WRC – Ogier did not expect such a celebration in Mexico

Sébastien Ogier did not expect to have such a lead in the Rally of Mexico at the end of the first stage where he had to sweep starting in second position behind the leader of the Championship Jari-Matti Latvala. The reigning champion was able to keep the pace in the first pass before attacking in the second where the roads had been swept and the lines marked by the other cars.

The Frenchman will start with a lead of 26 seconds over Mads Ostberg who may have difficulty closing the gap against the last winner of the event. Jari-Matti Latvala will no longer have to open the road, but he is already 42 seconds behind the first Polo R WRC. “The day was much better than expected. I thought I would be in a lot more trouble with our unfavorable road position.”, admits Sébastien Ogier. “The ground was very slippery, the heat was difficult to bear in the passenger compartment, and it was easy to make mistakes. We couldn't hope for this first place. It offers us a great opportunity to establish ourselves again here. However, I think we will have an exciting fight with Mads Ostberg and my teammate Jari-Matti Latvala from now on. I would also like to congratulate the staff of the Engine department. We were at an altitude of 2800m and the Polo R WRC's turbo was working perfectly like last year. »

The second stage of Rally Mexico will begin at 16:28 p.m. French time. Videos of the event are available on this link.