The first rally of the new season was always going to have some unexpected results, and Rallye Monte Carlo didn't disappoint.
With both manufacturers' and drivers' championships reset, the teams were all looking for maximum points in both. Citroen and Ford, especially, were after wins, something that had proved elusive last season and that Ford hadn't experienced for two years.
Monte was never going to be dull... was it?
But first, a couple of thoughts that I've been mulling over the last couple of years about the venerable rally's existence.
The Monte Carlo isn't in Monte Carlo.
It's in France.
Sure, the ceremonial bits happen in the principality, but the rally itself, the actual, fun, exciting, competitive stuff, happens in France. So while it bears the name of its base and is nominally under the control of the Automobile Club de Monaco, for all practical purposes, it's a French WRC event.
Which means France in effect gets two rounds to everyone else's single event. And that's certainly been true for 2012, 2013, 2014. And probably many previous years besides. Despite Alsace missing out this year, there seems to be a strong likelihood that France will still get their second round, probably in Corsica.
Okay, before I get yelled at by people claiming that the Monte was arguably the oldest competitive rally ever and that history means it deserves a place in the WRC, I'd like to point out that it was missing from the WRC in 2009, 2010, and 2011 with no destructive effects on the championship.
And for those who are adamant that it's fine for the Monte to be run in a country other than the principality because there are no suitable roads in Monaco itself, that's true, but there are other countries besides France that would love to host a round on Monaco's behalf.
It's time to end the favouritist advantage that France enjoys. If the consensus is that the Monte stays, then great. Just drop the "Rallye France" round from the 2016 calendar onward. And give that round to another deserving nation.
Day #1
The event got under way with the Monte's trademark unexpected results.
Tanak and Loeb, starting down the order on SS1, recorded spectacular times, and triggered much Twittersphere chatter about Loeb - "the maestro is back" kind of thing - emblazoned with exclamation marks. Loeb was 22 seconds faster than Tanak who in turn was 9 seconds quicker than reigning champ Ogier.
Extraordinary performances, but based on end-of-stage remarks from both Loeb and Tanak, it was as much a surprise to them as it was to their rivals. They both saw their runs as unexceptional until the time comparisons were given to the drivers at time control.
The end of SS2 was witness to an entirely different result to that of SS1, with Loeb's 30+ seconds margin over Ogier on the first test becoming a 17.6 second deficit on the second, and Tanak gave back 34.2 seconds to Ogier on his own SS2 run. Clearly running order on SS1 had much to do with the spectacular times the duo recorded prior.
A little more rational commentary about the times and a little less fervour from the commentators would have served the rally-following public better - that rush of blood to the noggin in fawning over M. Loeb's "mastery of the Monte" was all rather unwarranted.
Still, however it transpired, WRC legend Loeb led by 13.3 seconds over Ogier heading into day 2.
High profile privateer Robert Kubica spun in SS2's treacherous conditions, losing time extracting his Fiesta, and then suffering electrical gremlins which robbed the Pole of his lights, and at times, his engine. He made it to the finish but not before dropping four minutes in the stage. But worse ensued - complete electrical failure on the following touring stage mandated retirement from the event for the day and a Rally 2 start on Friday.
Meanwhile, last year's stand-out Monte competitor, Bryan Bouffier, crashed out in the same special and retired from the rally entirely.
Sébastien Chardonnet's DS3 WRC hit something hard on his debut drive, breaking the Citroen's suspension and retiring. He restarted the following day under Rally 2.
Day #2
The second day was even more eventful than the first, cementing Rallye Monte Carlo's unforgiving reputation into the bargain.
Loeb again made the most of his lowly starting position on SS3, a stage plagued with fog, snow and ice, to clock up a time 15 seconds quicker than rival Ogier. And again, the commentators were effusive in their praise for the previous champion's perceived superiority. But road conditions and tyre suitability on SS4 and SS5 conspired to relegate his performance back to that of the mere mortals he was competing against, and Loeb lost 25 seconds to the other Seb.
Ogier gleefully announced he'd deliberately cut deep in the hope of dragging slush and mud onto the racing line to affect the following competitors and it appeared to have worked, judging by the times set. The current world champ reached service only 3 seconds in arrears of Loeb.
Road position is always going to be an issue in the WRC. Despite the best efforts of the administrators, somebody will be disadvantaged. But that's part of our sport. Personally, I'd like to see a return to the shakedown where it actually has some meaning, with the fastest getting their choice of road position for the first day of the rally. And thereafter, starting positions in reverse order based on fastest accumulated times the previous day.
It'll never happen though...
Both SS4 and SS5 were won by the flying Pole Robert Kubica, who had apparently disconnected his brain. That he can drive quickly is beyond doubt. What is doubtful though is that he can do it for a whole rally.
Loeb was highest profile casualty on day #2. A small error by the former 9 times World Champion saw his DS3 spin on SS7 and the Frenchman found himself losing time to Ogier. Commenting at stage end, Loeb admitted that he was having to push really hard to try to match his compatriot's times. That strain showed on the final stage of the day when the rally legend slid wide and broke his DS3's suspension, although he finished the stage. Unfortunately, he couldn't complete the touring stage to service and he retired to restart under Rally 2.
