Stéphane Lefebvre led from start to finish to win the WRC 2 support category for the first time at Rallye Monte-Carlo on Sunday.
The reigning FIA Junior WRC champion won by 2min 14.0sec in Citroen’s DS 3 R5, but his win was not as easy as it appears. Lefebvre and Martin Koci were virtually inseparable until Koci broke a driveshaft on his Ford Fiesta R5 on Saturday afternoon.
Lefebvre was then able to cruise through the final day and said at the finish: “It was a difficult race and Rallye Monte-Carlo is a very big legend. It’s the perfect start to the year and I hope for some more victories as well.”
Craig Breen, driving a Peugeot 208, leapt from fifth to second in two stages as a four-car battle for the remaining podium places came to a climax in the legendary Col de Turini test today.
Koci retired after hitting a tree in an icy section and Eric Camilli dropped more than two minutes after swiping a rock and damaging his Ford Fiesta R5’s suspension. Breen swept past Armin Kremer’s Skoda Fabia S2000 to take the runner-up spot by 13.0sec with Camilli fourth.
Jonathan Hirschi and Quentin Giordano completed the top six.