Some things are changing, like the WRC's engine going hybrid.

And others will never change (or almost): Ogier, 38 and double title holder, and Loeb, 47, refuse to say goodbye to their discipline of heart.

Ogier (Toyota), eight times titled since 2013, will know for the first time the role of luxury freelancer.

Loeb, he is used to intermittent returns after his nine titles (2004-2012) and this time will be driving an M-Sport Ford.

"At the start of a different stage of (his) career", Ogier returns with "a slightly different feeling" and a new co-pilot (Benjamin Veillas), Julien Ingrassia having left the ship.

But for this rally which is so special for him, the native of Gap stresses: "I am still a competitor and I still want to win".

Loeb, who has just returned from the Dakar in Saudi Arabia (2nd), recalls that he is "certainly less prepared than the others".

"But the feeling with the Puma Hybrid Rally1 was immediately very good and everything fell into place", continues the Frenchman, "impatient to (have) fun with Isabelle (Galmiche), (his) new co-driver".

Armada of suitors

In 2021, Ogier had set a new record at Monte-Carl 'thanks to an eighth success (7 for Loeb).

Frenchman Sébastien Loeb during the Dakar rally-raid near Bisha (Saudi Arabia) on January 13 FRANCK FIFE AFP / Archives

This time, they will have against them the armada of contenders for the world title: Elfyn Evans (Toyota), vice-champion 2020 and 2021, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), five times vice-champion, and Ott Tänak (Hyundai), 2019 champion and the only one to have stopped the hegemony of the Sébastien.

The young guard will also be there with Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), 21, Oliver Solberg (Hyundai), 20, and Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport Ford), 26.

For the first time since 2006, the service park has moved to Monaco, after years in Valence and then Gap.

The official kick-off will be given from the Place du Casino on Thursday at 6:45 p.m.

For the first of the thirteen rounds of the calendar, the principality will be the setting for two anniversaries: the 50th edition of the world championship and the 90th of Monte-Carlo.

And of a birth: the hybrid WRC.

This is the great novelty: an electric motor is added to the heat.

In addition to the weight of the vehicles which increases, it is the acceleration which can be increased tenfold from time to time thanks to the hybrid "boost".

"Obviously it's extra power. It's not always available but we try to get it as much as possible," says Neuville.

As with every technological change, the hierarchy could be turned upside down between the three manufacturers, Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport Ford – in the order of their 2021 ranking.

"Very open"

In the midst of a pandemic, the three had to lead the fight for the championship and the development of their 2022 model. The final preparation was not done without a stir.

Evans (Toyota), Craig Breen (M-Sport) and Neuville (Hyundai) suffered accidents during testing.

For the Belgian, the fright was great after a fall of about thirty meters in a ravine in December.

Pilot, unscathed, and co-pilot, injured in the shoulder, were able to thank the solidity of their survival cell.

Winner in 2020, the only other than Loeb and Ogier to have won Monte-Carlo in recent years, Neuville is a natural favorite.

Belgian Thierry Neuville during the Monza Rally on November 20, 2021 Andreas SOLARO AFP / Archives

Very critical of WRC hybrids last year, he remains cautious about this game-changing technology: "as we are only at the start of development, whereas with previous cars we were at the end of a long period of five years, the difference is easy to feel".

Evans too: "There are a lot of new things to adapt to (...) in all honesty, it's very, very open".

Who will sign the first hybrid success?

For a first element of the answer, meet on Thursday at night in the Alpes-Maritimes: "Lucéram/Lantosque" (15.20 km) and "La Bollène-Vésubie/Moulinet" (23.25 km), with the program Turini pass.

© 2022 AFP