92. Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2024
25. 1. – 28. 1. 2024, Gap - Monaco • Automobile Club de Monaco • asphalt - snow 324.44 km • total distance including road sections - 1649.89 km • Other years
Info
SS17
"I don't have the words. it was just so great this weekend, the team was just working so well. I think it's the first time the team has come together like this, with Cyril. We were the boss this weekend."
"It's been a nice battle. Well done to Thierry. Its been a tough week, big rollercoaster of emotion."
"At the end of the day we weren't fast enough to win. Didn't get it on Saturday afternoon. On this one, the tires were screaming halfway up."
"4th, we need to take it. Was not an easy event, too much Tarmac. Looking forward to another adventure [in Sweden]."
"We are really happy to be here, we had a really good rally. Really really positive start."
"It was more difficult than I expected, but we progressed over the weekend. Its awesome [to be back] in these cars"
"We did some good stages and some bad stages. On Friday morning we lost opportunity to fight for anything. I need to look how I can improve."
"I think there are positives to take back home, just sorry to the team. The car was perfect all weekend. Looking forward to Sweden, hopefully not going to end up in a snowbank."
"Satisfied, no. We fought a lot of win this rally. All the things we have.. we did the best. Thank you to the team. Let's see what this year brings us."
"It's crazy. My tyres are completely dead, I think it's the same for him. Incredible feeling. I need to wait now.."
"I don't know he's going that fast.. I was trying my best. I even overheated my tyres trying my best. I think he has a different style that helps him. I tried to brake late, etc.. it didn't work. At least we are in the finish. It was a nice fight!"
"Pretty stable. Was more easy than what we had last couple of days. Happy to be in the end. We are in the best position we could get. The team did a great job. It was not easy and we are expecting new updates on the car."
"Not an easy weekend for us to be honest. In the future it will be the best car. On tarmac I will have to improve. Thank you to Toyota, I am happy."
SS16
"I know i'm not the driver with the best tyre, I had more tyre wear during the weekend. Let's see next stage."
"Quite different today. First one was okay, we made some changes for this one. We thought it was more dry. We changed damper clicks and lost the confidence completely."
"It was really a mix. The first part was really slippy and suddenly there was a lot more grip in the end. Struggling with confidence with these changes. Safely through."
"It's fun, I push very hard. Next one I push all the time"
Spin
"It was nice. It's hard to judge the speed, it was much slippier than expected at the beginning but overall it felt good. The focus is on the powerstage now"
"It was a bit over after the first one anyway. We have done decent, but he's done better. Well done to him. I don't take silly risk, its not really worth it"
"Not really happy, it was alright. But thats it"
"I didn't have a good rhythm, beginning was tricky. Some places its damp and frozen, and then you start to hesitate"
Is reporting the tires were worn by the end of the stage, and he lost the hybrid as well
"I can't really let loose, but thats how it is"
"Black ice and frost in many places. It wasn't so easy, especially at the beginning."
"It was really strange, just 200m before time control is was completely frozen. We didn't know what to expect from the gravel crew. There's a lot of salt in there so thats heating up the tires"
SS15
"I push on the limit, on the last section I could have done more"
"Really difficult stage. I think I have a clear mind of what I want to do. The gravel crew did a great job. I try to dance the car on the frost. [The battle] will be good fun"
"I tried. I do what I can. Its tricky"
"That's good. It was a big push, toward the end it was a bit more careful. Happy with my time"
"It was interesting conditions with some ice in places. Could have been faster in places."
"Quite OK, too careful at the end there. Difficult to judge."
"Good run. Let's see, still some sketchy places where it was difficult to be brave."
"I had a small push, to be fair. Gravel crew did a great job, it gives me a lot of confidence"
"I did the best I could with what I saw, approached every corner with caution. So slow."