The former world champion is mortal after all.
Unhappy drivers
Rallye Monte Carlo has a reputation for being difficult to contest, let alone win, with many retirements expected and delivered. And so it's been in 2015. Yet the WRC drivers seem to be, without exception, full of anticipation about the event as the start time approaches. And it's pretty universally agreed that the rally is a specialist one, with experience and the skills developed only from experience being key to a competitive performance.
Imagine the surprise then to hear so many drivers commenting at stage end that they disliked the stages, bagged the constantly changing road and weather conditions, were unhappy with their performances, decried their tyre choices and road positions, and so on. It sounds very little like the expressed enthusiasm for the rally that was evident prior to the ceremonial start.
That, as much as anything, demonstrates just how difficult it is to drive there. The challenges faced are daunting, frustrating, frequently unjust and simply downright scary. That's what makes it both the draw and the danger to driver and co-driver alike; that it somehow also endows those competitors with a prestige that no other WRC round can.
And Sébastien Loeb has won it seven times. That's something we should never forget.
As if to underscore the points above, Kris Meeke clipped a rock and broke his DS3's suspension, stopping in the stage and retiring to rejoin Day #3 under Rally 2. And the spectacular Kubica also crashed out. Again. His nickname "Krashbica" is well-earned. There's no doubting the raw speed seen on this event - his pacenote expertise is growing with each stage completed. The Pole took advantage of Rally 2 for the second time on Monte Carlo 2015.
Day #3
Ogier's lead was such that the VW number one felt disinclined to take any risks, and he drove a rather uncompetitive SS10, so much so that he dropped 40 seconds to teammate Jari-Matti who admitted that he hadn't been taking any risks himself. What was apparent by service was that the excitement of the Seb vs Seb duel had gone and in its place, the near-certainty that Ogier was about to cruise home to victory. The Monte had for all purposes become a foregone conclusion.
Tanak was showing some good pace but he was caught out by some black ice and gravel which sent the Estonian down a bank and into what seemed an unrecoverable position. But legions of spectators had other ideas and they manhandled the Fiesta out of the gulley in which the car was trapped and Tanak completed the stage, albeit with the loss of 18 minutes.
WRC rookie, Italian Lorenzo Bertelli, left the road in a place where unlike Tanak, there were no spectators around to help, and although the Fiesta was undamaged, Bertelli had no choice but to retire.
Sébastien Loeb prodigy, Sébastien Chardonnet clipped a wall and went off. Although the young Frenchman was helped onto the road and continued, he lost 30 minutes in the process. Welcome to Rallye Monte Carlo SebC.
Henning Solberg also had an off with the loss of around two minutes. Until then, the popular Norwegian had been in the top ten.
Robert Kubica didn't crash or leave the road. In fact, he won stage 10, more than 33 seconds quicker than second place getter Kris Meeke. Kubica's in-car footage of SS10 is a must-see. The man is utterly nuts! Loeb won the following stage, exciting the fans and commentators, but tellingly, he beat second-placed Kubica by less than two seconds.
Day #4
The final day with just three stages - the first and last were televised, being the chosen power stage, and the drivers used the first run as a recce/rehearsal for the final run. With the exception of Sébastien Ogier, of course. The reigning world champ wasn't interested in competing for the power stage points with his win assured if he drove sensibly. In fact, despite his acknowledged prowess, Ogier was just fifth quickest on SS14, 22 seconds off the pace.
SS14 was also notable for Kubica's exit from the event, crashing out after the flying finish and destroying both left rear and front suspension. The damage was terminal and the Pole was forced to retire from the rally. The cause of the crash is rumoured to be the result of brake failure and despite his attempts to avoid disaster using gears and handbrake, it was an unfortunate way to end the Monte.
In case you hadn't heard the news, Meeke won the power stage, Loeb finished second and J-M Latvala came third. VW took all three podium spots for the second time, Ogier first, Latvala second and the ever-reliable Mikkelsen third.
Wrap-up
At rally's end, in driver comments reported by WRC Live and others, the
gripes and negativity about their difficulties had mysteriously vanished
and the tone of the comments now was praising of the Monte, how
challenging yet rewarding it all was, and how they'd be looking forward
to competing there again in 2016. WRC drivers are a fickle lot.
So what to say about the rally? Loeb's appearance certainly added spice to the Monte. His battle with Ogier generated an atmosphere that kept media and spectators alike excited, and fuelled an undercurrent of rivalry not seen in the WRC for quite some time. The inconsistency of climate, surface and topography certainly presents a unique set of challenges to the teams, truly making the Monte an exceptional event.
By day #4, though, I was hoping we'd get some weather influence to make the result less of a done deal. Some snow, fog, or heavy rain could have added back some uncertainty in the mix. But that didn't happen, and it's clearly not the fault of the event or organisation. So just like drivers, sometimes, even events themselves need a little luck.
It's now onward to Sweden, where according to reports, the climate is doing its bit by dumping loads of snow over the country. That bodes well for this very special rally, and I look forward in anticipation of some really competitive rallying in a few weeks, and to the return of Kiwi duo Hayden Paddon and John Kennard to the WRC.
See you there...
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