Citroën's nightmare in Australia

After eight consecutive rallies without a victory (Mikko Hirvonen's last success in Rally of Sweden), Ford seems able to return to the top step of the podium following the retirements of Sébastien Loeb (ES4) and Sébastien Ogier (ES6), while they were leading the event. On a course made extremely slippery by the rain, the French made mistakes from the first stage.

Sébastien Loeb rolled over after going off the road. The seven-time world champion admits that this error can be explained by a lack of concentration. “I arrived too quickly in a right turn”, explains the Championship leader on wrc. Com. “I made a mistake when I saw the part-time on the dashboard. I wasn't focused. I didn't brake enough and I arrived too quickly. I wasn't taking any risks. I had done a good stage before leaving. I was looking at something else before approaching this turn. »

Sébastien Ogier took back control of the event before damaging his DS3 WRC by hitting a tree. The Frenchman tried to make a makeshift repair but the damage was too significant to restart. He misses an unexpected opportunity to catch up with his teammate in the Championship but he nevertheless assures that he did not have this idea in mind on the course. “No, I was just trying to stay on the road, was it so slippery?” », he commented on World Rally Radio.