Mikko Hirvonen continues to lead the 78th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, following a dramatic second day’s action in the Haute Loire region of France.
The Finn, who is driving the M-Sport Fiesta S2000 in competition for the first time, heads the overall standings by 47.7 seconds following Thursday’s six stages. Juho Hanninen is second for the works Skoda Motorsport team with Sebastien Ogier battling from fifth last night up to third in a Peugeot 207 S2000, courtesy of three stage wins.
While Hirvonen edged closer to a debut IRC victory, last year’s champion Kris Meeke was an early retirement, crashing out one kilometre from the start of the day’s first stage. The Briton clipped a patch of black ice on a right-hand bend, understeered into a low bridge and veered down a bank, where his Peugeot 207 became stranded.
Although the weather conditions were remarkably tame on Wednesday’s first leg, black ice and snow littered today’s first two stages. The majority of the leading crews opted to use full studded tyres for the first loop in the hope they would provide sufficient grip to withstand the treacherous stage conditions. Meeke, however, opted to run half studs in the hope they would give him an advantage on the third stage of the day, which was largely free of ice and snow.
Unfortunately for the Peugeot UK driver he never made it that far and, for a second year in succession, he and Irish co-driver Paul Nagle have failed to finish the demanding asphalt event.
Hirvonen’s day wasn’t entirely free of incident. He picked up a front-left puncture six kilometres from the end of the day’s second stage when he struck a rock lying in a snow bank. It resulted in a 40-second delay for the 29-year-old World Rally Championship regular.
Hanninen inherited second overall when Meeke crashed but felt he could have been closer on time to his countryman Hirvonen heading into Friday’s final leg. He said he had driven too aggressively on the day’s last stage, which caused his rear tyres to lose grip towards the end of the run.
Ogier’s main cause of complaint occurred on the last test of the opening loop of three stages when he and co-driver Julien Ingrassia received a split time that was faster than they had actually recorded. Assuming they were setting a strong pace, they backed off in order to avoid making any mistakes but were ultimately too cautious than they should have been.
Skoda driver Nicolas Vouilloz started the day ahead of Ogier but, despite going fastest on the first stage, was powerless to prevent last year’s Monte Carlo winner from moving ahead.
After a time-consuming puncture on Wednesday, Stephane Sarrazin suffered further delay today when he slid into a snow bank on stage six and got stuck for more than two minutes. The French Peugeot driver blamed the incident on carrying too much speed into an ice-coated corner.
Franz Wittmann, Guy Wilks and Bruno Magalhaes completed the top eight at the overnight halt in Valence with Toni Gardemeister falling from seventh to tenth behind Jan Kopecky. Gardemeister, driving an Abarth Grande Punto, lost time with a puncture on stage five and two spins on stage nine. Skoda driver Kopecky suffered a puncture of his own on stage seven.
Clio R3 European Trophy contender Mathieu Arzeno’s hopes of winning the IRC 2WD Cup ended when he crashed into retirement on stage eight. The young French driver’s misfortune handed the category lead to Belgian veteran Kris Princen with Pierre Campana now up to second. The rising star from Corsica impressed by setting the ninth fastest time overall on the day’s final stage, which was run under the cover of darkness.
Friday’s final leg gets underway with the 30.42-kilometre stage from Montauban sur Ouveze to Eygalayes, 120 kilometres south east of Valence. Crews then continue south to Monte Carlo for an early evening service before they tackle the final four stages at night, which include two passes over the famous Col de Turini in the mountains above Monaco. The first car is due to finish at 0105hrs on Saturday.

Hirvonen remains in control of the Monte Carlo Rally

DRIVER QUOTES

"It’s been another good day today. We were testing different components on the car and in the afternoon we were able to try a bit more of a dry set-up. Although there was still a bit more black ice than I expected we’ve had no problems with the car. We had a puncture in the morning but it didn’t cause us too many problems. It would be fantastic to win the Monte but there’s still a very long way to go so I’m not even thinking about that." Mikko Hirvonen, first overall
"We had no problems today and the car has been perfect. Our safety note crew is very experienced and their knowledge and help has been an important part of getting to where we are. Generally I’ve been happy with the tyre choices. There were a couple of times when I maybe would have wanted a safer tyre but, okay, it wasn’t a disaster. Mikko is setting a fantastic pace in front but I am not surprised by that." Juho Hanninen, second overall
"Although we won three stages today and moved from fifth to third we didn’t push very hard because that would have meant taking too many risks. The conditions have been too difficult to do that and there is also now a problem of mud on the road following the first pass through the stages. I would prefer to be in front but I am also happy that I am still in the rally tonight." Sebastien Ogier, third overall

