Oliver Solberg leads the WRC’s Rallye Monte-Carlo after a dramatic opening day, with the young Swede holding a commanding advantage of 44.2 seconds after three special stages.
Snowfall overnight and again in the morning immediately plunged the Rallye Monte-Carlo into chaos.
Although snowploughs cleared much of the snow during the day, the second stage – which peaked at over 1,450 metres above sea level – proved to be a decisive challenge. And that at a very early point in the rally.
Tyre choice immediately crucial
Teams were required to finalise their tyre selections at around 14:00 for all three of Friday’s stages, forcing an early gamble given the highly uncertain conditions, particularly on SS2.
Every driver selected four studded snow tyres. In addition, Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Jon Armstrong opted for two super-soft slick tyres, while all other Rally1 drivers chose two non-studded snow tyres.
The opening stage was damp with light rain but no snow. Although all cars therefore ran on at least two studded tyres, the two super-soft slicks fitted to the cars of Ogier, Evans and Armstrong proved highly effective in these conditions.
Evans set the fastest time, followed by a surprise second from Oliver Solberg, who managed to stay close to Evans’ pace despite running on two snow tyres. Solberg was 6.4 seconds quicker than Ogier, who also had two super-soft slicks fitted.
Solberg exceptional on SS2
That performance proved a clear sign of what was to come, as Solberg was untouchable on SS2. On SS2 with ice, slush and snow on the Col du Fanget – he delivered an outstanding drive.
Solberg Jr posted a time a remarkable 31.1 seconds quicker than anyone else. Evans set the second-fastest time, followed by Armstrong and Thierry Neuville.
There were incidents for many crews. Armstrong clipped a wall and suffered a puncture while on course for the third-fastest time. Adrien Fourmaux escaped without major consequences after a high-speed spin, while Grégoire Munster also endured a major moment at the same location.
While Fourmaux and Munster got away with it, Sami Pajari and Josh McErlean were less fortunate. Pajari struck a wall on the icy section, damaging his right-left suspension, while McErlean avoided the wall but ran wide at the following left-hander and slid off the road. Both crews were forced to retire.
Sébastien Ogier lost over a minute to Solberg on SS2. The nine-time world champion was, to put it mildly, unimpressed with the level of grip offered by the Hankook tyres in those conditions. It should be noted, however, that Ogier was not alone in voicing dissatisfaction with the tyres.
Ogier responded strongly on SS3, setting the fastest time and climbing to third overall. Solberg was seven seconds slower, followed by Neuville (+10.6s) and Evans (+25.7s). After seven cars had completed the stage, it was cancelled due to dense fog.
Visibility had deteriorated to such an extent that drivers could no longer see where they were going, prompting organisers to display the red flag for safety reasons. Munster, in particular, lost significant time as he completed the stage before the stoppage without power steering.
Lancia struggles early, Cherain sixth in Rally2
In WRC2, Eric Camilli leads from Léo Rossel (+15.3s), with Chris Ingram third (+34.4s), ahead of the only remaining Lancia in the field, driven by Nikolay Gryazin (+42.0s).
Gryazin had been on course for an exceptional time on SS2 but clipped a tree on the final downhill section, damaging the suspension and losing more than 50 seconds.
For his Lancia team-mate Yohan Rossel, the debut of the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale went even worse. Rossel hit a wall on SS1, damaging the right-front suspension and forcing retirement.
Following the allocation of notional times, the overall standings for the Rallye Monte-Carlo after the opening day can be found below.
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WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo 2026 – O/A standings after SS3/17
| # | Drivers | Car | Time / Diff to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Solberg / Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 43:10.3 |
| 2. | Evans / Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +44.2 |
| 3. | Ogier / Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1:08.6 |
| 4. | Neuville / Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +1:25.9 |
| 5. | Armstrong / Byrne | Ford Puma Rally1 | +1:34.5 |
| 6. | Fourmaux / Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +1:44.8 |
| 7. | Katsuta / Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2:24.0 |
| 8. | Paddon / Kennard | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +2:55.2 |
| 9. | Camilli / De la Haye | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +3:31.2 |
| 10. | L. Rossel / Mercoiret | Citroën C3 Rally2 | +3:46.5 |
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
