Sébastien Ogier has won the first stage of the 2023 Monte Carlo Rally from Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans but it was a troubled start to Ott Tänak’s M-Sport return.
Under the cover of darkness, the La Bollène-Vésubie / Col de Turini was a demanding way for the new World Rally Championship season to begin – but conditions were at least dry and stable, eliminating that typical Monte element of risk from the contest.
Nobody knows the challenge the Monte throws at drivers more than local driver and eight-time winner Ogier, and the eight-time world champion showed his class by winning the opening test to the tune of 1.3 seconds.
“It was OK, very dry conditions, very slippy at the end with the salt but clean start. Anyone that says he is not nervous at the start of this one either has a problem or he’s lying!” Ogier smiled.
Second fastest for Evans was a massively important statement though after his troubled 2022 season. He was an impressive 4.7s quicker than third placed Thierry Neuville.
“The stage was OK but very low grip at the end there, difficult to know how you’re doing so all OK,” Evans said.
Neuville added: “Not a perfect stage. It’s difficult to kick off by night but generally I had a smooth, clean rhythm and looking forward to the next one.”
Takamoto Katsuta was impressively just nine tenths slower than Neuville’s i20, meaning Kalle Rovanperä ended his first stage as the defending world champion as the slowest of the four Toyotas.
“I don’t really enjoy these stages a lot,” Rovanperä confessed. “I don’t like the style of the stage but I tried my best. No idea how it went.”
Rovanperä was fifth fastest, 7.4s down on team-mate Ogier’s benchmark.
His start to the season was better than his likely title contender Tänak’s though. The 2019 world champion was only 1.2s slower than Rovanperä but experiencing issues aboard his Ford Puma Rally1.
“We have some electric issues since the road section so we can’t use the fifth gear,” Tänak said. “Every gear change is a bit of a pain in the ass so we try to get it home now.”
Team-mate Pierre-Louis Loubet completed an early 6-7 for M-Sport Ford, 2.3s slower than Tänak but seven tenths faster than Hyundai debutant Esapekka Lappi.
“There is many corners which I don’t remember and I feel stupid when I arrive at the apex, I know how to improve the time quite easily but especially in the dark it’s not easy to memorize the stage,” Lappi said, who was 11.6s off the pace.
“But for me I am satisfied with the start.”
Team-mate Dani Sordo was surprisingly the slowest factory Rally1 driver, 0.8s down on Lappi’s pace.
“It was feeling a little bit weird, the car moved a lot,” he explained.
“With the soft tires it’s difficult to manage, we tried to be clean but maybe at some point we were not fast enough.”
