Ott Tänak first in Monte Carlo rally initial warm-up stage

The 2025 World Rally Championship (WRC) season begins in earnest Thursday evening, taking competitors to Monaco and southern France for the Monte Carlo Rally, with Estonia's Ott Tänak looking to get his campaign off to a good start with Hyundai.
So far, so good – Tänak and his co-driver Martin Järveoja clocked the fastest time at Wednesday's shakedown test.
The pair completed the 3.28-kilometer shakedown stage in 2:09.8 on their first outing, despite the conditions.
"It was very wet, and the grip was hard to assess—quite tricky overall," Tänak said afterwards.
A second attempt found the track muddier, and the Estonians were 1.7 seconds slower, but then again, no other driver posted a faster time.
Additionally, Tänak has yet to win on the challenging roads in southern France, so is out to break that duck as well.
"Monte Carlo is always unpredictable, making preparation difficult," he said.
"It's a unique rally, and winning it would mean a lot," Tänak added.
He reiterated his satisfaction with the new, lighter cars for 2025, following the ditching of hybrid powertrain regulations.
"A lighter car is more agile, which is great for rallying," he said.
"Monte has always been tough, but we'll aim for the podium," Tänak said, looking ahead to the event proper, which starts at 7:05 p.m. Estonian time on Thursday.
The Monte Carlo Rally, first held in 1911, has been part of the WRC calendar since 1973 and is usually the first race of the season.
Its winners list is dominated by two French legends, the two Sébastiens: Ogier, who has nine victories there (and eight world titles), and Loeb, who has won in the principality eight times.
While Ogier is racing in Monte Carlo this year, only one other driver competing this year – Tänak's teammate and last year's world champion Thierry Neuville (Belgium) – has won the event before.
In addition to the technical changes for 2025, a revamped points system allows drivers to earn up to 35 points per rally.
Other changes include a return to full-time racing for Finland's Kalle Rovanperä, two-time world champion, who took a part-sabbatical last year.
Tänak and Neuville return for Hyundai this year and are joined by Adrien Fourmaux (France), formerly of M-Sport Ford.
Rovanperä was second behind Tänak at Wednesday's shakedown run, with a time of 2:10.6 for Toyota. Ogier (Toyota) was third, while Welshman Elfyn Evans, also of Toyota, placed fourth (2:10.8). Neuville and Fourmaux were fifth and sixth, respectively, while Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) came seventh.
Three stages take place on Thursday night, followed by six each on Friday and Saturday, and three on Sunday, the last starting at 1:15 p.m. Estonian time.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste Andrew Whyte