Munster experienced a true rollercoaster of emotions as he faced potential elimination yesterday before claiming his first ever stage win this morning on special stage 10. A frustrating electrical issue on Friday prevented him from reaching the service park, resulting in a 10 minute penalty which pushed him back into 19th overall.

As per the rally’s rules, Day 2 follows a reverse road order, meaning Munster started SS10 at the front of the pack. “Its a really tricky one, a bit of everything. A wet section with some muddy cuts, a much faster and wider road. It is a tricky one for sure, happy to be the first on the road for this one,” Munster said at the end of the stage.

After finding out that he won the stage, Munster was quick to thank the M-Sport team for their hard work on repairing the car overnight.

Record breaking Monte-Carlo winner, Sebastien Ogier, came close to Munster’s time, but finished just 0.8s behind the M-Sport driver. Ogier is on track for his 10th Monte-Carlo win as he leads the rally following SS12, with Adrien Fourmaux and Elfyn Evans completing the podium spots.

Reining world champion, Thierry Neuville, has had a Monte-Carlo to forget so far – he currently sits in P8, 5:06.2 behind Ogier. However, it looks as though the Belgian driver’s strategy for the weekend is changing. He is set to use the remainder of today’s stages as an ‘extended test session’, hoping to find some additional pace in the car that he can use tomorrow to earn himself some extra points – a maximum of 10 additional points are available (5 for winning the Wolf power stage and 5 for being the fastest across all of Sunday’s stages).