The 2020 Monte Carlo Rally (also known as the 88e Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 23 and 26 January 2020. It marked the eighty-eighth running of the Monte Carlo Rally, and was the first round of the 2020 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2020 event was based in the town of Gap in the Hautes-Alpes department of France and consisted of sixteen special stages. The rally covered a total competitive distance of .
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were the defending rally winners. The Citroën World Rally Team, the team they drove for in 2019, were the reigning manufacturers' winners, but were not defending their title after parent company Citroën withdrew from the sport. Gus Greensmith and Elliott Edmondson were the defending winners in the World Rally Championship-2 category, but were not defending their WRC-2 title as they joined the WRC category in 2020. In the World Rally Championship-3 category, French privateers Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud were the reigning rally winners.
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were the overall winners of the rally, winning the Monte Carlo rally for the first time. Their team, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the manufacturers' winners. Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen were the winners in the WRC-2 category, while Eric Camilli and François-Xavier Buresi were the winners in the WRC-3 category.
Background Entry list The following crews were entered into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3, and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. A total of eighty-eight entries were received, with eleven crews entered in World Rally Cars, five crews entered Group R5 cars in the World Rally Championship-2 and a further thirteen crews entered Group R5 cars in the World Rally Championship-3.
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre World Rally Championship entries 3 Teemu Suninen Jarmo Lehtinen M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 9 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 17 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 40 Deividas Jocius Mindaugas Varža M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 44 Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC World Rally Championship-2 entries 20 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen PH-Sport Citroën C3 R5 21 Nikolay Gryazin Yaroslav Fedorov Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai NG i20 R5 22 Ole Christian Veiby Jonas Andersson Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai NG i20 R5 23 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 24 Rhys Yates James Morgan M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II World Rally Championship-3 entries 25 Paulo Nobre Gabriel Morales Paulo Nobre Škoda Fabia R5 26 Yoann Bonato Benjamin Boulloud Yoann Bonato Citroën C3 R5 27 Eric Camilli François-Xavier Buresi Eric Camilli Citroën C3 R5 28 Nicolas Ciamin Yannick Roche Nicolas Ciamin Citroën C3 R5 29 "Pedro" Emmanuele Baldaccini "Pedro" Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 30 Grégoire Munster Louis Louka Grégoire Munster Škoda Fabia R5 31 Yohan Rossel Benoît Fulcrand PH-Sport Citroën C3 R5 32 Stéphane Sarrazin Kévin Parent Stéphane Sarrazin Hyundai NG i20 R5 34 Umberto Scandola Guido D'Amore Umberto Scandola Hyundai NG i20 R5 35 Andrea Nucita Bernardo Di Caro Andrea Nucita Hyundai NG i20 R5 36 Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Diego Sanjuan De Eusebio Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Škoda Fabia R5 37 Enrico Brazzoli Maurizio Barone Enrico Brazzoli Škoda Fabia R5 38 Pepe Lopéz Borja Rozada Pepe Lopéz Citroën C3 R5 Other major entries 41 Oliver Solberg Aaron Johnston Oliver Solberg Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 Source:
Route The route for the 2020 rally features a total of in competitive kilometres, which is shorter than the route that was used in the 2019 event. The 2020 route features substantial revisions to the route used in 2019, with the addition of the Malijal — Puimichel, Curbans — Venterol and St. Clement-sur-Durance — Freissinieres stages. The Bayons — Bréziers stage returned to the rally after being absent in 2019, while the Valdrôme — Sigottier and Roussieux — Laborel stages were removed from the itinerary.
Itinerary
All dates and times are CET (UTC+1). Date Time No. Stage name Distance 22 January 16:01 — Gap [Shakedown] 3.35 km Leg 1 — 165.54 km 23 January 20:38 SS1 Malijal — Puimichel 17.47 km 22:26 SS2 Bayons — Bréziers 25.49 km 24 January 08:36 SS3 Curbans — Venterol 1 20.02 km 09:56 SS4 St. Clement-sur-Durance — Freissinieres 1 20.68 km 11:21 SS5 Avançon — Notre-Dame-du-Laus 1 20.59 km 13:54 SS6 Curbans — Venterol 2 20.02 km 15:14 SS7 St. Clement-sur-Durance — Freissinieres 2 20.68 km 16:39 SS8 Avançon — Notre-Dame-du-Laus 2 20.59 km Leg 2 — 75.20 km 25 January 09:38 SS9 St.-Leger-les-Mélèzes — La-Bâtie-Neuve 1 16.87 km 10:56 SS10 La Bréole — Selonnet 1 20.73 km 14:08 SS11 St.-Leger-les-Mélèzes — La-Bâtie-Neuve 2 16.87 km 15:26 SS12 La Bréole — Selonnet 2 20.73 km Leg 3 — 63.54 km 08:17 SS13 La Bollène-Vésubie — Peïra Cava 1 18.41 km 09:08 SS14 La Cabanette — Col de Braus 1 13.36 km 10:55 SS15 La Bollène-Vésubie — Peïra Cava 2 18.41 km 12:18 SS16 13.36 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia took an early lead on Thursday evening, but Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul moved into the lead at the end of the second stage. The lead changed hands several times throughout the opening leg; Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin took the lead on the first morning before Ogier and Ingrassia consolidated their position by the end of the leg. Defending World Champions Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja suffered a high-speed crash on the first pass through the St. Clement-sur-Durance — Freissinieres stage. Their Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC flew off a 40-metre high cliff at and rolled end-over-end through a series of trees before landing on the road below. Both Tänak and Järveoja walked away uninjured. Rally leaders changed several times throughout the second leg, with Evans and Martin eventually establishing a lead over teammates Ogier and Ingrassia. The third leg saw Neuville and Gilsoul re-emerge as the leaders, winning all four stages to claim their first win in Monte Carlo. This saw them take twenty-five points for the outright win and five bonus points for winning the Power Stage. Ogier and Ingrassia passed Evans and Martin to finish the Power Stage in second place, only a few thousandths of a second behind Neuville and Gilsoul.
Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:10:57.6 0.0 25 5 2 2 17 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:11:10.2 +12.6 18 4 3 3 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:11:11.9 +14.3 15 2 4 4 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:14:06.6 +3:09.0 12 1 5 5 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:15:14.8 +4:17.2 10 0 6 6 9 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:16:02.3 +5:04.7 8 0 7 7 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:22:25.5 +11:27.9 6 0 8 8 3 Teemu Suninen Jarmo Lehtinen M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:24:28.0 +13:30.4 4 3 17 9 40 Deividas Jocius Mindaugas Varža M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:35:17.5 +24:19.9 0 0 63 10 44 Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 4:38:15.1 +1:27:17.5 0 0 Retired SS4 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Accident 0 0
Special stages Day Stage Stage name Length Winners Car Time 22 January — Gap [Shakedown] 3.35 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 1:57.1 23 January SS1 Malijal — Puimichel 17.47 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 9:53.4 Ogier / Ingrassia SS2 Bayons — Bréziers 25.49 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 16:23.7 Neuville / Gilsoul 24 January SS3 Curbans — Venterol 1 20.02 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 13:22.0 SS4 St. Clement-sur-Durance — Freissinieres 1 20.68 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 11:43.3 Evans / Martin SS5 Avançon — Notre-Dame-du-Laus 1 20.59 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 13:00.7 SS6 Curbans — Venterol 2 20.02 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 13:20.8 SS7 St. Clement-sur-Durance — Freissinieres 2 20.68 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 11:52.0 SS8 Avançon — Notre-Dame-du-Laus 2 20.59 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 13:13.1 Ogier / Ingrassia 25 January SS9 St.-Leger-les-Mélèzes — La-Bâtie-Neuve 1 16.87 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 10:28.8 SS10 La Bréole — Selonnet 1 20.73 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 12:34.4 Evans / Martin SS11 St.-Leger-les-Mélèzes — La-Bâtie-Neuve 2 16.87 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 9:34.6 Ogier / IngrassiaEvans / Martin SS12 La Bréole — Selonnet 2 20.73 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 12:12.0 Evans / Martin 26 January SS13 La Bollène-Vésubie — Peïra Cava 1 18.41 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 11:24.1 SS14 La Cabanette — Col de Braus 1 13.36 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 9:47.9 Neuville / Gilsoul SS15 La Bollène-Vésubie — Peïra Cava 2 18.41 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 11:25.1 SS16La Cabanette — Col de Braus 2 [Power Stage] 13.36 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 9:39.0
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 Thierry Neuville 30 Nicolas Gilsoul 30 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 35 2 Sébastien Ogier 22 Julien Ingrassia 22 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 33 3 Elfyn Evans 17 Scott Martin 17 M-Sport Ford WRT 20 4 Esapekka Lappi 13 Janne Ferm 13 5 Kalle Rovanperä 10 Jonne Halttunen 10
World Rally Championship-2 Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksenled the WRC-2 category going into Friday, but a puncture cost him the lead. Ole Christian Veiby and Jonas Andersson then took over the lead until later they also suffered a puncture, which handed the lead back to Østberg and Eriksen. The Norwegian crew extended their lead on Saturday, and eventually won the class.
Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Class Event 10 1 20 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen PH-Sport Citroën C3 R5 3:25:19.4 0.0 25 1 15 2 23 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 3:28:50.8 +3:31.4 18 0 16 3 21 Nikolay Gryazin Yaroslav Fedorov Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 R5 3:30:45.0 +5:25.6 15 0 19 4 24 Rhys Yates James Morgan M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 3:38:22.4 +13:03.0 12 0 Retired SS14 22 Ole Christian Veiby Jonas Andersson Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 R5 Accident 0 0
Special stages