Monte Carlo —
Sebastien Ogier avoided any mishaps to edge back in front of Sebastien
Loeb at the Monte Carlo Rally on Saturday with black ice making driving
conditions hazardous.
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Fans who braved the freezing weather in the hills
behind Monte Carlo saw Welshman
Elfyn Evans fly round a corner wide and then
slip backwards down an embankment in his Toyota Yaris in the morning's most
dramatic moment.
There was no damage to Evans' car but try as he might
he couldn't get the traction to remount the hill and pulled out for the day.
Loeb led by almost 10 seconds overnight Friday but
regretted his mixed tyre strategy as he slipped to 5.4sec adrift of Ogier with
11 of the special stages completed.
"It's not easy to drive with two studs and two
slicks. It's difficult to keep the car straight. I tried to push, but Ogier was
much faster," Loeb said.
Ogier drew level with Loeb on the tenth special and
then drew ahead of the 11th.
Reigning champion Ogier lives in the region and knows
the course well.
"It's never easy to go through this stage. It's
just about surviving," he said ahead of Saturday's second session.
"Unfortunately Elfyn is out on the corner — it's
a shame for the team."
Oliver Solberg also dropped down a bank and took a
full 35 minutes to get back up.
Ott Tanak picked up a slow puncture and Thierry
Neuville spun his Hyundai with both men dropping out of contention.
Craig Breen of M-Sport Ford is third at 1min 07sec.
There are three more specials on Saturday afternoon
with a concluding session of four on Sunday.
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