"Conditions are tricky as we expected, my plan has changed. I just bring the car back, nothing special"
"Tricky one for sure, less ice than expected. I was very cautions, I have nothing to play for today. But it might be tricky for those who are taking full risk"
SS14
"Tomorrow I can fight. It was a clean run, maximum attack"
"It's a shame, struggled in these dirty conditions. Tomorrow is the start of a new day with the points"
"For sure I try, it's nothing different [with the points system]. But I did a good stage, we need to try harder tomorrow"
"We did a good stage. It was...perfection"
"I'm really happy about the last three days, we've done a really good job. We are happy to be 5th"
"I didn't have the hybrid on the last split, I just missed it [with the regen]. But its a big step up from yesterday"
"Surprisingly very slippy in places. This morning where it was dry, its now wet. But gravel crew was correct, they did a good job"
SS13
"We've changed everything on the car".
"Its about testing and learning, some sections are good, but still trying to build confidence where its muddy"
"I think I can play for the win, but my speed is coming a little bit later. Its good, the next one will be challenging in the night"
"This stage, the downhill was really slippery. We try to manage it"
"Im really struggling for confidence in the low grip sections. The other guys are just going faster"
"It's nice. We need to keep pushing, its a very nice fight"
"It felt really good"
"In the clean it's enjoyable, second part is mixed. Its challenging, but its fine"
"You have 5km where its really muddy, I think someone could run faster than us"
"It was tricky down the hill, we took it very safe. I'm enjoying the driving"
"It's not so nice conditions, at the beginning it's dry, but on the way down it's a totally different stage. Very greasy. The guys behind are fighting, so thats going to be interesting"
SS12
Accident
Puncture
Puncture
"I was a really tricky stage, still lacking some confidence"
"Nice. Nice. The stage was really difficult, lots of cuts. But it was like dancing, like a rollercoaster"
"Slippery as hell!"
"I dunno what's going on, I'm surprised it's that bad. It didn't feel great, but thats chronic."
"Good start. But there is two more. We had to go for some risk on the tires"
"Its quite tough, lots of dirt"
"It's really a shame for Gregoire, he was doing a great job today. The corner was full of gravel."
"Much better than this morning. When I saw Munster I slowed a little, but then I found my rhythm again."
"I'm trying to drive with good feeling. Its dirty conditions, its not so easy to trust the route note information"
Off road
SS11
"Honestly I dont know, it was mostly dry, and it seems I found quite a good rhythm. We did roll bars and damper clicks before the stage, it seems it worked"
"I push. But I keep a little margin on this one. Its Monte"
"It's getting a dirtier and dirtier all the time, so thats difficult. At the end of the last stage I had no hybrid, again"
"It would be better if we didn't give so much time away this morning"
Double puncture on the road section
"No risk, but sometimes I can't really understand the notes, and I hesitate, so I lose a bit of time. Its a new stage, so thats part of the issue"
"Tricky stage, it's getting more and more dirty. Overall I had a clean run"
"I need to follow the team's orders, I just drive through and enjoy the stages. We are happy where we are now"
"Grip levels changing quite often, not very easy. I tried to attack where I felt comfortable. I feel its a step up from yesterday, but there's still a lot more to get"
"It's been really good, with the aero and stuff I still need to adapt. I had one or two moments in there, so after that I took it easy"
"It's an amazing stage, very tricky, some grip changes. Not taking too much risk, but I enjoyed a lot"
SS10
"I dont know, I dont know. You try to do a good tire choice and push, but [the tire] collapsed at the end. Probably a slow puncture, as usual."
Puncture
"I do my best, Gryazin is fast. We will see on the next one"
"It's very slippery on the downhill. We try to do our best and keep it on the road"
Puncture
"Little issues in there, but OK..."
"Its a shame the first stage was terrible..."
"It's getting quite dirty, at the end the grip was much higher than I expected. I could have gone much quicker."
"I don't want to take any risk. The gaps are quite big, I just want to drive and enjoy the stage."
"It's an awesome stage, really beautiful. Its proper Tarmac, but I've still got a lot to learn in this car."
"This one was less good, the beginning is very dry, I did not commit enough. Every time I do a corner, I think 'I can go 5 km/h faster'."
"No moments, we are safely through. The start is dry, but the downhill sections are quite greasy."
