Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20) ended the third day of competition in the Monte-Carlo Rally as the leader. On Saturday afternoon he had to let the Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (Toyota Yaris) go ahead, but in the last stage of the day the Liège native regained the leading position. On the final day he starts with a lead of 3.3 over Ogier.
Ogier and Neuville intensified their battle on Saturday afternoon. Ogier won the first stage and made up 5.5 of his deficit to Neuville. Grégoire Munster fared less well. After six kilometers in a bend with a lot of gravel, it slid into a wooden guardrail, trapping the car. He could no longer move in his Puma and had to give up. On Saturday morning, in the same stage, he achieved his best result in a World Cup classification stage with a third fastest time.
In the second stage on Saturday afternoon, Neuville squeezed everything out of his Hyundai, but that was not enough to retain the lead. Ogier improved by another three seconds. For the Frenchman it meant a 700th stage win in his 183rd World Cup rally.
“It was perfect”
At dusk, Neuville rode to his third stage win of the day and regained the lead from Ogier. “This was a good ride. It was perfect. Everything went well. I enjoyed the car. It was unbelievable,” said a confident Neuville at the finish. Elfyn Evans has had to take over the role at the front and follows third at 34.9.
From this season onwards, World Cup points will also be handed out on Saturdays. Neuville is therefore virtually the first World Cup leader. Provided he finishes the rally on Sunday, he will receive eighteen 18 points, which is three more than Ogier and five more than Evans. Three more special stages will be held on Sunday, for which a separate classification will be drawn up and World Cup points can also be earned in the power stage.