Ogier consoles M-Sport in Mexico

M-Sport a connu un début d’épreuve difficile au Rally from Mexico. If the Ford Fiestas WRC still seem competitive, Malcolm Wilson's team lost two cars with the accidents of Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen.

Elfyn Evans nevertheless showed great potential since he was in the leading trio, but the Welshman rolled over in SS5. If his car was able to continue despite the accident, the crew had to abandon. Co-driver Daniel Barritt suffers from a concussion.

“We went over a series of bumps which was rougher than expected, explains Elfyn Evans. We lost the rear in sixth and I didn't have enough power to regain control. We hit an embankment and rolled over. I don't even know how many laps we did. I immediately got out of the car because I didn't think I would be able to continue, but we saw that the damage wasn't too bad when the dust cleared. We put our helmets back on and finished the special, which is incredible after the roll we did. We then went to the medical center and Dan had to take more tests. We're fine, that's the main thing. We will now focus on Corsica. »

Teemu Suninen was further back as he was in eighth place when he went off the road on SS7.

“I was struggling to get into rhythm in the morning and wasn't as fast as I wanted to be, admits the Finn. I had a good position on the road and hoped to be closer to those in front of me. But I compared myself to Loeb and I have to remember that he is a nine-time world champion. I attacked more in the first special of the afternoon. I went a little wide and damaged the suspension. The car was then very difficult to drive, which is normal when you break it! I was constantly on the brakes and they would start to overheat. I went out again, hit a barrier and had to retire. Despite everything, I am satisfied to have achieved the scratch in a super special because it is an area where I want to progress. There are a lot of courses of this type on this rally and if we lose two seconds each time, it could be detrimental to the finish. »

Despite its poor position on the road, it is still Sébastien Ogier qui s’en sort le mieux. Le quintuple champion du monde pointe au cinquième rang à une seconde de la Hyundai by Andreas Mikkelsen.

“We attacked as hard as we could, assures the Frenchman. I did a little spin which made me lose maybe six or seven seconds. Being second on the road, we can still be satisfied with our day. We were faster than anyone else in the same situation. It was certain that the drivers starting behind were going to be faster. The second stage will not be much better because we will still start among the first. It will be difficult to catch the drivers in front of us but you never know what can happen. »