SS9
"Thanks to the team to allow me to get back out. The road is very tricky, I chose snow and supersoft tires. There were quite a lot of icy sections, I try to be safe to start the day."
"Ah, not good enough. It was quite tricky conditions, at the start I tried to keep the tires temperatures up. It is what it is."
"It was like a mess. First corner we were long on the black ice, then we had a big moment on the downhill because of ice. But in the end I got the confidence and I try to push."
"Very difficult to judge, so places very slippy, some place with frost [in the notes] that seemed to have full grip."
"It's a lot of time lost. My information was quite too safe"
"I dunno...yeah...I am well awake this morning. It was OK, I had a decent run through."
"Struggling with engine trouble again. Sometimes its driving, sometimes not."
"Well it's quite tricky, what we had with the route note crew and what we have now is quite different. So I just take no risk"
"First corner, we had dry, and the middle of the corner [we slipped] and went off the road. We are lucky to be here. We have no confidence after that, its s***"
"It's was very difficult conditions, and I like it. Today we took the most aggressive tire choice of anyone, so thats good."
"Very frosty, lots of surprises. Gravel crew did a good job, but conditions have changed a lot since that went through. We are not fighting at the moment, so just [had to] get through."
Off road
SS8
Retired after SS7 due technical issues.
Off road
"In the beginning I thought I had a puncture, but it was ok. So in second half I took some risk."
Had to reverse in one corner
Brakes issues
"It's always nice in the dark. The stage is very muddy, the car is jumping all over the place. We will try to improve for tomorrow"
"It was a really tricky stage, I really struggled to find the confidence, there was just dirt everywhere. Wow"
"We had a good day, a lot of mileage. I would like to be faster, but that will come."
"Honestly it's not so easy to improve. The situation is that I have to look after everything in this moment."
"Tricky, a lot of mud. It was a difficult start to the race, but I'm glad to be very close now. Tomorrow will be fun."
"We made it through, it was sketchy. Not in a good rhythm. Slowly settling in, getting there"
"Just happy to be here."
"It never gets easier this rally. Its very difficult in the dark, its so difficult to read the road."
SS7
Stopped
Off road
"No smile yet, still driving s*** sometimes. The handbrake didn't work a few times"
"I had some issue on the cut, and the car turned off fully. The ignition got knocked off"
"I think we have a bit more understanding of the car. I'm enjoying a lot, we have some big smiles in the car"
"It's nice to have different stages along the loop. This one was quite dry, but it's nice to have some ice on others. Its Monte Carlo, this is what we love."
"It's going better and better, I'm still adjusting to the speed you can take into the corners. The thing is the downforce, I can still go a lot faster."
"It was a clean run, nothing special. This one was more dirty for everyone, but its the same for everyone now."
"There was some dirt and pollution on the road, but it's the most clean stage. Car was OK, but looking for a bit more."
"It was a good stage, at the end this morning I had some trouble with the steering after the spin. I made some changes in the notes, so went a bit slower through there, but it was a good stage."
"Bit dirty towards the end, lots of gravel out from the cuts. I probably wasn't quite brave enough, but its Monte."
SS6
Off road
"A bit strange, after the hairpin it felt like front wheel drive...I think its fine but it felt strange for a while"
"Its funny! We are all on one pace. Its still a long way to go"
"On the first loop we did a bad time, so we try to improve. Let's see"
"Its really getting muddy, there's a lot of water in the cuts"
"It was better, the feeling is coming. Still a bit on the safe side, I can go a bit faster. But going in the right direction"
"Conditions were improved, but I had to be very careful still. But I'm not fighting for anything, just saving tires for the Sunday"
"Yeah it was an OK stage, I think now the battle is really starting with equal conditions"
"Clean stage, no trouble this time"
"It was an OK stage but it's hard to know how much to push on the tires. I tried to be smooth, and it worked"
"It's pretty fast with a lot of loose gravel at the end there. It was OK but yeah, let's see"
SS5
"It was very good. The first one was very tricky. The second one, I really enjoyed it. It was almost dry. The third one was quite difficult, with some ice at the end, we were quite cautious there."
