WRC: Volkswagen driver Sébastien Ogier wins season opener
Strong WRC home round for World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier: The Frenchman, together with his co-driver Julien Ingrassia, triumphed in the Volkswagen Polo R WRC, which is equipped with a two-plate clutch and dampers of the ZF brand, at the Rally Monte Carlo. Ogier had lost more than a minute on day one when the weather, contrary to the forecasts, had taken a heavy turn for the worse and he was forced to compete on snowy roads on slicks. He started a strong recovery afterwards, drove seven best times, and took the lead on the ninth special stage. In the end, the Volkswagen factory driver managed to prevail against the Frenchman Bryan Bouffier (Ford) with an advantage of 1m 18.9s. For Sébastien Ogier, this marked the second “Monte” victory after 2009 when the iconic rally was not part of the World Rally Championship.
The Volkswagen factory drivers Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila, after suffering a tire puncture, finished the challenging tarmac rally in the French Maritime Alps in fifth place and collected three additional points for setting the fastest time on the power stage. Andreas Mikkelsen and Mikko Markkula in the third Volkswagen Polo R WRC, after a slip, took seventh place and scored six valuable WRC points.
Results, Rally Monte Carlo (MC), round 1, FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Jan 16–Jan 18, 2014:
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen, 3h 55m14.4s ZF
2. Bryan Bouffier/Xavier Panseri, Ford, + 1m 18.9s
3. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle, Citroën, + 1m 54.3s
4. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson, Citroën, + 3m 53.9s
5. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila, Volkswagen, + 6m 08.3s, ZF
6. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt, Ford, + 8m 37.4s
7. Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula, Volkswagen, , + 11m 42.3s, ZF
8. Jaroslav Melicharek/Erik Melicharek, Ford, + 21m 56.2s
9. Matteo Gamba/Nicola Arena, Peugeot, + 23m 50.7s
10. Yuriy Protasov/Pavel Cherepin, Ford, + 25m 43.1s
Drivers world championship standings:
1. S. Ogier, 27 points; 2. B. Bouffier, 18; 3. K. Meeke, 16; 4. J. Latvala, 13; 5. M. Østberg, 12; 6. E. Evans, 8; 7. A. Mikkelsen, 6; 8. J. Melicharek, 4; 9. M. Gamba, 2; 10. Y. Protasov, 1.
Constructors world championship standings:
1. Volkswagen Motorsport, 37; 2. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 33; 3. M-Sport WRT, 10; 4. Volkswagen Motorsport II, 8.