Loeb Leads 2015 Monte Carlo Rally


Rally returnee Sebastien Loeb leads the Monte Carlo Rally from Sebastien Ogier after the first evening of his World Rally Championship comeback. The Citroen star stormed through the Entrevaux-Rouaine stage that opened the 2015 WRC season a full 22 seconds clear of surprise second-placed man Ott Tanak's M-Sport Ford and half a minute faster than Ogier's Volkswagen in third position.

Ogier then responded by going quickest on the Norante to Dignes-les-Bains stage that completed the after-dark double-header. Possibly Loeb's 14th position in the starting order had helped him on SS1, where everyone complained of extremely unpredictable ice levels, but it was a hindrance on SS2, as most drivers further down the order found increasing amounts of gravel dragged onto the corners by cars ahead but Loeb was still third fastest, but he dropped 17.6s to Ogier, bringing his outright lead down to 13.3s at the end of the night - but the rally's only just begun!

Top Ten Results after SS1
1 Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroen 30m08.2s
2 Sebastien Ogier Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen 13.3s
3 Jari-Matti Latvala Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen 36.1s
4 Ott Tanak M-Sport World Rally Team Ford 38.6s
5 Elfyn Evans M-Sport World Rally Team Ford 47.4s
6 Kris Meeke Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroen 59.8s
7 Andreas Mikkelsen Volkswagen Motorsport II Volkswagen 59.9s
8 Thierry Neuville Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai 1m06.8s
9 Mads Ostberg Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroen 1m08.7s
10 Henning Solberg Ford 1m17.6s

23rd January, 2015