage there is still an opportunity to bring some points home.”

Sunday

Sunday’s stages will see the crews tackle 50km’s over three stages. In an unusual move the power stage will only be run once.

Will Seb take a tenth win and what will happen as Elfyn, Adrien and Ott battle over the remaining podium positions?