"Went off in the first stage this morning, we lost quite a lot of time. But then the last two stages, we found a bit more rhythm. This afternoon is going to be better."
"I had ice in pacenotes everywhere and in the final there was almost nothing, it was to go flat out."
"I have no confidence with the car. I scare myself in tricky parts. We must find solutions for this afternoon."
Little technical issues in the middle of stage
Engine issue on the road section to SS5
"It's not better. On this one, it was worse! I have no confidence inside the car. I don't know where it is going. I need to discover everything and understand what is the problem because on this one we're quite far. I don't feel the tire on the ground, maybe we are stuck on setting."
"First stage this morning I went wide and got stuck. Also here there were some icy patches. I was way too careful but from my experience of this morning, I thought staying on the road was the best option!"
"I'm quite happy. We tried something on the first stage but had to adjust a little bit between stages. I'm quite happy with the car, I have confidence. I had a really clean stage. I didn't take too much risk, just listened to the pacenotes with all the ice we had."
"Conditions changed a lot after the gravel crew went through so not so easy to trust the information as usual on this kind of rally. Trying to get more and more experience and finish the rally."
"Looks like I'm still alive. Was struggling so far! I'm having a tough week but I try my best."
"It was actually quite good but with all this black, this blacktop is a bit different. You don't really know if it's 10 meters before the corner or in the corner. Like in the first stage, you just touch the ice in the wrong place and it's finished immediately."
"I had a lot of ice in my notes at the end but obviously it melted down much more than expected. I was just too careful. You don't know and it's risky to take more risk when the pacenote says ice everywhere."
"There is black ice towards the end! Tricky. It's improved a bit but it's so bad where it is and then full grip where it's not. For sure you can go faster but it's not easy."
SS4
Puncture, changed a wheel
"It's better [than yesterday] but I think. I drove way too clean because I didn't want to kill the tires. OK, I didn't lose much time so not too bad. But need to drive faster!"
"I need to learn the car. We changed completely the setup before this stage, I never tried this setup before, I need to do some kilometers."
"It's not exactly how I would like it to be but it's fine. I think I need to learn to drive! There are many places that I know you can push really hard but it's really deep cuts so I'm not aware of each place. I don't want to take the risk but seems I should be taking it."
"It's not bad. It's so fast in the middle. But it's quite good for me, keep the focus to do no mistakes. The plan is to continue like that."
"Difficult. A little bit struggle now. I made some setup changes, starts to be more precise but less feeling."
"Fine. I tried to get in the rhythm. Yesterday was quite nice but I don't know if my real pace is that."
"It's a bit better. The tyre is overheating a bit and the road position is quite tricky, there's so much gravel. Not the best one but we're slowly getting there."
"Well, it was the wrong way for the previous one but good for this one, so it's a compromise. We'll see on the loop if it's a good compromise or not."
"It's quite dirty. Same like previous stage, I have to use my eyes because my gravel crew is going very early and the information is not there or different, it's changed. I stopped trusting the words and just use my eyes. It's all I can do to make it safely through."
"Like anything can happen in this rally, so I don't think it's over yet. I try to manage the situation. Of course, I try to push but it's hard to find how much to push at the moment. But car's working well."
"It's difficult to go faster with this start position, so I do my best so far. I have to accept that I lose a bit of time. At least this one is better; only the end of the stage was quite dirty."
"In the end it's more dirty and more dirt on the road. I had a mistake this morning so just had a steady run to be clean. But I was more happy with the car."
"I don't know! I just lost the rear. There's no reason. I have no idea. It just spun around in a very slow left; there must have been some gravel or something that I didn't have in my notes. It was a big surprise for me."
"Tyres were correct. The grip was quite low actually in places. Not easy. Bit careful in some places again for sure. Difficult, very high speed in this direction for the first time."
Spin
SS3
Accident
Off road, damaged suspension
"Yeah, yeah. Oh God. What a hard start to the rally but we've just got to keep going and never give up."
