Solberg continued to lead the Monte Carlo Rally, Toyota’s festival.

On the second day of the Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), which will be held from Thursday to Sunday, Swedish driver Oliver Solberg (Toyota) further widened his lead.

This Friday’s itinerary includes three different specials, each running twice. The Swede, son of 2003 world champion Petter Solberg, who had already finished first on Thursday, shined again on the snow and ice in the first stage of the day, setting the best time (13 minutes 48.5 seconds).

Of the nine special stages held so far, Solberg has won four, with a cumulative time of 2 hours 11 minutes 13.1 seconds. Due to a puncture he was only fifth, 27 seconds slower than Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans. “It’s been a great day because my advantage has increased. I’m happy and just want to welcome a new day,” the Swede concluded in a statement to the organization.

Even so, Evans continued to take 2nd place from the second day. The Briton never finished lower than fourth in any section and ended the day with a time of 2:12:21.5, 1:08.4 behind Solberg. “It was a good day, a little up and down, but good,” Evans said of his performance.

The joy for Toyota continued with the performance of Sébastien Ogier. The previous world title saw the Japanese team close to the full podium with a time of 2 hours 12 minutes 28.0 seconds, very close to that of the British athletes who had improved by nearly 18 seconds compared to Thursday’s time. The Frenchman particularly shined in the eighth section, navigating the muddy area better than his rivals (18:05.1).

Ford had to regret Irishman Josh McErlean’s withdrawal on stage nine, when his car went off the road in a snowbank shortly after the route began.

The Monte Carlo Rally will see drivers covering a total of over 339 kilometers across 17 stages. There are four stages remaining, including a super special through the streets of Monaco, on Saturday 24th January, and a further four stages on Sunday 25th.