"It's huge!" Savored the eight-time French world champion, engaged in a partial program like last season with the Japanese manufacturer.

Ogier, 39, now overtakes his compatriot, the nine-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb, who won the Monegasque round for the 8th time last year.

The Alsatian was not aligned at the start of the rally this year.

"We need to take advantage of these moments and that's why we are always here, to achieve victories like this. To win such a famous victory as the Monte is priceless", continued the one who is now teaming up with Vincent Landais as co-driver.

Leading the rally from the first laps on Thursday evening, Ogier dominated the event from start to finish, winning nine of the 18 stages.

He won this first round of the year ahead of his teammate, the reigning Finnish world champion Kalle Rovanperä.

"It was a good round, we can be satisfied with this second place", welcomed the young driver of 22 years, who crossed the bar of 100 victories in specials on Saturday.

Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) completes the podium, ahead of Elfyn Evans (Toyota), 4th.

Toyota at the forefront

Reigning constructors' world champion, Toyota hit hard this weekend, placing three cars in the Top 5. Takamoto Katsuta, who will replace Ogier at the wheel of the third factory Toyota when he is not at the start , finished 6th.

Belgian Thierry Neuville greets the public who came to welcome him as he finished second in the 2023 Monte-Carlo Rally in Monaco on January 22, 2023 © Valery HACHE / AFP

For his first rally at the head of the Hyundai team, the Frenchman Cyril Abiteboul had a more mixed weekend: if Neuville saved the honor, the Finn Esapekka Lappi failed in an anonymous 8th place for his debut with the South Korean constructors, behind his Spanish teammate Dani Sordo, 7th.

The other Frenchman entered in the queen category, Pierre-Louis Loubet, experienced a nightmarish rally, the fault of an accident and various mechanical problems throughout the weekend.

The Corsican driver had to definitively retire on Sunday with two stages remaining, for his first full season in the World Rally Championship.

His teammate at M-Sport Ford, Ott Tänak ranks 5th.

The day before, the 2019 WRC world champion notably had problems with his power steering, which delayed him.

In the championship standings, Ogier (26 points) three points behind Kalle Rovanperä (23), author of the best time in the final Power Stage, with five bonus points at stake.

The Finn who, unlike Ogier, will play the whole of the season, therefore carries out the excellent operation of the weekend.

Neuville, third, has 17 points.

Thirteen races are on the program this year, the next being Rally Sweden (February 9-12) for a 100% snow-covered event a few hundred kilometers from the Arctic Circle.

© 2023 AFP