Good morning oppo, today is the last day of the Monte Carlo Rally. It has been a brutal and eventful 2 days so far.
The first day was dominated by two Ford M-Sport drivers: Robert Kubica and Hyundai test driver Bryan Bouffier. Kubica surprised the whole Paddock during his first outing in the full WRC spec Ford Fiesta by winning the first two Stages. He didn't only win them though, he was nearly 15 seconds faster than the second fastest competitor. And that on a mix of ice, snow and dry tarmac. In the end he held a lead of 36 seconds on champion Sebastien Ogier.
Afterwards the field had to decide which tires to use for the next stages: Slicks or winter tires? Only 4 drivers decided to use a mix of both, and they were right. Therefore Meeke, Sordo and Bouffier set blisteringly fast times and established themselves at the front.
You might wonder now where the Hyundai star driver Neuville was in the standing. He wasn't anywhere because he lost control of his i20 on the first stage and damaged it heavily.
The second Hyundai was also struggling: Dani Sordo's car died between stages because of a broken alternator & battery.
Day 2 started with a strike back by Volkswagen: Latvala and Ogier set the pace, followed by Bouffier and Kubica.
And then it happened:
Kubica threw his car into a river bed. Luckily he and his co-driver were okay. Latvala also had trouble and fell back.
Although to be fair, everyone was having trouble. Ogier hit something as well.
And Hirvonen was captured doing the first awesome save of the year 2014.
http://ift.tt/P2viky...
The field cleared to 9 WRC cars, and here is the order:
Now, the last day will have stages on the Col de Turini, one of the toughest stages in the world. It even snowed, so prepare for some great sideways action. The start is set at 15:48 local time and expect the rally to finish at about 22:30. We will see who emerges victorious, I can't wait for the snowy stages
WRC Monte Carlo: Update before the final day.