OLD STAGER’S STILL GOT IT
“IT’S 10 YEARS SINCE MY LAST CHAMPIONSHIP SO I’M PROUD I’M ABLE TO FIGHT WITH THE YOUNG GUYS”
If Sebastien Loeb declares that an event is “unbelievable” and one of his “best memories”, you know it has to be special, given his glittering 23-year career headlined by nine World Rally Championship titles. And his Monte
Carlo Rally victory over Sebastien Ogier was just that, he reflected on Sunday.
At 47, the championship’s most successful driver even had doubts over his speed, but ended the four-day slog proud to still be able to fight with the best on his favourite event.
“It was unbelievable for me,” said Loeb. “It was a great rally. I was happy to be in the rhythm again as I really didn’t know what to expect when I came here. The feeling with the car was really good and it was very nice to drive.
“We had a big fight with Seb all the weekend. I was fast on Friday, he was incredibly fast on Saturday, especially in Sisteron, and then today what happened, happened – and we won the rally. It was just an amazing moment for us.
“It is 10 years since my last championship so I’m really proud that I’m still able to fight with the young guys and to be able to win a rally. For sure it is one of best memories.”
It was also a historic moment for co-driver and WRC debutante Isabelle Galmiche, who became the first woman to stand on the top step of a WRC podium since Fabrizia Pons in 1997.
“I think it is fantastic what has happened to me today, first time with Seb in a rally in Monte Carlo in the WRC,” she enthused. “I’m so happy, it is incredible what has happened. I think perhaps it might be the best day of my life.”
In the battle for the lead, Ogier launched a fightback in the afternoon to cut a 15.9s deficit to Loeb to 9.9s by winning
Friday’s final stage. This arrived after Greensmith, who had been threatening the top stage times, pulled out arguably the drive of his life to beat Loeb and Ogier to win stage seven, a career-first fastest WRC stage time. “Someone said to me I’m the first non-french person to win a stage this year, so that’s a good little accolade,” grinned a jubilant Greensmith.
Loeb was surprised to be leading the rally, and the duel with
Ogier went up another notch heading into Saturday. “I didn’t expect that [to be leading],” Loeb offered. “For sure I was hoping for a good rhythm with this car and I had a good feeling in the test, but I didn’t know what speed I would have.”
Ogier reckoned: “It is really clear that the Ford is faster. I’m not giving up, I will try my best to put pressure on.”
Hyundai managed to improve the performance of its “scary” i20 Ns throughout the day, ending Friday with Neuville fourth and Tanak fifth, but it was clear that there was plenty of work to do, including finding a fix to stop the fumes entering Solberg’s cockpit.
If Friday belonged to Loeb, Saturday was won by Ogier as the Toyota driver continued to take time from his rival. By stage 10, incredibly the pair were level-pegging on the exact same overall rally time. Loeb admitted he’d made the wrong tyre choice as the extra power of the hybrid beasts had taken life out of the supersofts.
The lead changed hands on stage 11, the infamous Sisteron test, which provided the biggest challenge to the crews courtesy of a three-mile section covered in treacherous snow and ice. Ogier made the best of his mix of slick and winter tyres to take the rally lead, but there was plenty of drama behind.
Third-placed Evans saw his podium hopes evaporate due to a “clumsy error”, ironically on the dry asphalt. The Welshman misjudged a right-hander and clipped a bank that sent his GR
Yaris into a spin, coming to rest beached precariously on a steep hillside. It prompted officials to red-flag the stage, allowing fans to push the car back onto the road.
Behind, Neuville was only able to drive at 75% due to an issue with a front-right damper, which would eventually break in the afternoon, reducing the Belgian to a crawl and the need for a roadside cable-tie repair.
Prior to stage 11, Tanak had already suffered a left-rear puncture, and a decision to run slick tyres and carry one spare was to bite the Estonian. The 2019 champion slid on ice into a rock face, damaging the front end of his car, while also picking up a front-right puncture, resulting in retirement.
Solberg continued to battle through, but was 35 minutes adrift when the fume inhalation resulted in him losing concentration and running off the road on the morning’s first stage. Things were not going well for Hyundai…
“IT IS REALLY CLEAR THAT THE FORD IS FASTER. I’M NOT GIVING UP, I WILL TRY MY BEST TO PUT PRESSURE ON”
At the front, Ogier and Loeb were playing tyre games, trying to outpsyche each other for the repeat of Sisteron to end the day. Ogier saw that Loeb had fitted slicks, and copied his rival. The result led to Ogier gaining 16.1s since Loeb was unable to match the reigning champion. But the afternoon in terms of stage times belonged to Rovanpera, who claimed two wins, now happy with the balance in his Yaris and thriving. His team-mate Katsuta not so much – he found the same rock face as Tanak.
Heading into Sunday’s final four stages, the rally appeared to be in Ogier’s hands. He was armed with a 21.1s lead over Loeb, but he wasn’t taking anything for granted. “With the guy behind me, definitely we cannot relax, but also with the conditions, so altogether I know it is still tricky,” said Ogier. “It has been very enjoyable to fight with him for the last three days and I hope we can fight like this to the end.”
Loeb knew he was facing a tall order: “It is tough, it [the gap] is probably a bit too big but you never know, it is not finished before the end.”
Third was now in the hands of Breen, who benefited from clean driving and the trouble that befell his rivals. This included teammate Greensmith, who suffered a puncture and an engine misfire that dropped him to fifth, behind the rejuvenated Rovanpera.
Sunday provided drama of the highest order, and Loeb’s words were perhaps a premonition. Ogier appeared on course to take a ninth Monte Carlo win after emerging from the first two stages with a 24.6s lead. But there was one last twist to this Monte epic. Ogier picked up a front-left puncture, his lead evaporated and transformed into a 9.5s deficit with one stage remaining. Advantage Loeb.
A final-stage showdown awaited. Ogier threw everything at it – ultimately too much because a jumped start earned him a 10s penalty. Without that, he would have taken nine seconds out of Loeb with a drive he said was “over the limit” at times.
Either way, it was not enough. Loeb and Galmiche held on to take a truly memorable win, the 80th of Le Maestro’s distinguished WRC career and a first for Galmiche. Had Ogier avoided the penalty, he would have lost the rally by just 0.5s.
A first win for M-sport since 2018 was capped off by Breen – the first of the runners competing the full season – in a fine third, and Greensmith in fifth, behind Rovanpera after the Finn’s impressive turnaround. Neuville dragged his i20 N to sixth with a stage win to give Hyundai some joy from a woeful weekend that ended with the team retiring Solberg and Edmondson after the pair felt unwell due to the fumes they had inhaled for two days.
And Evans didn’t leave empty handed after claiming four points on the Power Stage.
There is a school of thought that the Monte Carlo Rally being dominated by two semi-retired drivers is perhaps not the best look for the WRC. But it’s important to remember that the Monte is a specialist event, and a quick glance at the history books now has 16 victories shared between Loeb and Ogier.
It was always going to be a tall order for the current crop to find the necessary speed advantage over the experience and local knowledge of Ogier and Loeb, and with unfamiliar cars where reliability, particularly in Hyundai’s case, was a massive concern.
For the WRC, the ‘Great Monte GOAT-OFF’ thrust the championship back into the spotlight while answering critics who had questioned whether the new Rally1 regulations would produce spectacular cars and action. Sometimes you just have to marvel at seeing two of the greatest put on such a show.
“WITH THE GUY BEHIND, DEFINITELY WE CANNOT RELAX, BUT ALSO WITH THE CONDITIONS IT IS STILL TRICKY”