Ogier: “I sometimes had the impression that luck had abandoned me”

Sébastien Ogier has relaunched himself in the title race since the five-time champion WRC returned to 7 points behind the Championship leader Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). The pilot M-Sport a été en réussite puisqu’il a profité des soucis mécaniques d’Ott Tänak (Toyota) et de l’erreur du Belge pour prendre l’ascendant alors qu’il avait lui-même été ralenti par la perte de ses deux premiers rapports de boîte.

“It’s a great result which puts us back on track in the title race, confirmed the five-time winner of Wales Rally GB. I wouldn't say we're where we want to be yet, but we're getting close. It's not too bad if we look at the last two months where the performances weren't always there. Sometimes I felt like luck had abandoned me. This was particularly the case on Friday, but ultimately success returned to my side. I am sure we will perform well in Spain and Australia. »

Sébastien Ogier had a lot to do to regain the success that had eluded him since the Tour de Corse last April. At the start of the last stage, he was only 4 seconds ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult day, recognized the M-Sport driver. We saw how fast the Toyotas were and we knew that staying ahead of them wouldn't be an easy task. We were also able to see what Jari-Matti could give when he is determined. He had said it the day before at a press conference and demonstrated it in the last stage. I hoped to make the difference on the asphalt, but I had to keep up the pace on the forest sections. As I reached the finish, I told Julien (Ingrassia, the co-driver) that I couldn't do better. The time confirmed my feelings and we were a little faster than Jari. It's been a long time since we had a duel like this with him. »

Discover the analysis of Wales Rally GB carried out by our special correspondent in issue 2186 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.