WRC – Ogier: Mexico will remain a victory apart

Sébastien Ogier increased his Championship lead by securing a crushing victory in the Rally from Mexico with the maximum number of units (28) with bonus points from the Power Stage. His direct rival Mads Ostberg having retired with an electrical problem while following the Frenchman, the latter now has a 44-point lead over Mikko Hirvonen, his closest opponent in the Championship. If the driver of the Polo R WRC suffered a slight head injury during the podium ceremony, his smile said a lot about his prospects for the rest of the season.

“What a fantastic feeling, the Polo was perfect every minute of Rally Mexico. I can only thank the team for this.”, commented Sébastien Ogier at the closing ceremony of the event which had been during the last six editions by Sébastien Loeb. “This victory for our dirt debut is very special and will always have a place in my heart. I remained cautious in the first special of the last stage, taking care to avoid every stone, but then I attacked again from the middle of the course. We were worried about a sensor problem, I was accelerating at 95% but we were afraid that this problem would become more serious. In any case, we now have a good lead in the Championship, but there are still ten rallies to go. »

Volkswagen Motorsport couldn't have asked for a better result, Jari-Matti Latvala's disappointment aside. The Wolfsburg manufacturer was impatiently waiting to see the new Polo R WRC evolve on gravel and can only note the impressive domination of Sébastien Ogier who finished more than three minutes ahead of Mikko Hirvonen after winning most of the special stages. . “To be honest, we couldn’t have imagined in our wildest dreams such a success for our first gravel event with the Polo R WRC.”, added sports director Jost Capito. “We have prepared meticulously for the WRC, maximizing our chances of performing well at Rally Mexico. This victory is a success for the entire team who worked perfectly this weekend. Not only here but also in Hannover and Wolfsburg. Sébastien Ogier's performance is impressive, it was the Ogier factor that made the difference here. Respect. »

Discover the analysis of the Rally of Mexico carried out by our special correspondents in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad, PC and Mac, and from Wednesday on newsstands.