Heading into Saturday, Evans holds a 4.5-second lead over the nine-time Monte Carlo winner Ogier after completing eight of the 17 stages.
Ogier, with his strong track record at his home event, is considered a formidable contender to secure his 10th event win. Ending Friday with a surge that narrowed the gap to Evans, the Frenchman is in an advantageous position.
While Evans expressed his desire to compete for victory, the Welshman is already looking ahead to his overall title pursuit and is unwilling to take additional risks to outpace his part-time teammate Ogier.
“My plan is clear—I want to concentrate on delivering a solid performance in my own rally drive. We’re driving at a quick pace, but I’m not willing to escalate the risk level just to catch him [Ogier],” stated Evans.
“I’m relatively satisfied. The day has been smooth, with no issues or mistakes. We’ve been following our own strategy and not getting drawn into the competition behind us. Things are going well, but, of course, it’s nice to be fast. However, today we weren’t the fastest.
“It’s Monte Carlo, and in a rally with changeable conditions like this, it’s crucial to maintain a bit of a margin. As I mentioned at the start, my goal is to finish if possible, so it’s not a full-on risk for the win. Nevertheless, anything can happen, and we’re still taking risks while trying to manage them.”
Reflecting on his climb up the leaderboard from a third-place start, Ogier remarked, “I’ve been giving my best since the beginning of the event, but last night wasn’t a great start for me. I’m pleased that today we managed to be faster. Ultimately, it’s great to be much closer to him [Evans], and the rest of the weekend looks interesting.”
