MONACO (AP) — World champion Sebastien Ogier won three of five stages Friday to take the lead in the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, while Robert Kubica had to retire after skidding off the road on the second day of the race.
Ogier led fellow Frenchman Bryan Bouffier by 51.1 seconds. Kris Meeke of Britain slipped to third, 1 minute, 38 seconds off the lead. Mads Ostberg of Norway and Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland rounded out the top five.
In a tricky stage nine from Vitrolles to Faye, Bouffier lost the lead after spinning off the road and needing help from spectators to push his car out of a muddy field. Kubica, the former Formula One driver who nearly lost a hand in a 2011 rally crash, skidded off the road while in fourth place overall.
