Toyota to field five cars in Monte Carlo 2025 WRC opener

Seventy crews will tackle the 2025 World Rally Championship season opener in Monte Carlo following the release of the event’s entry list.

Monte Carlo will kick off the expanded 14-round WRC season from 23-26 January with 10 entries representing the top Rally1 class for the asphalt curtain raiser.

The entry list is headed by new world champion Thierry Neuville, who will pilot one of three Hyundai i20 N entries, alongside 2019 world champion Ott Tanak and new Hyundai signing Adrien Fourmaux. 

As previously reported, Neuville will swap his #11 for #1 as the number makes a return to the WRC for the first time since 2022. Hyundai is also not expected to debut its heavily upgraded i20 N until later in the season. 

Toyota will make up half of the Rally1 field with the Japanese marque and reigning manufacturers’ champions opting to field five GR Yaris entries. 

Last season’s title runner-up Elfyn Evans will be joined by Sebastien Ogier, a record holding nine-time Monte Carlo Rally winner. The event will mark the first of a partial WRC campaign for the eight-time world champion.

Takamoto Katsuta, two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera, making a full-time return for 2025 and new signing, 2024 WRC2 champion, Sami Pajari complete Toyota’s line-up. Evans, Rovanpera and Ogier have been registered to score manufacturer points.            

M-Sport-Ford will enter two Ford Puma Rally1s for Gregoire Munster, who has been retained by the British squad for 2025, alongside new recruit Josh McErlean, who steps up from WRC2. McErlean will run under #55 for his maiden season in rallying’s top tier.

This season will see the Rally1 cars run without hybrid power following change to the technical regulations for 2025, while the championship will welcome Hankook as its new control tyre supplier.

A field of 24 WRC2 entries will assemble for the opening round of the season. Title contender from last year Yohan Rossel and former team-mate Nikolay Gryazin headline the entry. The latter will make a switch from Citroen to Skoda machinery. 

Last year’s WRC2 title runner-up Oliver Solberg is on the entry list but has opted not to score championship points as he makes his debut driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car for Printsport.

Gus Greensmith is also back behind the wheel, driving a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 but is not scoring points in Monte Carlo. 

Iron Dames will make its WRC debut with Sarah Rumeau set to pilot a Sarrazin Motorsport-run Citroen C3 Rally2.