Elfyn Evans with codriver Scott Martin at Rallye Monte-Carlo Rallye Monte-Carlo is one of the oldest and considered prestigious events on th...
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| Elfyn Evans with codriver Scott Martin at Rallye Monte-Carlo |
Rallye Monte-Carlo is one of the oldest and considered prestigious events on the WRC calendar. Based out of the principality state, home for famous casino and sea-front hotels, it is also the home for the frozen tarmac roads on the treacherous hills that line up the surroundings in the French Alps.
Reigning champion Kalle Rovanpera has opted to scale back his WRC commitments this year to “recharge his batteries” ahead of a full-time return with Toyota in 2025, and was missing on this season's opening event.
Elfyn Evans held the upper hand after the first two legs of the rally, but time ebbed away from him on Saturday, with a faulty hybrid unit issue adding to his struggle. However, he finished third overall in his Toyota GR Yaris.
"We weren't fast enough to win this weekend. The potential was there but we didn't quite get it right on Saturday afternoon, really. In here it was okay but the tyres started screaming enough half way up. That's how it is."
Missing the victory at a slender margin, a 10th Rallye Monte-Carlo for Ogier this year, a victory evaded him this time, but sure can hold his head up high after a difficult week.
"It's been, first of all, a nice battle with Thierry. Well done to him, he has been really fast this weekend. For me it's been a rollercoaster of emotions. I struggled a lot on Friday especially. It was hard to say goodbye on Monday to a person who was very important to me, who basically launched my career in motorsport and who bought me my first kart. There is never a good time for these things but it was so sudden."
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| Thierry Neuville in the night stages of Rallye Monte-Carlo |
Things were in favour for the Belgian bullet, Thierry Neuville who also happened to celebrate his 20th world rally win at Rallye Monte-Carlo this year, and found a perfect start to his 2024 FIA World Rally Championship campaign, taking home a perfect 30-point score at the end of the event.
"I don't have the words to be honest. It was just so great this weekend, I felt so comfortable in the car. The whole team was doing an amazing job and I think the whole package was working really well. We need to continue working, but we are very happy to win this rally."
| POS | CAR No. | DRIVER | CO-DRIVER | TEAM/CAR | ELIGIBILITY | PENALTIES | TOTAL TIME | DIFF 1st | DIFF PREV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #11 | Thierry Neuville | Martijn Wydaeghe | i20 N Rally1 HYBRID | M | - | 3:09:30.9 | - | - |
| 2 | #17 | Sebastien Ogier | Vincent Landais | GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRID | M | - | 3:09:47.0 | +16.1 | +16.1 |
| 3 | #33 | Elfyn Evans | Scott Martin | GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRID | M | - | 3:10:16.1 | +45.2 | +29.1 |
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