Ogier hunts down Evans in intense WRC Monte Carlo Rally Friday

Elfyn Evans leads the FIA World Championship’s season-opening Monte Carlo Rally after Friday’s leg, but is under increasing pressure from his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Sebastien Ogier.

Welshman Evans (above) is one of the favorites to land the 2024 title, thanks to reigning champ and Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanpera electing to run only a limited program this season. But his prospects of starting the year with a victory on the WRC’s most storied event are far from certain with nine-time winner Ogier on a charge. 

Evans had been 21.6s clear of Ogier’s similar GR Yaris Rally 1 after Thursday’s pair of curtain-raising night stages, but Ogier is now looming large in the Welshman’s rearview mirror after a stunning drive over the French Alps roads near Gap saw him reduce that deficit down to just 4.5s at the end of the leg  

The Frenchman won two of Friday morning’s three stages and climbed from third to second after Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville spun his i20 N Rally in the day’s second test.  

Ogier, who is also running only a limited program for Toyota in 2024, had moved to within 10.7s of Evans by the day’s midpoint, with the bulk of the time being gained over the 11.38-mile, ice patch-effected stage from La Breole to Selonnet.

The Toyota duo were closely matched for much of the repeated afternoon loop, but it was again at La Bréole/Selonnet — held in darkness on its second, leg-closing run — where Ogier shone, outpacing Evans by 4.1s to set up a showdown going into Saturday’s penultimate leg.

Sebastien Ogier is in attack mode, now trailing rally leader and Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans by just 4.5s. Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT photo

“It was a difficult start to the rally, but we expected that with our start position,” said Gap-born Ogier, who started fourth on the road, making for dirtier conditions than lead-off man Evans, but is looking for a record-stretching 10^th win on his home event. “Now I am glad that we managed to be very close — tomorrow will be fun.”

Evans, who was never outside the top three times on any of the opening eight stages, admitted that conditions had been difficult to read.  

“It never gets easier, this rally,” he explained. “[The last stage was] very difficult in the dark. I had a lot of information, but I couldn’t see a lot of it, to be honest — I just had to trust it. It’s very difficult to read the conditions on the road. I’m happy to get through today without any issues.”

Neuville’s Hyundai remained very much in the fight at the sharp end, too, trailing Ogier by 11.6s in third. The Belgian won three of Friday’s six special stages and enjoyed a trouble-free run aside from his early-morning spin.