2008 Monte Carlo Rally
# 2008 Monte Carlo Rally

The 2008 Monte Carlo Rally, officially 76ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo, was the 76th Monte Carlo Rally and the first round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place during January 24–27, 2008, beginning with two stages driven in darkness throughout on Thursday and ending with a short super special around the harbour area of the Grand Prix circuit in Monaco on Sunday.

Sébastien Loeb took a record fifth Monte Carlo win for the Citroën Total World Rally Team. Ford's Mikko Hirvonen was second and Subaru's Chris Atkinson third, after a tight battle with François Duval; drivers finished the final Super Special Stage with exact same times and ended the event with just above 1s time gap between them. Petter Solberg was fifth, followed by Gigi Galli, Jean-Marie Cuoq, Per-Gunnar Andersson, Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson. Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti Latvala both retired from day three, but continued under the SupeRally rules and finished 11th and 12th respectively.

## Results

| Pos. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| WRC |||||||
| 1. | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:39:17.0 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2. | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 3:41:51.4 | 2:34.4 | 8 |
| 3. | Chris Atkinson | Stéphane Prévot | Subaru Impreza WRC2007 | 3:42:15.6 | 2:58.6 | 6 |
| 4. | François Duval | Eddy Chevalier | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 3:42:16.7 | 2:59.7 | 5 |
| 5. | Petter Solberg | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC2007 | 3:43:57.9 | 4:40.9 | 4 |
| 6. | Gigi Galli | Giovanni Bernacchini | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 3:48:03.5 | 8:46.5 | 3 |
| 7. | Jean-Marie Cuoq | Philippe Janvier | Peugeot 307 WRC | 3:49:41.8 | 10:24.8 | 2 |
| 8. | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Jonas Andersson | Suzuki SX4 WRC | 3:50:36.5 $^{[1]}$ | 11:19.5 | 1 |
| | | | $^{[1]}$ — Including 40s penalty for being late out of the service zone. | $^{[1]}$ — Including 40s penalty for being late out of the service zone. | $^{[1]}$ — Including 40s penalty for being late out of the service zone. | |

## Special stages

All dates and times are CET (UTC+1).

| Day | Stage | Time | Name | Length | Winner | Time | Avg. spd. | Rally leader |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 (24 JAN) | SS1 | 18:46 | Jean en Royans - Col de la Chau | 28.12 km | D. Sordo | 14:08.9 | 119.3 km/h | D. Sordo |
| 1 (24 JAN) | SS2 | 19:36 | La Cime du Mas - Col de Gaudissart | 17.58 km | S. Loeb | 9:25.7 | 111.9 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 JAN) | SS3 | 08:24 | St. Pierreville - Col de la Fayolle 1 | 29.52 km | S. Loeb | 18:54.4 | 93.7 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 JAN) | SS4 | 10:02 | Burzet - Lachamp Raphael 1 | 16.30 km | D. Sordo | 9:37.1 | 101.7 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 JAN) | SS5 | 10:48 | St. Martial - Le Chambon - Beleac 1 | 12.66 km | S. Loeb | 8:06.2 | 93.7 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 JAN) | SS6 | 14:51 | St. Pierreville - Col de la Fayolle 2 | 29.52 km | S. Loeb | 18:41.8 | 94.7 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 JAN) | SS7 | 16:29 | Burzet - Lachamp Raphael 2 | 16.30 km | S. Loeb | 9:40.7 | 101.1 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 JAN) | SS8 | 17:15 | St. Martial - Le Chambon - Beleac 2 | 12.66 km | S. Loeb | 8:03.6 | 94.2 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 JAN) | SS9 | 07:31 | Labatie d'Andaure - Lalouvesc 1 | 19.37 km | D. Sordo | 11:18.1 | 102.8 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 JAN) | SS10 | 08:13 | St. Bonnet - St. Bonnet 1 | 25.36 km | S. Loeb | 12:39.0 | 120.3 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 JAN) | SS11 | 09:38 | Lamastre - Gilhoc - Alboussiere 1 | 21.66 km | S. Loeb | 12:59.8 | 100.0 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 JAN) | SS12 | 12:52 | Labatie d'Andaure - Lalouvesc 2 | 19.37 km | S. Loeb | 11:12.0 | 103.8 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 JAN) | SS13 | 13:34 | St. Bonnet - St. Bonnet 2 | 25.36 km | C. Atkinson | 12:23.9 | 122.7 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 JAN) | SS14 | 14:59 | Lamastre - Gilhoc - Alboussiere 2 | 21.66 km | S. Loeb | 13:08.4 | 98.9 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 4 (27 JAN) | SS15 | 09:50 | La Bollene Vesubie - Moulinet 1 | 22.68 km | F. Duval | 15:48.6 | 86.1 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 4 (27 JAN) | SS16 | 11:08 | Luceram - Loda | 15.34 km | D. Sordo | 10:51.7 | 84.7 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 4 (27 JAN) | SS17 | 11:51 | La Bollene Vesubie - Moulinet 2 | 22.68 km | F. Duval | 15:27.7 | 88.0 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 4 (27 JAN) | SS18 | 13:09 | Luceram - Col des Portes | 6.25 km | F. Duval | 4:24.4 | 85.1 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 4 (27 JAN) | SS19 | 15:10 | Monaco Circuit | 2.70 km | C. Atkinson F. Duval | 1:40.7 | 96.5 km/h | S. Loeb |

## Championship standings after the event

### Drivers' championship

| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sébastien Loeb | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 |
| 2 | Mikko Hirvonen | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 |
| 3 | Chris Atkinson | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 4 | François Duval | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 5 | Petter Solberg | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 6 | Gigi Galli | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 7 | Jean-Marie Cuoq | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 8 | Per-Gunnar Andersson | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Pts |

Key :

| Colour | Result |
| - | - |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### Manufacturers' championship

| Rank | Driver | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Total points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rank | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Total points |
| 1 | Citroën Total World Rally Team | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11 |
| 2 | Subaru World Rally Team | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| 3 | BP Ford World Rally Team | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| 3 | Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| 5 | Suzuki World Rally Team | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 6 | Munchi's Ford World Rally Team | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
