[WRC] Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2026

[Jarek Z]

As a lifetime rallyfan, getting bored. Was looking forward to a snowy Monte, but with Tänak missing and his give it all attitude to give Hyundai a chance, find the Toyota dominance killing the thrill. Never found the championship this boring. Great to see a young man winning, but with MSport being what it is too, hard to get exited

Really? For me it was actually the first WRC rally that I enjoyed since forever. I even showed live broadcast from 2 stages (on Saturday and Sunday) on TV to my father. He is over 80 years old and he enjoyed it too. He was shocked when he saw Solberg attacking the fence after offroad on Saturday, but he loved it

[macebig]

It was entertaining. But, you gotta imagine how much better things could have been if Rally 1s didn't exist. Think about 40 crews in similar cars battling it out, with local stars down the order getting a real shot at the win through conditions improving and even a crew from a lower category imitating Group N and F2 of yesteryear and putting surprise times left and right.The headlines write themselves . The old "Toyota vs Lancia" battle revived. Citroen and Ford being able to challenge for the overall. Even Hyundai could have a shot. And even if Skoda didn't do much here, they would have been a force in upcoming events.Not pulling the trigger in making Rally 2 the top class is bitting WRC in the ass.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

You have to take it as it is and enjoy the rise of a new star in Oliver Solberg. Even if they were all in Toyota's it was still a great thing to see the youngster taking on and beating the established stars of Ogier and Evans on his first event in the main team. Nobody has missed Rovanpera and only really Estonian's badly missed Tanak here.

Hyundai and M-Sport weren't competitive for various reasons but the Rally1 cars are still good to watch for the fans. We will miss the spectacle when they're gone.

And the rally itself with the conditions made it way more interesting and exciting than the dry editions of recent years. It was a classic and should be appreciated.

[denkimi]

My biggest suprise of the rally was how bad Ogier was. I expected him to dominate like he has done the last 10 years. I was at least expecting him to challenge Solberg.

It was entertaining. But, you gotta imagine how much better things could have been if Rally 1s didn't exist. Think about 40 crews in similar cars battling it out, with local stars down the order getting a real shot at the win through conditions improving and even a crew from a lower category imitating Group N and F2 of yesteryear and putting surprise times left and right.The headlines write themselves . The old "Toyota vs Lancia" battle revived. Citroen and Ford being able to challenge for the overall. Even Hyundai could have a shot. And even if Skoda didn't do much here, they would have been a force in upcoming events.Not pulling the trigger in making Rally 2 the top class is bitting WRC in the ass.

There were many crews batteling for victory in rc2, local stars included. But in the end the same guys that always win, won again.
Getting rid of rc1 would not change much.

[saco0o]

first time since 2019 that i actually got crazy heartbeats watching a wrc event. what a blast, fellas. what a blast! oli kicked everybody's butts, thats awesome! if jon had kept that P6 or so id be choking in happiness. but what a blast, im so happy!

i just managed to watch the 52min highlight THAT SHOULD BE ON YOUTUBE AND ON TV/CABLE for the world to watch this sport. it is a really good format to promote the championship on those platforms, they NEED to have these 52min shows out on youtube. redbulltv is geoblocking people again

[BleAivano]

My biggest suprise of the rally was how bad Ogier was. I expected him to dominate like he has done the last 10 years. I was at least expecting him to challenge Solberg.


There were many crews batteling for victory in rc2, local stars included. But in the end the same guys that always win, won again.
Getting rid of rc1 would not change much.

Perhaps if you are 9 times Rally WDC perhaps Ogier wasn't that motivated due to conditions?

[focus206]

I'm not that surprised of Ogier's 3rd place, it's not like he has never been beaten in Monte. Evans is always good on slippery tricky conditions, and Solberg did an exceptional rally, so I see reasons for them beating Ogier.

[WRCStan]

Ogier was great, I don't remember him putting a foot wrong other than when he put one in his mouth. It's just Evans was quicker and Solberg even quicker, which speaks more about them, though Solberg rode his luck several times.

[doubled1978]

[QUOTE=denkimi;1372907]My biggest suprise of the rally was how bad Ogier was. I expected him to dominate like he has done the last 10 years. I was at least expecting him to challenge Solberg.


I think it’s a little harsh to say how bad he was. Evans and Solberg were fantastic and Ogier couldn’t cover them this time.
Evans must be thinking what he has to do, he puts Ogier to bed with more or less same road position and a fantastic drive, and then Solberg comes along and beats him!

[WRCStan]

There were many crews batteling for victory in rc2, local stars included. But in the end the same guys that always win, won again.
Getting rid of rc1 would not change much.

I can't subscribe to the view that a realistic shot of an outright win vs a class win changes the approach of enough drivers out there to make a notable difference.

But also Macebig, how can you say this and still pine for having a lower category car with surprise times on the same weekend a Rally3 set scratches? Weren't you aware of the 'headlines'?