Ogier: “Beyond my wildest dreams”

After sixteen months without a victory in the WRC, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia regained first place on the podium yesterday in Sweden. A victory which rewards a year of development work on the new Polo, and which places the French driver at the head of the world championship.

Published on 11/02/2013 à 09:52

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After a year of development on the Polo WRC, the duo Ogier-Ingrassia has returned since the start of the season to the premier category of rally. A thunderous comeback which ended yesterday with a victory in Sweden, the first for the Polo, in its second race. The Gapençais returned to this performance.

Sébastien, was victory as easy to achieve as it appeared from the outside?
I can assure you of one thing, nothing is easy when you have a nine-time world champion like Sébastien Loeb behind you. He put pressure on us for three whole days. However, we did not give him the opportunity to push us into error.

Were you thinking about victory before the start?
To be honest, no. Of course, I had a good feeling after the winter tests. However, before being in a competitive situation, you never know where you stand in relation to others. We did further testing the Sunday before the race, and we worked to further improve the chassis. I think that contributed to our victory. A victory and a second place in the first two rallies of the season with a new car and a new team is beyond my wildest dreams.

What does it mean to you to be the second non-Nordic to win the Swedish Rally since 1950?
It?s certainly a bonus to this victory. Especially since I beat Sébastien Loeb, who was the first to do it in 2004.