Ogier before Monte-Carlo: “The rally I most want to win”

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (Toyota) know the Rally Monte Carlo. The French duo won the inaugural round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) seven times (2009 then from 2014 to 2019) and approaches the event as logical challengers to the succession of Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul.

Check out my new 2021 helmet design. What do you think? #WRC @TGR_WRC pic.twitter.com/0WodjFdpO5

- Sébastien Ogier (@SebOgier) January 20, 2021

However, the seven-time world champions were victims ofa road exit in private tests and badly damaged the Toyota Yaris. The wearers of number 1 still remain optimistic on the eve of the kick-off, scheduled for Thursday January 21.

“Everyone knows that Monte-Carlo is the rally I most want to win, explains the pilot. But it is an event that you must approach with enormous humility because it is always a complicated event due to the weather conditions and you have to be very intelligent to win.

“Everybody knows #RallyMonteCarlo is the rally that I want to win the most. But it’s a rally that you have to face with a lot of humility and you have to be really clever to win it.” – @SebOgier

Full preview https://t.co/VLej5T25ba#ToyotaGAZOORacing #YarisWRC #WRC pic.twitter.com/A8NJTt7024

- Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) January 18, 2021

I feel more prepared for this season because I completed WRC rounds aboard the Yaris, which was not the case at the start of 2020. This gives me extra confidence. However, we will have to adapt to the new Pirelli tires, especially in Monte-Carlo where we have the largest tire allocation of the entire campaign.

But I'm looking forward to this rally because in my opinion, choosing the right strategy and using the tires in the best possible way is an exciting aspect of rallying. »