WRC – Wales Rally GB: Ogier wins, Hirvonen finishes in style

Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen) remained untouchable at Wales Rally GB. After having upset the competition from the first stage, the double world champion was content to manage his lead to achieve his eighth victory of the season and offer a 12th success in 13 events to Volkswagen Motorsport this year. “That was the goal”, commented the Frenchman while getting out of the Polo R WRC. “We wanted to take advantage of this last event. We showed ourselves above the others with Jari-Matti. This victory was not easy to achieve because the conditions were very difficult. I am happy for Mikko Hirvonen who celebrates the end of his career by achieving another podium. »

Mikko Hirvonen effectively concludes his career with a 69th podium, finishing just over half a minute behind the winner, after having resisted pressure from Citroën drivers for a long time. " I am so happy. It's a fantastic result to end my career. I will miss a lot of things”, confided the Finn who was able to breathe when Kris Meeke lost his grip. The Northern Irishman was a few seconds behind the Ford before falling in the standings following a puncture in the penultimate special (SS22 Alwen).

The Citroën driver was only able to salvage a sixth place behind Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) et Elfyn Evans (Ford) qui terminent regroupés en une dizaine de secondes à l’issue d’un long duel, mais son coéquipier Mads Ostberg resté en embuscade en a profité pour se hisser sur la dernière marche du podium. Ce bon résultat d’ensemble permet à Citroën Racing de conserver sa deuxième place au Championnat Constructeurs devant M-Sport.

Ott Tänak (Ford) secured seventh place ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen) who was only able to move up to eighth place following his exit from the road at the start of the event. The Finn consoled himself by winning the Power Stage ahead of Thierry Neuville and Mads Ostberg. Martin Prokop (Ford) showed great combativeness to maintain his ninth position despite pressure from Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) who failed just five seconds behind the Czech.

Jari Ketomaa (Fiesta R5) takes victory in WRC2, finishing 12th in the general classification behind Robert Kubica (Ford). The Finn won with a one-minute lead over Lorenzo Bertelli (Fiesta R5), while Matthew Wilson (Fiesta RRC) completed the top three. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Fiesta RRC) won the category title by securing sixth position while a seventh place was enough for him to secure the coronation.

The videos of the event can be viewed on this link.

Discover the analysis of Wales Rally GB carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1987 of AUTOhebdo, available from tomorrow evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.