{"id":3806,"date":"2026-01-23T14:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldrally.eu\/?p=3806"},"modified":"2026-07-03T19:45:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:45:57","slug":"solberg-extends-monte-carlo-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldrally.eu\/index.php\/2026\/01\/23\/solberg-extends-monte-carlo-lead\/","title":{"rendered":"Solberg Extends Monte Carlo Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson remain firmly in control of the 94th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo after six special stages, extending their advantage to 1 minute and 4.2 seconds over Toyota teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. S\u00e9bastien Ogier and Vincent Landais complete an all-Toyota podium, 1 minute and 39.9 seconds adrift of the leaders.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opening full day of competition in the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship has further underlined Toyota’s supremacy on the demanding Alpine roads. Solberg, who claimed two more stage victories during Friday’s loop despite suffering a puncture on one of the tests, completed the first six stages with a total time of 1:28:21.8<\/strong> and an impressive average speed of 85.0 km\/h<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Swede’s lead has grown by 20 seconds compared to the end of Thursday evening, putting him in a commanding position heading into the remainder of the rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toyota locks out the podium<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin continue to hold second place, but the Welshman now trails Solberg by 1:04.2<\/strong>. Evans remains the closest challenger after setting the fastest time on one of Friday’s stages and maintaining a consistent pace throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight-time Monte Carlo winner S\u00e9bastien Ogier sits third overall. The Frenchman and co-driver Vincent Landais are 1:39.9<\/strong> behind the leaders and 35.7 seconds<\/strong> adrift of Evans. Although still firmly in contention for a podium finish, Ogier will need to increase his pace if he is to challenge the two Toyotas ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With three GR Yaris Rally1 cars occupying the top three positions and Takamoto Katsuta running seventh, Toyota currently has four cars inside the top seven overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hyundai’s challenge led by Neuville<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reigning world champion Thierry Neuville remains Hyundai’s leading contender in fourth place. Alongside Martijn Wydaeghe, the Belgian crew trails Solberg by 1:56.6<\/strong> and remains within touching distance of the podium, only 16.7 seconds<\/strong> behind Ogier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria hold fifth place in another Hyundai i20 N Rally1. The French duo is 2:28.2<\/strong> behind the rally leaders but remains comfortably ahead of the chasing pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo PhotoMs Media Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Armstrong impresses in sixth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the stories of the rally so far continues to be the performance of Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne<\/strong>. The Ford Puma Rally1 crew occupies sixth overall, 3:02.0<\/strong> off the lead, producing one of the strongest performances of Armstrong’s WRC career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takamoto Katsuta is seventh at 4:24.5<\/strong>, while Hayden Paddon and John Kennard remain in eighth position, just 16 seconds<\/strong> further back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rally2 battle heats up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fight in RC2 has taken another turn, with L\u00e9o Rossel and Guillaume Mercoiret<\/strong> moving into ninth overall and leading the Rally2 category in their Citro\u00ebn C3 Rally2. The French crew sits 6:07.9<\/strong> behind the overall leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completing the top ten are Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov<\/strong>, who continue to impress on the debut of the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale<\/strong>. The Bulgarian-Russian pairing trails Rossel by 31.2 seconds<\/strong> and the rally leaders by 6:39.1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key statistics after SS6<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Leader:<\/strong> Oliver Solberg \/ Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Lead over second:<\/strong> 1:04.2<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Average speed of leaders:<\/strong> 85.0 km\/h<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Top three:<\/strong> All Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 crews<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Cars in top seven:<\/strong> Toyota (4), Hyundai (2), Ford (1)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Gap covering top ten:<\/strong> 6 minutes 39.1 seconds<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Highest-placed Rally2 crew:<\/strong> L\u00e9o Rossel \/ Guillaume Mercoiret (9th overall)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    With only six stages completed, there is still a long way to go in the 94th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo. However, Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson have established themselves as the benchmark of the event and head into the next leg with a significant advantage and growing confidence in their pursuit of a sensational first Monte Carlo victory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson remain firmly in control of the 94th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo after six special stages, extending their advantage to 1 minute and 4.2 seconds over Toyota teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. S\u00e9bastien Ogier and Vincent Landais complete an all-Toyota podium, 1 minute and 39.9 seconds adrift of the leaders. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t