Ogier: “I seriously thought about retiring”

Sébastien Ogier réalisera un des plus grands défis de sa carrière en cherchant à conserver son titre avec M-Sport. Le Français aura fort à faire sur sa Ford Fiesta WRC face aux constructeurs engagés tels que Citroën, Hyundai and the newcomer Toyota.

After achieving the best shakedown time of the Rally Monte-Carlo, Sébastien Ogier admitted last night at a press conference that he had considered withdrawing from the WRC.

“I seriously considered retiring, admitted the M-Sport driver. It's getting harder and harder to leave my home and my little one (Tim). I was sometimes close to choosing this solution, but I thought I would never come back if I took a year off. I then told myself that I was still having a lot of fun and that I wanted a little more. »

Sébastien Ogier refused Toyota's offer after testing the Yaris WRC and therefore preferred to sign with Malcolm Wilson's team.

“The timing of Volkswagen's announcement put us in a very difficult situation with few options., added Sébastien Ogier. I chose the one that gave me the best chance of shining. It’s a new chapter in WRC and everyone is wondering about the new cars. We must be both fast and consistent. We have already proven that we have good arguments. We'll see what we can do, but I certainly would have appreciated more preparation. »

Discover the Guide to the 2017 WRC season in issue 2097 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms and on newsstands.