The 2025 World rally championship season is well and in fact Monte Carlo is already offering a glimpse with the previous weekend season opener who is ahead.
Before the onset of a new season, there is always an air of enthusiasm and anticipation, and the levels were given unexpectedness last week, which is best for the new 2025 rules.
‘Monte Master’ Ogier untouchable but is it his last?
The victory of Monte Carlo’s record-witted Monte Carlo may be his last
By photo: Toyota racing
While the new -2025 non -Hybrid rally was very unknown around 1 cars and how Hankuk would perform tires, Sabstian Ogier was always living in fighting for victory, such an event is his class.
But even the Ogier admitted in the lead-up that the crew for Monte Carlo would be “prepared already”, giving changes in rules and limited tests. But everyone was going into Monte in the same boat and the eight -time champion said quite right that “whoever adopts the best will have a good chance (for victory)”.
Experience to be successful in Monte and Ogier is always important that in abundance, a wheel was already a record nine-time winner before an angry one wheel turned in anger. So it was not really a surprise to see the Ogier at the immediate speed and in the lead from Thursday night, but it was still impressive that he dominates such a challenging rally, which is now at the age of 41.
But the victory was not given to the Ogier and had to ride his luck on more than one occasions. Two times he flirted with the disaster, once he skirts a trench on Thursday and then there was a wild slide on Friday, but did not stop the Ogier. There was some pressure on Sunday morning when a call for winter tires initially appeared backfire, but the Ogier defeated its nerve to a surprisingly sealing the 10th win. Elephin Evans By 18.5.
There was a lot of emotion when the ougger was over. First, he dedicated a victory to his late uncle, who inspired his Motorsport Yatra and who passed this time last year. Then there was the bomb that he posed – suggesting that he was uncertain if it was his last Monte appearance.
“I don’t know what it means but the world for me. I do not know that this will be my last. It would be a good place to stop, ”said Ogier.
If this was the last Monte of the Ogier, the victory will rank high among others (as part of the intercontinental rally challenge in 2009, then in WRC in 2014-2019, 2021 and 2023) to adjust new rules, tires and taming Challenged The state of incredibly slippery.
Ogier hopes that this is not his last Monte Hurray. There will be a few thousand fans either who were crammed in the gap service park to catch a glimpse of their hero, who definitely expect that it is not either.
Evans addressing 2024 weaknesses
Evans put a strong rally together to kick its new season
Photo by photo: Red bull content pool
The Toyota team’s partner Sebastian is conducting only one partial season when considering the Ogier, Alfin leaves Monte Carlo as an effective championship leader and will open the road in Sweden next month.
Welshman Monte was exactly in the challenging circumstances of Carlo, where any small mistake is heavy punishment. The rally emerged with the rally lead after the Evans Stage Four and only abandoned the Ogier at stage eight.
Toyota driver got entangled in an intensive fight for another with Hyundai Duo Adrian Formox And Oat Tanak But was able to fight back against his rivals and eventually topped the top. Perhaps the most influential aspect of Evans’ performance was how he addressed one of his 2024 weaknesses. Super Sunday was not so super for Evans last year, scoring 76 points compared to the champion. Thierry neurville104-point hall.
This year super Sunday points have been structured with a maximum of 10 on the proposal instead of 12. Evans made a big statement by raising nine out of 10 by top in Sunday classification and finishing second on the power stage.
“This is a good start and we have to be very happy,” Evans told Autosport. “This (Sunday) was definitely not our strong point last year, so it is good to start in this way.”
If Evans can continue such a form, it will be strongly in the title fight this year.
Formox is a real deal
Formox was probably surprised by this incident as it ended as lead Hyundai
Photo by: Vincent Thuilier / Hyundai Motorsport
Hyundai’s perseverance in capturing the signature of the Adrian Formox is already one of the clever tricks in the recent WRC driver market history.
Formox made a great deal in the factory Hyundai team, from behind a stellar 2024, where French made five podiums for M-Sport-Ford. The 29 -year -old appears that last year he had left for the last year’s Korean Market to finish third.
Hyundai has been smart ever since it managed to get a formox to put the pen in the paper. In the off-season, the 1000 km test has been completed to help in the formox acclimatize for its i20N rally 1 machine. It seemed that the 2023 British rally champion was paid rapidly in Monte Carlo from the beginning.
