Gus Greensmith completed the opening leg of Rallye Monte-Carlo with a lead of almost 12 minutes in WRC 2 Pro after rival Kalle Rovanperä crashed on Thursday’s first stage.

Skoda Motorsport star Rovanperä was caught out by the icy conditions that greeted crews in the opening La Breole-Selonnet test and slid his Skoda Fabia R5 into a ditch.



He was eventually pushed back onto the stage by spectators but needed to complete some roadside repairs before he could rejoin the action. He lost almost 11 minutes.



With only one headlight still working on his car, the 18-year-old Finn had to adopt a more cautious approach in SS2 and completed the leg 11min 59.8sec down on Greensmith.



The Briton, driving for the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, decided against taking any unnecessary risks during the opening night, but admitted he will need to increase his pace during the final three days of action.



Bonato tops opening leg in WRC 2



Citroën C3 R5 driver Yoann Bonato carved out a 12.0sec advantage over fellow Frenchman Nicolas Ciamin in the WRC 2 class.



Having taken a stage victory in the opening test, Bonato extended his lead by going second quickest in SS2. Ciamin couldn’t quite match his rival’s pace in his Volkswagen Polo R5.



A fastest time in the Avançon-Notre Dame Du Laus stage helped Guillaume de Mevius seal third in his C3, while a cautious approach during the opening leg placed Adrien Fourmaux fourth in his Fiesta R5.



VW new boy Ole Christian Veiby complained about his Polo intermittently cutting out during the opening exchanges but he had enough time in hand to complete the day in fifth.

Head to WRC+ to watch All Live from Rallye Monte-Carlo, including every stage broadcast live, breaking service park news and expert studio analysis.

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