Oliver Solberg and Elliot Edmondson created a piece of Rally Monte Carlo history on the 94th running of the iconic rally. The young Swede became the youngest ever winner of the prestigious event and takes the early WRC championship lead.
The last time a Solberg led the WRC Championship was dad Petter – who never won the Monte – in 2005.
It was also the pair’s second victory in two Rally1 starts. A star is born…
“I don’t understand it at the moment,” beamed Solberg. “It’s another emotional day. This was the most difficult rally I’ve done in my life. It’s my first rally on tarmac in the car and here we are, winning the thing. I just want to say a big thank you to Toyota for the trust and the belief. The teamwork has been exceptional.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing once again delivered a knockout blow to their rivals at Hyundai, locking out the podium with Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin coming home in second place and the ten-time Monte winner Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais claiming the bottom step of the podium.
Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria top-scored for Hyundai with fourth, some 4½ minutes ahead of Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe.
Leo Rossel and Guillaume Mercoiret not only claimed their maiden Rally2 victory, but ended a brilliant sixth overall.
Solberg started Sunday with 59.3 seconds in hand and could afford to shed a few in the snow, black ice, and slush covered stages.
So treacherous were the conditions that the more nimble, less powerful Rally2 and Rally3 cars came into their own.
Matteo Fontana and Alessandro Arnaboldi took the stage win. In a Ford Fiesta WRC3!
Yohan Rossel took the second fastest time in his Lancia Ypsilon Rally2, ahead of Cedric Cherain/Jasper Vermeulen in a Skoda Fabia Rally 2 and Romet Jurgenson/Siim Oja’s Fiesta Rally2.
The leading Rally1 car was Evans’ Toyota who tied the stage with Adrien Fourmaux for fifth and sixth with another three Rally2 cars filling out the next three positions.
Stage 15 went to Fontana and Yohan Rossel with Evans setting the third best time and taking his third stage win on the all-important Wolf Power Stage.
The penultimate stage was a cataclysmic disaster for M-Sport Ford who lost both Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean who both crashed their Pumas out of the event.
Read Motorsport Monday for the full report tomorrow.
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