Meeke leads Rallye Monte-Carlo shakedown ahead of Toyota debut

Top 15 shakedown results at Rallye Monte-Carlo

Kris Meeke made an early statement on his Toyota Gazoo Racing debut by topping the shakedown at Rallye Monte-Carlo ahead of the 2019 World Rally Championship opener.

Meeke, who has not competed in WRC since being sacked by Citroen midway through last season, is relishing a fresh start with Toyota for 2019 and duly jumped to the top of the times on the shakedown with his third run to edge out defending champion Sebastien Ogier by one-tenth of a second.

Ogier, making his return to Citroen this year, held on to second place ahead of new teammate Esapekka Lappi in third while Toyota duo Ott Tanak and Jari-Matti Latvala rounded out the top five.

Four-time WRC runner-up Thierry Neuvile led the Hyundai charge in sixth place, one-tenth faster than front-running M-Sport Ford driver Teemu Suninen with Elfyn Evans in eighth place.

Hyundai duo Andreas Mikkelsen and Sebastien Loeb, the latter fresh from the Dakar Rally, rounded out the top ten in front of WRC debutant Pontus Tidemand for M-Sport Ford.