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16th
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Frenchman Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3) leads after the opening day of Rally Monte Carlo, opening round of the 2013 World Rally Championship.
His fellow countryman Sebastien Ogier set the fastest time in the very first special stage of the rally, giving the brand new Volkswagen Polo R WRC its first stage win in its first official appearance.
Later however, Ogier struggled a bit at the wheel of the Polo R, allowing Loeb to win three stages to take control of the event.
After a quite difficult morning, Mikko Hirvonen moved up the field in the second works Citroen DS3. The Finn finished the day in third place, 26 seconds down to Ogier, and 15 seconds ahead of his teammate Dani Sordo.
Jari-Matti Latvala ranked fifth position in the second Polo R WRC. The Finn received a 30-second penalty for having checked late at the start of SS3.
That was a tough day for Ford, as M-Sport's new number one driver, Mads Ostberg was unable to find the right pace during this first day. The Norwegian driver is already three minutes down to Loeb after the first day.
Thierry Neuville had a solid start to his first rally with Ford. However, the Belgian had a contact in SS4 which damaged his front left wheel, forcing him into retirement, as Rally 2 is not allowed at Rally Monte Carlo.
Treacherous weather conditions, with a lot of snow on some parts of the road made tire choices very difficult for the drivers and teams.
The first day was also disrupted by timing issues. With wrong timing, and wrong classification, it was very difficult to follow the day's acitivites.
Classification after day 1:
1. Loeb / Elena (Citroen DS3 WRC) 39'49.0
2. Ogier / Ingrassia (VW Polo R WRC) +1'20.3
3. Hirvonen / Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 WRC) +1'46.7
4. Sordo / Del Barrio (Citroen DS3 WRC) +2'01.2
5. Latvala / Anttila (VW Polo R WRC) +2'32.2
6. Novikov / Minor (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2'50.6
7. Ostberg / Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2'55.1
8. Hanninen / Tuominen (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +3'03.5
etc.
His fellow countryman Sebastien Ogier set the fastest time in the very first special stage of the rally, giving the brand new Volkswagen Polo R WRC its first stage win in its first official appearance.
 |
| Sebastien Loeb, Citroen (Photo: WRI2) |
Later however, Ogier struggled a bit at the wheel of the Polo R, allowing Loeb to win three stages to take control of the event.
After a quite difficult morning, Mikko Hirvonen moved up the field in the second works Citroen DS3. The Finn finished the day in third place, 26 seconds down to Ogier, and 15 seconds ahead of his teammate Dani Sordo.
Jari-Matti Latvala ranked fifth position in the second Polo R WRC. The Finn received a 30-second penalty for having checked late at the start of SS3.
 |
| Sebastien Ogier, Volkswagen (Photo: WRI2) |
That was a tough day for Ford, as M-Sport's new number one driver, Mads Ostberg was unable to find the right pace during this first day. The Norwegian driver is already three minutes down to Loeb after the first day.
Thierry Neuville had a solid start to his first rally with Ford. However, the Belgian had a contact in SS4 which damaged his front left wheel, forcing him into retirement, as Rally 2 is not allowed at Rally Monte Carlo.
 |
| Evgeny Novikov (Photo: WRI2) |
Treacherous weather conditions, with a lot of snow on some parts of the road made tire choices very difficult for the drivers and teams.
The first day was also disrupted by timing issues. With wrong timing, and wrong classification, it was very difficult to follow the day's acitivites.
Classification after day 1:
1. Loeb / Elena (Citroen DS3 WRC) 39'49.0
2. Ogier / Ingrassia (VW Polo R WRC) +1'20.3
3. Hirvonen / Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 WRC) +1'46.7
4. Sordo / Del Barrio (Citroen DS3 WRC) +2'01.2
5. Latvala / Anttila (VW Polo R WRC) +2'32.2
6. Novikov / Minor (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2'50.6
7. Ostberg / Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2'55.1
8. Hanninen / Tuominen (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +3'03.5
etc.