©TOYOTA
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In the 2021 WRC Round 1 Monte Carlo, Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier has reversed and is in the overall lead after the third day of the competition. Elfyn Evans was in 2nd place overall, and Kalle Rovanperä was in 3rd place, making it a 1-2-3 system by Toyota Yaris WRC. Katsuta ran through the road surface in difficult conditions and was 6th overall.
On the third day of the competition, SS9-11 3SS, SS total distance 57.1km. It will be a start before dawn again, and all the cars will choose stud tires and challenge the stage. Hyundai’s Pierre-Louis Louve, who crashed at the last SS the day before, returned to the front and became the lead runner. It was Ojie who set the best time on the road surface where ice patches were scattered and he couldn’t get rid of it for a moment. He showed a strong run that was 17.8 seconds behind SS 2nd Evans, and even in the overall ranking, he overtook Evans at once and took the lead. The difference between the two is now 10.4 seconds. Also, at this SS, Tanak burst the left front tire, and since it was running only with the wheels, a big time loss was forced. With this, Tanak is down to 5th overall. Instead, Rovanpera moved up to 3rd overall and Neuville to 4th overall.
HYUNDAI
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The following SS10 is the stage where Tanak crashed last year, and there is a chicane in that place. However, this year’s snow conditions have started. In a situation where snow is on frozen asphalt, it may be necessary to reduce the speed to 30 km / h or less depending on the corner. Each car will clear the stage with careful accelerator / steering work. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville set the best time in this SS at the first combination. Pierre-Louis Louve was in 2nd place in SS, followed by Soldo in 3rd place, with Hyundai occupying the top position. On the other hand, Tanak was hit by a flat tire again and was forced to change tires in the middle of the stage. With this SS alone, he lost more than 8 minutes and 50 seconds and gave up the right to play. As a result, Soldo has moved up to 5th overall and Katsuta has moved up to 6th overall.
The service of the day will be the final service of the rally. After finishing SS11 at the end of the day, the crew must head to Monaco and finish the remaining 4SS through the tire fitting zone on the morning of the last day. Tanak, who had a flat tire on SS9 and 10, had to retire because he had only one spare tire. Due to the rules of the tournament, it is not possible to re-start on the final day, so the opening game of Tanak will end here.
M-SPORT
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SS11 is the restart stage of SS9. The road surface has changed to wet conditions during the daytime, but many high-altitude sections and shaded areas remain covered with ice. Furthermore, the difficulty level has not changed, such as the mud scraped out in the first run riding here and there. Evans won this stage, followed by Ogier in SS2 and Rovanpera in SS3.
As a result, Toyota is in the top three, with Ogier in first place, Evans in second place, and Rovanpera in third place. On the other hand, Hyundai’s Neuville is 4th and Soldo is 5th. Katsuta, who survived on difficult roads, is in 6th place overall. At the end of the rally, the time difference between them is widening, but the difference between the leader Ogier and the second Evans is 13 seconds. The difference between 3rd Rovanpera and 4th Neuville is 7 seconds, so it can be said that there is a good chance that a drama will occur in the remaining 4SS.
TOYOTA
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The 24th (Sun) is finally the last day. The remaining stages are 4SS from SS12 to 15, and the total SS distance is 54.48km. SS12 starts at 16:30 on the 24th of Japan time.
Provisional results after WRC Monte Carlo SS11
1. S. Ogier (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2: 16: 31.9
2. E. Evans (Toyota Yaris WRC) +13.0
3. K. Rovanpera (Toyota Yaris WRC) +56.8
4. T. Nuville (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1: 03.8
5. D. Soldo (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +2: 11.3
6. Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota Yaris WRC) +4: 43.1.
7. A. Mikkelsen (Skoda Fabia Rally 2EVO) +5: 22.7
8. G. Greensmith (Ford Fiesta WRC) +6: 14.6
9. A. Fulmo (Ford Fiesta Rally 2) +7: 36.5
10. E. Kamiri (Citroen C3 Rally 2) +7: 54.1.
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