Toyota drivers were fastest across the first three stages of the four-day rally. Sebastien Ogier took out SS1 and SS2 before Elfyn Evans topped SS3.
After SS2, Ogier held a 5.3-second lead over Neuville but that swung back in the Belgian’s favour after the Frenchman made a mistake.
Neuville turned his deficit into a two-second advantage over Evans while Ogier slipped back to third, 12.8 seconds off the lead.
“It could have been almost a perfect start for us tonight,” said Ogier.
“The first two stages were great but unfortunately this mistake in the last one cost us some time.
“There was a lot of gravel on the road and I got surprised, and we were lucky to get away with it.
Secure your spot today.
“But we are still in the race and not too far from the lead, so for sure we will keep trying tomorrow.
“The conditions will probably not be easy in the morning with a cold night coming and probably some frost and ice on the road.”
Evans echoed that sentiment, noting the tricky conditions to start the rally.
“It was a typical Rallye Monte-Carlo start tonight,” said the Welshman.
“It’s not been easy out there but it’s been the same for everyone really.
“We were just starting to see some frost on the road in places in that last stage, and it’s been a few hours since the route note crews drove through.
“They’ve done a great job but we’re still finding out things when we get there and it’s not easy like that.
“Naturally it’s been challenging but I’m happy to be at the end of it. It’s getting colder tonight and we have to see what we face in the morning.”
Like his rivals, Neuville noted the tough start to the rally, particularly the gravel in SS3.
“It was a good start, definitely, but a challenging one,” said the 2024 champion.
“Discovering the tyres in drier conditions on the first stage meant that I didn’t know how hard I could push them or where the limit was.
“It wasn’t easy, but as we progressed I increased the rhythm, felt more comfortable and made some setup changes, so step-by-step we went in the right direction.
“I couldn’t see a lot on stage two, it had the worst visibility for me. The atmosphere here is amazing, but it makes driving very challenging.
“The beginning of the last stage was very muddy, ice was also beginning to form, and then towards the end there was so much gravel with no lines at all – it felt like I was cleaning on a gravel rally.
“It was a disaster, we lost about five seconds in two kilometres. Tomorrow is another day, a much longer day, and we still have a long way to go.”
Neuville’s teammates Ott Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux were fourth and fifth at the end of day one, 27 and 30 seconds in arrears respectively.
Kalle Rovanpera made a relatively slow start for Toyota, ending the day sixth and 43.9 seconds behind the lead.
“It’s been a pretty difficult start for us tonight,” said the Finnish star.
“We did not have the pace that we were hoping for and we need to investigate a bit.
“I didn’t really have these clearer conditions without snow and ice in my testing on the new tyres, and it seems that maybe my natural style is not working so well.
“So we need to try and find something to use the car and tyres together better. We have managed to do that on this rally before and hopefully we can do so again.”
Rally Monte-Carlo continues on Friday with SS4 at 7:30pm (AEDT).
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