The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship season kicks off on January 24-27 with one of the most demanding events of the entire year, the famed Rallye Monte-Carlo. The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, with its fast and experienced driver line-up of Ott Tänak, Jari-Matti Latvala and new signing Kris Meeke, will look to make the strongest possible start to its defence of the manufacturers’ title it won in 2018 and its fresh assault on the drivers’ and co-drivers’ crowns.
Rallye Monte-Carlo is notorious for its difficult and changeable weather conditions, which can vary from dry asphalt to snow and ice―often within a single stage. This makes tyre choice a critical factor throughout the event, with drivers reliant on their ice-note crews to provide them with information on the latest stage conditions.
The rally is based for much of the event in the French town of Gap, which will host the service park and the start on Thursday evening, before the opening two stages are run in darkness to provide a tricky start to the competitive action. Friday is the longest day of the rally, with two loops of three stages south-west of Gap. Saturday has two stages both run twice before a long drive into Monaco ready for Sunday, which takes place over a pair of repeated tests in the nearby mountains and includes the iconic Col de Turini.
