Sebastien Ogier has moved up from fourth to second overall after clocking the quickest time on the Friday’s opening stage (SS7); Monte Carlo Rally leader Bryan Bouffier, however, struck back on the second stage (SS8) and beat Ogier to the finish line by 0.2 seconds. The Volkswagen driver now trails his M-Sport rival by 35.8 seconds.
Citroen’s Kris Meeke and M-Sport’s Robert Kubica are locked in a fight for third place; the former gained 4 seconds on his rival on SS7, but the ex-Formula 1 driver retaliated on SS8, taking back the 4 seconds. Kubica’s currently running fourth overall, just 0.8 seconds behind Meeke.
Mads Ostberg is fifth overall in his DS3 WRC, more than 2 minutes off the lead, followed by Volkswagen’s Jari-Matti Latvala who’s a further 40 seconds behind.
Overall standings after SS8:
