Ogier chasing record 10th Monte Carlo Rally win

Eight-time world rally champion Sebastien Ogier is still hungry for success, even as a Toyota part-timer, as he starts a new season chasing a record-extending 10th Monte Carlo Rally win this weekend.

The oldest, most evocative round of the championship is based in the south-eastern town of Gap, the 40-year-old French driver’s birthplace, and he knows the treacherous mountain roads well.

“Numbers are never my main motivation, but if I could get a 10th win on this event it would be something very special,” last year’s winner said.

“I think it’s the rally that you need to respect more than any other as the conditions can be so challenging, which means nothing is guaranteed.”

Teammate and reigning champion Kalle Rovanpera is taking time out this season, driving selected events, with Welshman Elfyn Evans Toyota’s main title contender after finishing overall runner-up three times in the past four years.

Estonia’s Ott Tanak, returning to Hyundai after a year away at M-Sport Ford, led the way in Wednesday’s short and dry shakedown ahead of Evans and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville with Ogier fourth.

The big change for this season is a new scoring system aimed at providing more excitement on the final day.

Points will now be allocated at the end of tomorrow’s action on a scale of 18-15-13-108-6-4-3-2-1 and providing the crews complete the rally on Sunday, with the final day providing more points on a 7-6-54-3-2-1 basis. The final Power Stage offers up to a further five bonus points.

The rally started with two evening stages yesterday, with three stages to be run twice each today and again tomorrow before the finish on Sunday and prize-giving in Monaco’s Casino Square.