Juho Hanninen is second for Skoda Motorsport

TOP TEN POSITIONS (AFTER LEG TWO)

1 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Fiesta S2000 3h12m44.0s
2 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula Skoda Fabia S2000 +47.7s
3 Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m10.3s
4 Nicolas Vouilloz/Benjamin Veillas Skoda Fabia S2000 +1m34.3s
5 Stephane Sarrazin/Jacques Julien Renucci Peugeot 207 S2000 +6m06.0s
6 Franz Wittmann/Klaus Wicha Peugeot 207 S2000 +6m53.8s
7 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh Skoda Fabia S2000 +7m07.3s
8 Bruno Magalhaes/Carlos Magalhaes Peugeot 207 S2000 +7m12.8s
9 Jan Kopecky/Petr Stary Skoda Fabia S2000 +7m24.4s
10 Toni Gardemeister/Tomi Tuominen Abarth Grande Punto S2000 +9m13.0s
Leading IRC 2WD Cup contenders: Kris Princen/Eddy Smeets Renault Clio R3

LEG THREE ITINERARY

Service E: Valence, 06:30hrs; SS11: Montauban sur l’Ouveze- Eygalayes (30.42 kilometres), 09:23hrs; Service F: Monaco, 17:27hrs; SS12: Peira Cava-La Bollene Vesubie 1 (18.42 kilometres), 19:15hrs; SS13: Lantosque-Luceram 1 (19.13 kilometres), 19:48hrs; Service G: Monaco, 21:35hrs; SS14: Peira Cava-La Bollene Vesubie 2, 23:20hrs; SS15: Lantosque-Luceram 2, 23:53hrs; Service H: Monaco, 01:05hrs. Prize giving (Saturday January 23): Place du Palais Princier, 11:00hrs.

FRIDAY’S TV TIMES

Eurosport, Europe’s largest television channel, will show live coverage of four stages tomorrow (see below), ensuring viewers will be able to follow all of the action as it happens. Highlights of the day will also available at www.rally-irc.com
19:00-20:45: SS12 and SS13 LIVE Eurosport
23:00-00:45: SS14 and SS15 LIVE Eurosport

Mikko Hirvonen capped an impressive competition debut for the M-Sport Fiesta Super 2000 by completing the opening leg of Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo with a 41.9-second lead over reigning Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Kris Meeke.
Hirvonen, from Finland, went fastest on Wednesday morning’s first stage from Burzet to Lachamp Raphael and was never headed at the top of the leaderboard thereafter. He was quickest again when the 27.27-kilometre run was repeated in the afternoon and was able to extend his advantage after Peugeot 207 driver Stephane Sarrazin suffered a puncture on stage four and slipped down the order.
The French driver’s delay promoted Meeke into second place. The Briton adopted a cautious approach and drove without error throughout the day in his efforts to begin his title defence with a points finish, having crashed out of this event last season. Meeke felt he could have been closer to the leader but for a confidence-denting moment on the second stage braking for a left-hand corner.
Juho Hanninen heads the works Skoda Motorsport challenge after lead driver Jan Kopecky lost more than three minutes with a front-right puncture close to the start of the first stage. Hanninen reported a few scares in the thick fog that descended on a 12-kilometre section of the second stage from St Pierreville to Antraigues, but otherwise enjoyed a trouble-free day. Kopecky recovered to hold 12th overnight.
Nicolas Vouilloz, on a one-off drive with the Skoda squad, holds fourth overall after the first day of competition. He spent the morning acclimatising to the Fabia S2000 and admitted his choice of tyres had been too conservative.
Last year’s Monte Carlo winner Sebastien Ogier had closed to within 4.9 seconds of leader Hirvonen after two stages but his hopes of a top finish evaporated when he went off the road on the third stage on a patch of snow and damaged his front-right wheel, losing 1m30s in the process. He fought back with the quickest time on the final stage of the day to complete the leg 1m51s adrift of Hirvonen in fifth overall.
Peugeot Portugal driver Bruno Magalhaes said he was satisfied with how his Monte Carlo debut had gone so far as he adapted to driving on slippery asphalt for the first time. He lies sixth overnight, one place ahead of Finn Toni Gardemeister, the lead Abarth Grande Punto pilot.
Gardemeister lost time by running dry weather tyres on the rain-hit opening brace of stages, when he overshot a left-hander on the second run and clouted a stone wall. Damage was miraculously limited to a scuffed front-right bumper and Gardemeister was able to continue his challenge for a top-six finish.
Sarrazin, who had complained of a loss of engine power on the first stage, reached the overnight halt in Valence in eighth, clearly frustrated that his bid for victory had suffered a serious blow due to his puncture, which added almost three minutes to his total time.
Austria’s Franz Wittmann spent the morning stages adapting to his Peugeot 207, which he was using for the first time in the IRC. He improved his pace in the afternoon and completed the first leg in ninth but said he still lacked confidence.
Briton Guy Wilks lies tenth overnight in the Skoda UK Motorsport Fabia. With seldom experience of driving his car on asphalt, Wilks used the day to gather more mileage in the car and experiment with different settings. He reckoned his choice of tyres hadn’t been ideal for the conditions, while a spin on the final stage of the day cost him 20 seconds.
Leading Clio R3 European Trophy runner Mathieu Arzeno, from France, tops the IRC 2WD Cup in 13th overall with Italian Matteo Gamba second and Belgium’s Kris Princen third.
Of the 58 starters, 46 crews returned to the service in Valence following a tough day of competition in the French Ardeche region. Thursday’s action is due to get underway with the 25.30-kilometre stage from Labatie D’Andaure to St Pierre Sur Doux.

