#montecarlorally

It may have been the dawn of a new era for the WRC, with the introduction of the Rally1 cars, which have a hybrid powertrain, but this rally had an old school feel to it, mainly thanks to the eventual winner of the event!

It shouldn’t be a surprise to see one of the greatest ever rally drivers come back to the sport and do so well, but the drive that Loeb put in over those 17 stages was simply beautiful. Alongside his other commitments he is undertaking, it shows that his raw speed is still there, and the passion to go with it. He admitted from the start that he was pushing the car hard, but never really made a mistake. His only issues were with the hybrid boost not working, and him not doing well on the snowy stage on slicks. A huge part of his success is down to the new Ford Puma, which looks to be right there with the other manufacturers, making a huge step forward from 2021. I hope that Loeb comes back to do another rally this year, and I am sure M-Sport will want him too, although I understand if it is not possible.

It will be hard to take for Ogier, who was in control for most of the rally, and pulled off some masterful drives, especially on the snowy stages, where he really gapped Loeb. He too was able to get right up to speed with the Toyota, and looked dominant on Thursday, which I am sure worried many fans. The puncture on the second to last stage is sad, but a part of racing, and it has gone the other way many times before, I am sure. He can take heart from how he performed, and look forward to coming back, maybe in Portugal.

As was said earlier, the Puma is seemingly incredibly quick this year, and Breen did not want to overdo it too soon. He knows he has a chance to be in the title fight, and the way he talked about the car after every stage, gives me reason to believe that when he really pushes the car, there is no reason why it shouldn’t fight for wins at every rally. A 3rd place was therefore a solid start for the Irishman, and 1st  of the full time drivers. He did give 1 or 2 glimpses of pace, but otherwise is just building for the future.

Greensmith too had a positive weekend overall, despite plenty of mechanical issues, namely as he secured his 1st ever stage win, and finished 5th overall for the rally. This just backs up the promise of the car, and tells everyone that Breen isn’t the only driver who could fight for the title for Ford. I am happy for Gus, to silence the critics, and be improving in the sport. The final Ford had a more difficult weekend, as Formaux was out before the rally really began, hitting a bank which catapulted him over the barriers into the valley below. Luckily, he and the co-driver were safe, but it wasn’t what he needed to learn the car, and backed up the reason why Breen was taking it easy.

Rovenpera had a rally of two halves, being absolutely nowhere on Thursday and Friday, before coming right back on the leader’s pace for the last two days. The problem was all set up related, as he was dealing with too much understeer, and is one of those things that can happen with a brand new car. This means that there is no reason why Kalle shouldn’t be on the pace to fight for rally wins, and therefore the title this year. Evans will likely be in a similar position, and was in position to fight for the win at Monte Carlo, until he made a mistake on a dry stretch of road. It could prove costly in the title fight, and it isn’t the first time it has happened to him. As with Rovenpera though, the pace is there, which is the most important thing. Katsuta too had a promising weekend, fairly close to the leading pace, although he did make one error on the snow.

Finally, we have Hyundai, who had the worst weekend you could really imagine. Neuville and Tanak never really showed blistering pace all weekend, apart from in one stage, which is a worry. To make it worse though, they were blighted with hybrid issues, and mechanical issues, which ruined their rallies. Tanak ended up retiring as a result of that, along with a slight crash with a bank. By the end of the rally, Neuville was clearly fed up, and the disappointment shows that he doesn’t even have car pace to make himself feel better. Solberg, I think actually had a great weekend, given the issues he was dealing with. Smoke in the cabin not only is a huge visual distraction, but will have affected his body and brain massively, so to be making good pace in many stages is a huge accomplishment for him. The intercom problems will have compounded that, so I do see a lot of promise in him, especially looking back at what he did last year.

It was another thrilling rally around the tight icy roads in Southern France, with plenty of drama. Even better though, is the possibility of all 3 manufacturers being in the fight for the title, and that there is no real clear favourite for the title. I cannot wait for the next rally, to see who takes on that mantle.