Sébastien Ogier hopes for a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Sébastien Ogier had embarked on a new adventure in 2022. After having the opportunity to try out the Hypercar of Toyota On several occasions, the Gap native had decided to try his hand at endurance racing. He had then entered the World Championship.Endurance in the LMP2 category with the Richard Mille Racing Team, whose Oreca 07 was run by Signatech. This gave him the opportunity to discover the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the company of Charles Milesi and Lilou Wadoux.

« It was a great experience. Sébastien Ogier reveals this in an exclusive interview available on our YouTube channel.. I have often repeated it and I hope that this will not be the last time at Le Mans. While he enjoyed his participation in the Sarthe event, Ogier has more mixed memories of the other rounds on the calendar. This chapter closed after only three races (Sebring, Spa, and Le Mans), with the Frenchman then handing over his seat to Paul-Loup Chatin for the second half of the season.

Ogier on the 24 Hours of Le Mans: "It's an incredible and unique race"

« As for Le Mans, I enjoyed it. For the others, I admit I wasn't used to sharing my car. Ogier explains. With so little track experience, I needed more track time than sharing a car in a six-hour, three-driver race would provide. It wasn't frustrating, but I needed time I didn't have at that point. The interlude in WEC It ultimately only lasted three races. At this stage of my career, I thought it would last a bit longer. The fact that it's still going well in rally It motivated me to come back and do more, but I still hope to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans one day. It's an incredible and unique race. »

« I liked the team and sharing aspect. He added. When you've had a career as rich as mine, you're ready, at some point, to be a little less selfish and share more. Even if we didn't win, the emotions you share with your teammates are truly great moments. I could definitely have envisioned doing more, but I don't want to do things halfway. I would have had to invest 100% in the WEC, but it was a time when the goal was to have less packed calendars and be home a bit more often. To be competitive in such a championship, I had to be fully committed; I couldn't afford to take it one race at a time like I can in rallying thanks to my experience. So I made the decision to return to rallying for a while. "It's hard not to agree with the man who is now a nine-time world rally champion."

Could this return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans take place in the Hypercar category with his employer Toyota? Why not? There are no plans, so we're not going to spread rumors or ideas that don't exist yet. I'd say it's within the realm of possibility. I even did some tests with the Hypercar, which went quite well. "In 2021 in particular, the Frenchman participated in the WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain driving the Japanese prototype.

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