Sébastien Ogier ready for a new life

For many months, Sébastien Ogier repeats in every interview that 2021 will constitute his last full season in rally. Eager to slow down the pace to be with his family more regularly, he has often indicated that he will not aim for the 2022 title in WRC for the first time since 2012 (that year, he drove a Skoda Fabia S2000 while preparing the future Volkswagen Polo WRC). At the same time, he always affirmed that he would not remain inactive and that the WEC was what tempted him the most. For a long time, the 24 Hours of Le Mans particularly attract him, but for this the Frenchman is fully aware that several levels had to be crossed in the process leading to participation in the Le Mans classic. The uncertainties hovering over this fantasized future also made him say that he would still have slow periods in his schedule, and the desire to compete in a few rallies in the 2022 World Cup like Monte-Carlo (January 20-23).

Sébastien Ogier and Richard Mille © François Flamand / DPPI

Despite the recurrence of questions, Ogier was unable to define a program for the next twelve months, just as he was impatient to know if theEndurance would prove as promising as he hoped. While continuing to defend his chances of an 8th WRC title, Ogier had ticked two very important dates in his diary. In mid-October, he first spent two days in the simulator Toyota in Cologne (Germany). One of the objectives of these sessions was to start a collaboration with engineers from the team with whom Sébastien would work. The aim was also to allow him