"It was OK. Very slippery when it's under the trees in the shadows and the icy section. Soft tires were not a good choice for this one but will be better on the next two, I guess."
Accident
"Phwoar. Very difficult. I took harder tires and bloody hell, in the beginning, I had some big slides."
"It's very tricky and hard to trust everything. You have a lot of cuts and pollution so not easy to give everything."
"Careful. Don't want to make anything stupid."
Off road
"I thought I lost so much time on this one with soft tires, it's not easy on the ice section. But when I see the time it's good for the next one."
"I have little bit different tyre choice compared with Yohan and Pepe. Scary! I was expecting more grip but even with the crossed tyres it was difficult."
"Was a really tricky stage. I think I made a mistake with the setup this morning. I try to keep calm all the loop and in the second loop, keep pushing."
"I had some info from the team but I stopped the calibration, the ALS, and still we got caught out, it was really slippery. Thanks for the spectators for getting us out!"
"Quite difficult to drive the car and it was not going in the right direction for today [in terms of setup change], so it's quite a shame."
"No, just my mistake. So stupid. It's really bad, actually. I try to finish the stages and let's see what I can do."
"It is better than I expected. I just have to use my eyes because it has changed a lot since my gravel crew."
Off road
"I went a bit wide on the ice and then it spun around and got stuck in the ditch. I was just stuck."
Off road
"It was really tricky. Once you are on the ice there is zero grip. I had a decent rhythm. I tried to take as many cuts as I could. Let's see. We have to work a bit on the car to give me more confidence."
"A bit careful from my side."
Off road
SS2
"Difficult rally, very dirty but still very entertaining."
"I’m happy because it’s my first Rallye Monte-Carlo. The stages are really difficult and there is a lot of dirt. We could push and we are satisfied with that. Let’s do this again tomorrow."
"The first two stages were not so easy. We need to change a few set up for tomorrow to see if we can attack a bit more and get some pace."
"We can’t wait to go to sleep. It was good but the second stage was quite slippery, with a lot of dirt. That one was truly a Monte stage, with the pyro and the atmosphere from the fans. This is crazy and we’ll cherish those memories for a long time. So beautiful to see fireworks when you are an amateur driver."
"This first day was so good. We are struggling because we can’t see but there is nothing we can do about it and I was quite slow."
"There is a lot of pollution on the road, which has become really dirty and slippery. The conditions are getting more though and it will be even harder for the drivers that will be coming after us. We made no mistake and took no risk."
"Nothing particular to say. The second special was quite complicated but we are here and the rally is still long."
Engine.
"Not in the rhythm yet at all."
"Really good start to the rally, but still a long way to go. Lets do it."
"Quite tricky, a few little surprises so I was a bit careful. But overall its really positive."
"Not good. Awful. No confidence."
"There was more dirt in there than the previous one. I struggled to find the feeling, but it was OK."
"It's a big difference being in this car. Its still accelerating on the entrance to the corners, I don't trust it "
"Had to be careful on the frosty sections, but it wasn't really frost. Still a long way to go."
"We had a decent run. The road is getting very dirty very quickly"
"The problem with the throttle is really bad, we are just glad to be here."
"It was OK, but I had some small trouble."
"Really difficult to judge how quickly to go. Lets wait and see how the others did."
SS1
Off road
Fire
Puncture
Off road
Spin
"Not a bad start in a new car..."
"Very tricky in the dark, quite a lot of understeer."
"I am happy. It was quite tough, the tires move around a lot. But if I have speed, its good."
"Quite a bad stage, we had no testing on the dry. The setup is too soft."
"I really enjoy to drive in the dark, and with this car it's a really good feeling. It was really dirty, but I'm happy with my stage."
"Struggling with engine mapping, every time I go at slower speed the car was pushing on."
"There was so many cuts, the road is full of gravel."
"Nice stage, but we are far, far too soft. And we maybe have some issue with throttle, when we lift it was still full gas"
"The tires are moving a lot, I tried not to overheat. I could have done more, but its a long rally"
"The grip is really high, so I wasn't sure if I'd used enough of it. It's tricky"