2012 Monte Carlo Rally
car rally

The 2012 Monte Carlo Rally, officially 80ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo was the first round of the 2012 World Rally Championship (WRC) season. The rally took place between 18 and 22 January 2012.
Report
Introduction
The rally, which returned to the WRC calendar after a three-year absence, started in Valence on Wednesday 18 January and covered over 1,339 kilometres (832.0 mi), including 433 kilometres (269.1 mi) of special stages. Stages were run in both daylight and at night, and the route included two passes through the famous Col de Turini stage on Saturday. The rally became the first in the modern era of the sport to be held over the course of five days. 82 entries were registered for the event.
Leg One (18 January)
2011 World Champion Sébastien Loeb took an early lead when he won the first stage of the rally, Le Moulinon–Antraigues. However, icy conditions on the second stage, Burzet–St Martial meant that Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala took the lead when he adopted an unorthodox tyre strategy, using super-soft and studded tyres on opposite corners of his car. By the end of the stage, Latvala had established a thirty-second lead over Loeb. Latvala's lead was short-lived, as he crashed out on the second running of Burzet–St Martial when he missed a pace note warning that a corner tightened on entry.
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