SÉBASTIEN OGIER cemented his name further into the history books by claiming a record-breaking 10th victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo, the opening round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship.
Driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, Ogier secured an 18.5 second victory over his Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Elfyn Evans after a tense final day through the French Alps.
Adrien Fourmaux pushed the top two all the way on Sunday’s decisive final leg, outpacing both Toyotas by 23.9secs and 17.8secs respectively as he opted for a full-slick tyre set-up that suited the drier conditions.
But Fourmaux, making his Hyundai WRC debut after switching from M-Sport Ford, struggled in the icy, rally-ending Wolf Power Stage.
Key Facts:
MONTE CARLO RALLY TOP 7
MONTE CARLO TOP 7
1 Sebastien Ogier 3h19m06.1s
2 Elfyn Evans +18.5s
3 Adrien Fourmaux +26.0s
4 Kalle Rovanperä +54.3s
5 Ott Tänak +59.0s
6 Thierry Neuville +5m44.2s
7 Josh McErlean +10m15.1s
And local hero Ogier capitalised with another stage win, while Evans held off Fourmaux’s late charge by just 7.5secs despite a close shave with a rock face.
The treacherous conditions saw the drama extend far beyond the podium battle as Toyota’s Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta both slid off the road on SS17 while Grégoire Munster’s M-Sport Ford Puma met a similar fate on the next stage.
Behind Evans, Hyundai’s Ott Tänak ceded fourth position to Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä on the final day due to his own tyre misjudgement.
The pair finished just 4.7secs apart, with both drivers now eager to bounce back at next month’s Rally Sweden as previous winners of the snow-and-ice fixture.
Defending champion Thierry Neuville salvaged sixth place after an eventful rally, where he suffered a combination of broken suspension from an early crash, and a deflated tyre.
Then an unexplained electrical issue, costing him over five minutes and ruining his hopes of defending last year’s win.
Making his WRC debut was Josh McErlean and on the notes his Cork co-driver Eoin Treacy, who finished Rallye Monte Carlo in a super seventh position overall.
McErlean, 25, from Kilrea in Derry, was driving an M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 and put in an impressive performance as he tackled the unforgiving terrain and unpredictable conditions, including ice, snow and mud-strewn asphalt.
Speaking afterwards, he said: “I’ve realised a dream this weekend and it will take a little while to sink in. It was quite daunting standing in Casino Square at the start, knowing what was ahead of us, but we had a plan to follow and it was vital to stick to that throughout.”
“Taking seventh overall is probably better than we had hoped for, and it was mission accomplished for us. This result wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support from M-Sport, the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and everyone who has been part of my journey so far.”
They return for Round 2 of the WRC in Umeå, Sweden from February 13–16.
