Sébastien Ogier, eager for revenge after the Rally of Japan: "We'll be in Greece to fight for the win."

From the second special stage of this Rally from Japan WRCThe matter was settled. At least that's the analysis that Sébastien Ogier at the end of this latest event. Won by Elfyn Evans – the solid leader of the world championship – this meeting was indeed in the Welshman's favor, despite him often being beaten by an injured Oliver Solberg on Saturday. Consistent as ever, the rider from Gap was never able to close the gap.

"We didn't get the result we hoped for, so we can't say we're 100% satisfied. However, it's still a decent result." he clarified to our microphoneWe fought all weekend to try and score as many points as possible. Unfortunately, these are the points for second place. We have to take them and be satisfied with that. Elfyn and Scott were solid all weekend. We never had the resources to close the gap created in SS2. There are positives, though; it's another fantastic result here in Japan, in front of our big boss. It's a great way to thank him because it's thanks to him that we have such a fantastic team around us.

Ogier confirms his commitment to Greece with intentions

Losing 16,7 seconds on this second special stage alone, Sébastien Ogier can boast of having been faster than his predecessor for the rest of the event. "This is a special stage where our starting position worked against us," he argues. Honestly, the championship leader sometimes deserves a slight advantage. Considering what awaits him in the upcoming rounds, it's good that he's been rewarded this time. Of course, for us, it doesn't go our way. The gap, instead of narrowing, is widening a bit, but we're only halfway through the season. We'll be in Greece trying to fight for the win.

Inclined to analyze the start of the season, the driver Toyota Sébastien Ogier now finds himself in a precarious position. 61 points behind the leader, he will need a heroic second half of the season, as he plans to take on a wider range of upcoming races. “I would much prefer to be in the lead. It was Portugal that really hurt us. That's a gap of around twenty points. Now, being around thirty points behind means we're about sixty points adrift in the overall standings. We'll have to push hard in the upcoming rallies, but nothing is lost. Anything can happen in motorsport. In Portugal, we were very close to a great result, but everything can change in a single stage.”

To wash away these two affronts, then, see you from June 25 to 28 to follow the Acropolis Rally, the next commitment of the nine-time world champion.

Interview conducted by Pierre Barré, in Japan.