Here is our customary Monday Motorsport Round-Up. Two major motorsport events take took place this past Sunday: 24 Hours of Daytona and the opening round of the World Rally Championship (WRC).

World Rally Championship: Rallye Monte Carlo

The opening round of the 2019 World Rally Championship (WRC) took place in the snowy hills above the famous coastal town. When the clocks stopped on Sunday afternoon, it was Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia who claimed victory. The pair won by the event by a scant 2,2 seconds over Thierry Neuville; it was the closest Monte Carlo finish in history. This was also Ogier’s sixth consecutive win at the Monte and the 100th world rally victory for Citroen.

“It’s the rally I want to win the most in the season, that’s why I’m so happy now,” said Ogier, whose home town of Gap hosted the opening three days of the rally.

Toyota Yaris driver Ott Tanak was third overall. Sebastien Loeb, in a Hyundai i20 was fourth on his WRC return. Rally Sweden, the only pure winter round of the series, hosts the second in Torsby from February 14 – 17. Rally highlights can be seen here.

Click here to read our review of the WRC-inspired Toyota Yaris GRMN.

24 Hours of Daytona

Double F1 world champion, Fernando Alonso, claimed victory at the USA’s most iconic endurance race, the 24 Hours of Daytona. The Spaniard teamed up with Kamui Kobayashi, Jordan Taylor and Renger van Der Zande in Wayne Taylor Cadillac DPI. The driving team triumphed in a rain-soaked, shortened event.

“To win this kind of endurance racing at iconic places like Daytona means a lot,” he said. “With zero experience and background in endurance before (last year) it’s quite a big thing.”

Alonso became only the third F1 champion to win the race after Phil Hill (1964) and Mario Andretti (1972).