Toyota has dominated the shakedown ahead of the Rallye Monte-Carlo – the traditional season opener of the World Rally Championship (WRC) – by locking out the top five positions on the timesheets.
Takamoto Katsuta set the fastest time, ahead of ten-time Monte-Carlo winner Sébastien Ogier. New team recruit Oliver Solberg posted the third-fastest time, followed by Elfyn Evans in fourth.
Sami Pajari, competing for Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT2 – Toyota’s second manufacturers’ entry – completed the top five.
Behind the Toyotas, the M-Sport Fords impressed by filling positions six through eight. Josh McErlean was sixth, just half a second ahead of his Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy team-mate Jon Armstrong. Grégoire Munster set the eighth-fastest time in the privately entered Ford Puma Rally1 of Jourdan Serderidis.
Unlike the other Rally1 drivers, Munster completed no pre-event testing. The Luxembourger had been co-driving for Serderidis at the Dakar Rally and therefore had no opportunity to test. The pair retired from Dakar on the third stage following a heavy crash caused by a broken steering arm.
‘Chaotic start’ for Hyundai
The first Hyundai appeared in ninth position, driven by Adrien Fourmaux. Hayden Paddon was 0.8 seconds slower than his French team-mate after lightly clipping a bridge on his opening run. The New Zealander is targeting a trouble-free rally after completing limited testing mileage in the i20 N Rally1.
Next up were Rally2 cars driven by Nikolay Gryazin (Lancia), Eric Camilli (Škoda) and Yohan Rossel (Lancia). Thierry Neuville finished 14th on the shakedown, 13.3 seconds adrift of pace-setter Katsuta.
Hyundai ran a different tyre strategy during shakedown, opting for studded tyres despite completely dry conditions. As a result, the i20 N Rally1 cars inevitably suffered from reduced grip and slower stage times.
The team later explained that the decision was taken to evaluate studded tyres in anticipation of the expected rally conditions. Precipitation is forecast, with the possibility that some stages could transition from rain to snow depending on altitude.
Neuville initially completed only one full run, after hitting a bank heavily on his second pass. The Belgian explained that he experienced transmission issues after just a few corners before striking the bank hard enough to prevent the right-front wheel from rotating due to suspension damage.
“We wanted to finish the stage slowly, and one moment we had a big noise and the right-front wheel was gone,” Neuville said.Before the major impact which fully clouted the suspension, the Belgian had already hit another bank (see video below).
The exact cause of the issue has yet to be determined.
VIDEO: Best of Shakedown WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo 2026
Three stages await on Monte-Carlo opening day
The 2026 WRC season officially gets under way tomorrow. Following the ceremonial start in Monaco, crews will tackle three special stages, totalling just over 60 competitive kilometres.
The opening stage begins at 16:05 CET, followed by two night stages: SS2 at 18:35 CET and SS3 at 20:35 CET.
Rallye Monte-Carlo all info: LIVE timing, LIVE report, stage maps, entry list, itinerary and more!
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WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo 2026 – Shakedown Top 10
| # | Drivers | Car | Time / Diff to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Katsuta / Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 2:31.8 |
| 2. | Ogier / Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1.3 |
| 3. | Solberg / Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2.6 |
| 4. | Evans / Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +3.2 |
| 5. | Pajari / Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +3.3 |
| 6. | McErlean / Treacy | Ford Puma Rally1 | +5.0 |
| 7. | Armstrong / Byrne | Ford Puma Rally1 | +5.5 |
| 8. | Munster / Louka | Ford Puma Rally1 | +6.1 |
| 9. | Fourmaux / Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +9.8 |
| 10. | Paddon / Kennard | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +10.6 |
Photo: Toyota GAZOO Racing