Formox has said that his main goal this year is to win the first win and there was a faint opportunity in the last weekend that he could take away the victory from the Ogier. On Sunday, an inspired tire call to take four super soft and two winter tires put pressure on the Ogier and Evans.
Finally, Formox had to settle for the third but comfort bus from the top Tanak and ruled champion Theory Neurville, who was the parties of its more experienced world champion team, as it was later forgotten a weekend.
“This is really good for Hyundai to get our first podium in our first race and in such a complex rally,” the formox said.
“I think we put a lot of pressure on the alphem and apple in the last phase and we knew that if the ice was melting a lot, we could win. It did not pay. It has not been a good start, but we will see, Because my team partners are two world champions, so I should put my head on my shoulders. ”
Hankook affects WRC debut but some drivers need to be customized
Hankooks impressed in their first rally as a new control tire supplier, but there are difficulties for drivers.
By photo: Toyota racing
The biggest talkting point in the new season was the introduction of a new control tire supplier, in which Hankuk handled the deal organized by Pirelli.
Drivers shared concerns in the test, especially on Hankuk’s winter tires, as they struggled to adjust the new rubber.
Since winning the tender of the FIA, Hankuk had developed a series of asphalt, gravel and ice tires during 2024 to get ready to take the unique demands of WRC. The process includes 3,800 km of tests on all surfaces organized in combination with Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport-Ford WRC teams.
But how will the WRC season opener face tires under a rapid investigation of the WRC season opener in Monte Carlo?
In fact, Hankuk passed his first litmus test with flying colors. There were some puncture, but overall, the tires stood for demands that were thrown at them, and seem incredibly durable when shown first. However, they are different and the drivers are still trying to unlock how to get the best of them.
The two -time champion Kalle Rowanpera was probably the most vocal about tires, assuming that their driving style does not just conform to the new slick and will need to adapt them. But the entire teams and drivers had appropriate material after the onset of Hankuk.
The principal of the Toyota team said, “This (stability) is the most important thing because we do not want to see the result that is in luck with the tire.” Zari-lat,
“The stability of tires has really been strong and thanks to Hankuk for her. There are some areas where the levels of grip can be improved, but as an early point I think they have done a good job. ,
New dawn to show M-Sport
MCERLEAN’s WRC debut was promising because she fulfills a young set-up with team-met Munter
By photo: M-Sport
M-Sport-Ford made it clear before collecting the crew in Monte Carlo that it planned to do his ‘Apna talk’ with his young driver line-up. Gregor Munter And rally 1 debutant Josh McRlen and Toyota and Hyundai did not focus on fighting.
In Monte Carlo, the M-Sport Camp had a lot of smiles and promised that there may be some strong results for coming in the 14-round season. Munter probably gave his best day in a rally 1 car so far, before a mechanical issue to run on Friday as the fourth, Luxembourg refused a shot to finish his career’s best fifth place.
After a young woman’s victory, when Munter re -involved the rally, which was fully worthy, indicating that she could compete with the world’s aristocratic class. An accident on Sunday blurred its rally but there are signs of good things coming in 2025.
McCarlen admitted that starting his rally 1 in Monte Carlo would be baptized. This was certainly, but Irishman finished seventh position to get valuable benefits to all dangers and score on debut.
“Obviously it is a great shame that Greg and Co-driver Louis (Luky) did not make it until the end of the incident, the condition of the inaugural road in the last two days has been an advantage in some ways, but today it It is shown that the team’s principal Richard Milner said that being a barely the first crew to find a black ice section, it can also cause a loss.
“But still, they can be very happy from here – proving what they had to mix with top employees, and they claimed their first stage win, what is a great job.
“For Josh and EOIN, it was a pure baptism of weekends fire, it was a proper monte and I think the information and amount of work joining a manufacturer team was a big eye opening for both of them. Despite this, he did everything that we asked him – take the car home in a piece. Weekends as they became more confident and intensified and they left here with the championship points in the bag – where other more experienced crew leaves empty -handed. ,
WRC next rally is the head for Sweden’s snow
By photo: M-Sport
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