Ogier titled with style at the RACC

Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen) retained the lead Rally of Catalonia until the finish and celebrates with his co-driver Julien Ingrassia his fourth consecutive title in WRC. The new champion set the second fastest time in the Power Stage won by Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen) ahead of Dani Sordo (Hyundai).

The Frenchman won with more than 15 seconds ahead of the national star of the event who failed to reduce his delay. Sébastien Ogier scored his 37th success in the discipline, his fifth of the season, and his third RACC victory after 2013 and 2014. It is also the 300th WRC victory for Michelin.

The Hyundais form a nice group shot at the places of honor since Thierry Neuville completes the podium more than a minute behind the winner by a dozen seconds ahead of his teammate Hayden Paddon with whom he fought throughout the event.

Satisfied with his new approach on asphalt, Mads Ostberg (Ford) completes the top five after taking advantage of the retirement of Kris Meeke (Citroën) who suffered a mechanical failure in SS16. The Norwegian precedes Ott Tänak (Ford) and Kevin Abbring (Hyundai) who signs his best result in the discipline with the old i20 WRC.

Jan Kopecky (Skoda Fabia R5) takes victory in WRC 2 by taking eighth place in the general classification. The Czech resisted the pressure from Pontus Tidemand (Fabia R5) who finished 15 seconds behind. Craig Breen (Citroën) completes the top ten.

Results of the Rally de Catalunya

Discover the analysis of the Rally of Catalonia carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2085 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.