Ogier: “A little frustrating to fail so close to victory”

Sébastien Ogier experienced both disappointment and satisfaction at the Rally of Catalonia. The reigning world champion failed less than 3 seconds behind his former teammate Sébastien Loeb (Citroën), but the Gapençais was able to take the lead in the championship with 3 points ahead of Thierry Neuville.

“It was a weekend full of emotions but we are satisfied with its outcome, commented the five-time champion WRC. We knew it was going to be difficult starting from 2nd place on the road and the rain also complicated things. But we never gave up and we gave everything. »

Despite his disappointment, Sébastien Ogier went to congratulate the Loeb-Elena crew on the roof of the victorious Citroën C3 WRC.

“It's always a little frustrating to fail so close to victory, but we tried everything and it remains a positive weekend as we regained the lead in the championship, added the future Citroën driver. It will be difficult to open the road in Australia, but I prefer to have this points lead. This test will be tough, but we will do everything possible to win a new title. »

Malcolm Wilson s’est félicité de la performance de son équipage de pointe en reconnaissant que M-Sport n’avait pas toujours fait les meilleurs choix ce week-end.

“Sébastien and Julien (Ingrassia) had great success despite being disadvantaged in the starting order and attacking as much as possible when the race arrived on the asphalt. We didn't make the best tire choices every time, but they attacked without asking any questions and they deserved this result.", admitted the Briton.

Elfyn Evans a également réalisé une belle performance en privant Thierry Neuville du podium, privant ainsi le pensionnaire de Hyundai de précieux points en cette fin de saison.

“We wanted a good result and we got it, rejoiced the Welshman. The pace has increased over the last few rallies, but we haven't been able to take advantage of it until now. We were finally able to show ourselves competitive in this mixed event. »

On the other hand, Teemu Suninen suffered this weekend by being unable to climb into the Top 10.

Discover the analysis of the Rally of Catalonia carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2189 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.