The National Times - Loeb leads Monte Carlo chasing record for oldest rally winner

After winning his eighth World Rally Championship title last season, Ogier followed Loeb in retiring from full-time competition while competing in a few races, including the season opener close to home.

After Friday's six stages, Loeb, who has nine WRC titles, had a 9.9-second lead over Toyota's Ogier after eight of the 17 stages.

"It's not a big gap, but we are happy to be leading after the first day," said Loeb, who is driving for M-Sport Ford.

Welshman Elfyn Evans, also in a Toyota, was third at 22 seconds.

In the first WRC event with hybrid engines, Ogier won the opening two stages on Thursday evening before Loeb took over, winning the first four on Friday.

Briton Gus Greensmith in an M-Sport Ford took the fifth of the day before Ogier cut gained almost when he won the final one at sunset as Loeb had some problems with his hybrid.

While the Toyotas and the Ford Pumas, replacing last year's Fiestas, made a good start to the hybrid era, the third manufacturer, Hyundai, struggled.

Hyundai's best-placed driver was Belgian Thierry Neuville, in fourth, 47.8 seconds behind Loeb.

If Loeb holds on to his lead he would become the oldest winner of a WRC at 47. The record is held by Swede Bjorn Waldegard, who took the 1990 Safari Rally in Kenya at 46 years and five months old.

Since his last title in 2012, Loeb has returned intermittently to his favourite discipline.

He did not race at all last year and only drove in two rallies in 2020.

A week after finishing second in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, he is in the Principality to win with a new co-driver, Isabelle Galmiche.

"We are feeling well," Loeb said after the last stage on Friday.

"For sure, it was a good day. The first stages were really great, then we had a little hybrid problem. I had a good stage in here I think, but it's freezing a little bit more now."

"I like the car, I can do pretty much what I want with it. We attacked hard, we made good time, and we are in the lead. I didn't expect so much, so I'm happy," said Loeb.

He is competing in his 181st WRC rally, the first with M-Sport Ford, and is aiming for an 80th victory. The last one was in October 2018 in Catalonia. At the time, he was 44.

Reigning champion Ogier praised Loeb.

"It is remarkable as always, but it is never a surprise, we are used to it."

"This afternoon I pushed but we can not go much faster. We are missing some stability with the car and some traction," Ogier said. "But we can be happy with our afternoon."

"We didn't necessarily expect to do so well. We're far from giving up with a ten-second deficit, so we're going to try, even if we can see that the Fords' pace is a notch higher at the moment. But it's still the Monte Carlo, where the conditions will be difficult."

S.Clarke--TNT