Winning the first two specials (out of 17 until Sunday), Ogier is 6.7 seconds ahead of Loeb and 11.2 over Elfyn Evans (Toyota).

"Sensation not great" in the first special, "a little better" in the 2nd, Ogier was "happy to have finished" the night stage, which had its share of pitfalls with "slippery turns", "frost" and the famous Col de Turini.

World champion for the 8th time in 2021 ahead of Evans, Ogier, 38, will not have a full season in 2022. Just like Loeb, 47, nine-time world champion, who is back for at least one rally this time with M-Sport.

"We had fun, but it was very hard on the tyres, they overheated and afterwards I struggled to keep the car in place. There we did a good stage, whereas in the first I was more careful, I was a little afraid of the frost", explained Loeb, less than a week after finishing 2nd in the Dakar in Saudi Arabia.

First and second in the provisional standings, Ogier like Loeb each have a new co-driver: Benjamin Veillas for the first and Isabelle Galmiche for the second (in place of Julien Ingrassia and Daniel Elena).

Hybrid boost

With the hybrid, the cars occasionally benefit from a "boost" of additional power, in particular when starting a special stage, allowing at times a total power of more than 500 hp.

On the other hand, the cars are heavier by 70 kg because of the battery, for a minimum of 1,260 kg without the crews.

Certain liaison sections, between the timed specials, will have to be run in electric mode.

During this inaugural round, only 3.66 kilometers will be covered in this way, i.e. 0.3% of the 1,215 km of liaison.

At the start ceremony at the Monaco casino, before joining the special, Ogier had a first hiccup: unlike his competitors, he was unable to start in electric mode but had to rev his heat engine. .

Sébastien Loeb rushes into his MS-Sport to take the start of the Monte-Carlo rally, on January 20, 2022 in Monaco Valery HACHE AFP

The rally resumes on Friday morning with six specials on the programme, including the ascent of the Col de la Couillole, the highest point of the event at 1678m.

© 2022 AFP