Ogier: “We suffered like never before”

Sébastien Ogier suffers more and more from its position as opener due to its place as leader of the Championship. While he hoped to return to the victory he had missed since Sweden last February, the Volkswagen driver was only able to obtain a regular sixth place in the Rally from Poland after sweeping the road during the first two days and suffering from muddy conditions during the last stage.

“It's all the more a shame as the driving pleasure is very high in Poland, with very smooth special stages, rapid curves that follow one another, interspersed with a few crests, regretted the triple world champion. However, when the times do not follow, it is frustration that ends up winning out. I admit that we wouldn't have minded a little rain but, like in Portugal, it arrived too late. The weather didn't do things halfway on Sunday, as the conditions were truly dire in the last two specials. It had become survival, so much so that we were relieved to have completed these last two stages without errors and to end this more than complicated weekend by scoring eleven points. »

Sébastien Ogier nevertheless has a 51-point lead in the Championship over Mads Ostberg who only finished eighth, notably after taking the three bonus points from the Power Stage.

“On the evening of this Rally of Poland, it is quite difficult to take away any positives, except that we scored important points which allow us to maintain a comfortable lead in the Championship, recognized Sébastien Ogier. This weekend was one of the most difficult of our career. We didn't expect to suffer such a marked sweep in Poland, and yet it was one of our worst rallies from this point of view. We suffered like never before and this explains why, despite a faultless performance, we finished sixth on a regular basis, which had not happened to us since the start of our career in WRC."

Rally Poland results

Discover the analysis of the Polish Rally carried out by our special correspondent in issue 2070 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.