Hirvonen tops the Monte Carlo Rally in his M-Sport Fiesta S2000

DRIVER QUOTES

"This rally is so much about tyres. The car is handling well and it’s great to be leading but on this rally a 40-second lead is nothing because it can all change in a minute. We went for a combination of snow tyres and intermediates on the second loop of stages and that seemed to work quite well. You also need to have the right information to make the choice work. We’ve not made too many adjustments to the car, just been trying to drive safely. But of course we have to do the same now for the rest of the rally." Mikko Hirvonen, first overall
"We’ve had three good stages out of four. If you offered me second place before the start of today I would have taken that. I’ve got half my mind on the championship but people like Ogier and Hirvonen have got nothing to lose whereas I have because they’re not doing the full championship. In the morning we lost 40s over 20ks when I lost my confidence after hitting some slippery Tarmac. Had it not been for that we would have been very close to the lead." Kris Meeke, second overall
"I made the same combination of tyre choices for the afternoon as I did for the morning. However it did not work quite as well because the conditions were worse the second time but not full snow. It’s always a compromise and I do not think I made a bad choice. I’m very happy to be where we are overnight and when you’re competing against someone like Mikko you have to remember he’s one of the best drivers in the world." Juho Hanninen, third overall

Defending IRC champion Kris Meeke is second after leg one

TOP TEN POSITIONS (AFTER LEG ONE)

1 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Fiesta S2000 1h34m01.8s
2 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle Peugeot 207 S2000 +41.9s
3 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula Skoda Fabia S2000 +1m04.4s
4 Nicolas Vouilloz/Benjamin Veillas Skoda Fabia S2000 +1m20.3s
5 Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m51.1s
6 Bruno Magalhaes/Carlos Magalhaes Peugeot 207 S2000 +2m28.1s
7 Toni Gardemeister/Tomi Tuominen Abarth Grande Punto S2000 +2m43.2s
8 Stephane Sarrazin/Jacques Julien Renucci Peugeot 207 S2000 +3m15.8s
9 Franz Wittmann/Klaus Wicha Peugeot 207 S2000 +3m44.1s
10 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh Skoda Fabia S2000 +4m27.1s

LEG TWO ITINERARY

Service B: Valence, 08:30hrs; SS5: Labatie D’Andaure-St Pierre Sur Doux 1 (25.30 kilometres), 10:13hrs; SS6: St Bonnet-St Julien Molhesabate-St Bonnet 1 (25.67 kilometres), 10:55hrs; SS7: Lamastre-Gilhoc-Alboussiere 1 (21.92 kilometres), 12:20hrs; Service C: Valence, 13:45hrs; SS8: Labatie D’Andaure-St Pierre Sur Doux 2, 15:28hrs; SS9: St Bonnet-St Julien Molhesabate-St Bonnet 2, 16:10hrs; SS10: Lamastre-Gilhoc-Alboussiere 2, 18:05hrs; Service D: Valence, 19:15hrs.

THURSDAY’S TV TIMES

Eurosport, Europe’s largest television channel, will show live coverage of all six stages tomorrow, ensuring viewers will be able to follow all of the action as it happens. Highlights of the day will also available at www.rally-irc.com
10:00-11.45: SS5 and SS6 LIVE Eurosport2
12:15-13:15: SS7 LIVE Eurosport2
15:15-16:00: SS8 LIVE Eurosport2
16:00-17:00: End of SS8 and SS9 LIVE Eurosport
19:30-20:00: SS10 delayed Eurosport2*
23:45-00:15: SS10 repeated Eurosport
*SS10 LIVE on Eurosport France from 18:00-19:00
All times are CET