
Oliver Solberg made a stunning start to life as a full-time World Rally Championship Rally1 driver to emerge from treacherous wintry conditions with the Monte Carlo Rally lead.
Solberg produced a masterclass on the challenging snow and ice covered mountain asphalt roads to reach service with a 44.2s lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans. After nominal times were awarded following the red flag in stage three, reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier ended the day in third, 1m08.6s adrift. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville [+1m25.6s] held fourth, while M-Sport’s Jon Armstrong dropped from third to fifth [+1m34.5s] following an impressive start to his Rally1 career.