He has put the direct and there is no one to stop him. Sébastien Ogier continues his triumphant journey towards the most coveted podium of the year, and is already close to what will be his ninth victory in the Monte Carlo Rally. On the penultimate day he has not even messed up his hair, and has limited himself to controlling his pursuers who, no matter how hard they try, do not get close to the Frenchman. Dani Sordo still can’t find his rhythm and has lost one position, while Pepe López is already on the WRC2 podium.
After winning almost every stage since Thursday, Ogier has gone conservative on Saturday. Without risking, he has allowed others to take the partial victories, but none has managed to get close enough to jeopardize the ninth victory of the eight-time French world champion. Kalle Rovanpera has his back in second position, 16 seconds behind, with Thierry Neuville third, also 16 seconds behind the Finn. It is the only non-Toyota car in the lead and also the only one that has won two stages from them, but the Belgian cannot sleep, because Elfyn Evans arrives from behind and could take the podium from him.
Ott Tanak is fifth despite having problems with the steering of his new Ford, with Takamoto Katsuta sitting behind him having unseated Deaf from the sixth place. “We have had failures in the hybrid system, but The problem is not there. It’s between the steering wheel and the seat.” The Cantabrian explained honestly without wanting to blame anyone but him. He has glued to his new teammate, Esapekka Lappi, with 4 stages and 67 kilometers to go.
The one who is showing his good work is López, who is already third in WRC2. The man from Madrid has won several stages and is in contention for the win, 37 seconds behind the leader of the category. Alejandro Cachón suffered a puncture, but continues in the race accumulating experience, and Daniel Alonso re-engaged after abandoning on Friday.
Classification
1. Ogier-Landais (Fra/Toyota), 2h 27m 11.5s
2. Rovanpera-Halttunen (Fin/Toyota), at 16.0
3. Neuville-Wydaeghe (Bel/Hyundai), at 32.0
4. Evans-Martin (Gbr/Toyota), at 56.5
5. Tanak-Jarveoja (Est/Ford), at 1:37.3
7. Deaf-Career (Hyundai), at 3:08.8