Ogier: “Monte-Carlo is won by driving with your head”

Sébastien Ogier will begin the defense of his world title on the roads of the Monte-Carlo Rally, an event where he remains undefeated since 2014. But the discovery of the Citroën C3 in the race will be a parameter to take into account for the Frenchman.

Published on 20/01/2019 à 17:41

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Ogier: “Monte-Carlo is won by driving with your head”

Ten years after his first success at Rally Monte Carlo, then round of the IRC championship, Sébastien Ogier will return to an event that has smiled on him since 2014 and the era of the Volkswagen Polo R WRC.

The five-time world champion has notably established himself over the last two years, with the new cars meeting regulations reviewed and corrected by the FIA. His 2017 victory then had a particular flavor for the native of the Gap region, he who discovered the Ford Fiesta WRC of M-Sport, with few kilometers completed in tests.

If Ogier will start the race at the wheel of the Citroën C3 WRC next Thursday, the outgoing winner was this time able to benefit from several intensive preparation sessions.

“I had a nice variety of conditions on my three and a half days of driving, it's pretty good, and it allowed us to work on the best possible compromises, comments Ogier.

The feelings are good. However, it is always difficult to estimate his level of performance for a first race with a new car. I'm going to do it like I've always done, trusting my feeling.

Especially Monte-Carlo is a rally that is won by driving more with your head than at the limit, as there are so many pitfalls. It's a field that has always worked well for me and I hope that my experience will help me again. »

With this in mind, Ogier will be able to count on a C3 modified since the last edition of the Monte-Carlo Rally, which saw Kris Meeke finish fourth.

“The C3 WRC has evolved quite a bit in terms of damping and suspension design, and we now have a base of settings that we control, explains Olivier Maroselli, technical director of Citroën Racing.

We therefore worked around it to have a car that was easy to drive, and thus have the ability to adapt to the varied grip conditions typical of this event. »

In the event of victory next Sunday, Sébastien Ogier could match his compatriot Sébastien Loeb to the number of successes in the Principality (7). Aligned with his Hyundai i20 WRC, there is no doubt that Loeb also aims to play his card to the fullest.