WRC – Sébastien Ogier, never 2 without 3 in Portugal?

By the admission of Sébastien Ogier, rally from Portugal is one of his favorites. First of all because it is the first event that he won at the highest level, in 2010 on Citroën, before winning again the following year. “This is the only rally that I have won twice during my career WRC? so far ! », comments the Volkswagen driver, who enters the fourth round of the season well ahead in the Drivers' championship standings. After a second place behind Sébastien Loeb in Monte-Carlo and two consecutive victories in Sweden and Mexico, “I believe that we will be able to continue the momentum of our recent excellent results, because I really love this rally”, the Gapençais expects.

From a technical point of view, the Lusitanian round turns out to be less atypical than the three previous ones and similar to the next rallies, in Argentina, Greece and Italy. “On Rally Mexico, we saw that the Polo R WRC is also competitive on gravel, which is important,” explains Sébastien Ogier. “The upcoming Rally Portugal will provide a good indication of our level and it will be particularly interesting because it will be the conditions we will face most often during the championship: dirt stages, set on hard ground, just above sea level.” Be careful, however, of the rain. “However, the Rally Portugal has two sides. When it's dry, the ground is very hard and offers a lot of grip. On the other hand, when it is wet, the ground becomes very soft and muddy and offers very little grip., warns the French pilot. ?We realized it last year and it?s not very fun to race in these conditions. I would really prefer it to be dry. Portugal's stages are characterized by numerous skies and jumps, often followed by fast blind corners. »

Finally, the French pilot mentioned his recent withdrawal from the Fafe Rally Sprint, after suffering from a flu infection. “I feel a lot better, after being in a bit of shape last week. My withdrawal from the Fafe Rally Sprint was a difficult decision to make, especially given the enthusiasm of the fans. However, it was the right decision for me to recover completely. » Start of Portuguese hostilities this Thursday, April 11.