Rallye Monte Carlo, the first round of the 2006 FIA World Rally Championship, kick-started the world series in style this weekend. Displaying one of the healthiest competitor fields in recent years, fifty percent more WRC cars entered than were at the event last year and out of those 26 crews, all but four reached the podium finish in spite of the tricky icy conditions. This year sees six manufacturer brands vying for laurels on the 16-round championship, each fielding more competitors than before, increasing the variety of competition at the top of the leaderboard.

The BP-Ford World Rally Team started as it means to continue as two-time World Champion Marcus Grönholm drove a perfect rally to victory on the debut of the Ford Focus RS. But while the Finn may have had the win wrapped up, the fight for the second spot on the podium stayed alive until the final stage of the rally when Kronos Total Citroën’s reigning World Champion Sébastien Loeb powered his way up the field following an amazing recovering after crashing on the opening day, to leave Toni Gardemeister and his Peugeot 307 content with third.

The next round of the FIA World Rally Championship heads to Scandinavia for the one true snow rally of the season, Uddeholm Swedish Rally, running from 3-5 February 2006.