WRC 2022 Rallye Monte-Carlo: Day 3

Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Toyota’s Sebastian Ogier has regained the lead from the clutches of M-Sport Ford’s Sebastian Loeb in the third day of WRC’s 2022 opening round in Monte-Carlo.

How the morning’s action unfolded…

Similar to Ford’s Adrian Fourmaux, on the second day, Toyota’s Elfyn Evans clipped a bank – around a right-hander – and spun his car off the road, on the 11th stage of the Monte-Carlo rally. Evan’s car veered off down a hill but the Welshman managed to bring the car to a halt.

With a significant steep incline, the Evans’ car couldn’t move up the hill and the Briton was forced to retire from the stage.

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak made a risky decision on Saturday morning as the Estonian driver went for a selection of all-round soft tyres. As the Estonian blasted through the French Alps, he rode over an inside dip before clipping the hillside, damaging the front right of his car. 

Shortly afterwards, Tanak had to repair a puncture which was a small hole in the sidewall but he was forced to retire before the fitting zone. 

Hyundai’s Oliver Solberg, struck unlucky in Monte-Carlo as he lost control of his i20 going into a right-hand corner. As a result, the car understeered wide and went off down a hill. He managed to return to the road but he was 30 minutes behind.

By the end of the morning, Ford’s Craig Breen had inherited third place, due to Evans’ lost time. Ogier regained the lead of the rally and dropped Loeb down to second.

Prior to the start of the 12th stage, Evans was able to return to the rally after he was pulled onto the road from his perilous position on SS11.

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Both Ogier and Loeb opted for soft slick tyres for the 12th stage of the weekend. While the tyre choice was good for dry asphalt, it was a perilous decision once the drivers reached the Col d’Espinouse climb as the dry asphalt turned to ice. 

In the icy conditions, Loeb cautiously ventured around on the treacherous conditions, but wasn’t able to make up for lost time when he came back onto dry tarmac.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville had a day to forget as the damper exploded on the right of his car’s bonnet, as the Belgian travelled along SS12.  

He was quickly caught up by Evans and the Belgian made quick work to get out of the Welshman’s way.

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta had to receive help from the rally spectators as the Japanese driver found himself stuck in a ditch as he plundered through the icy conditions. 

Fortunately, the help worked and Katsuta quickly got back to work tackling the icy conditions in the Alps.

Due to Evans’ misfortunes in the morning, the podium positions had switched. One Toyota and two Ford were now in the podium spots. Ogier occupied the lead with Loeb and Breen behind, respectively.

That’s it for the article: WRC 2022 Rallye Monte-Carlo: Day 3! What did you think of the third day of the Rallye Monte-Carlo? Let us know in the comments!

Read more WRC here:

• WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo: Day Two
• WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo: Day One
• 2022 WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo
• Countdown: WRC 2022 Calendar

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.