Could be the end of the road for Loeb on Monte

The last stage of the first full day of Rallye Monte Carlo saw Sebastien Ogier return to form. The reigning champion took the win on a stage which saw problems throughout the field, including huge time loss for Sebastien Loeb.

Ogier did not realise he had inherited the lead at the end of the previous stage and explained that he was relatively pleased with the afternoon, having not necessarily made the right tier choice.

Sebastien Chardonnet was second fastest, 14.7 seconds behind Ogier while Mads Ostberg was third fastest in the first of the Citroen DS3 WRCs.

However, Loeb’s chances of a sensational win seemed to disappear, slowing in the stage with a loose left rear wheel caused by sliding wide and hitting a rock by the side of the road. He explained that he was pushing hard, as he knew that he would be losing time with his road position, of 14th.

Team-mate Kris Meeke also stopped in the stage, having incurred similar damage in the stage and eventually retiring to minimise the time loss – retiring on the last stage incurs a ten-minute penalty but potentially he would have lost more time by continuing and damaged the car more.

Robert Kubica, who took the win on two stages this morning and one this afternoon, also lost time, having had a huge moment and then, going off the road and hitting a tree. He completed the stage with damage and a shredded tier, losing almost four minutes.