Sébastien Ogier “very happy to return to Portugal”

Five-time winner of the Lusitanian event, Ogier is participating this weekend in its third rally of the year, after Monte-Carlo and Croatia. Winner in this last round, the man who was recently made a Knight of the Legion of Honor is eager to return to the Portuguese slopes, where he did not compete last year.

« I am very happy to return to Portugal after a year of absence. It's a country that I have a lot of good memories of, perhaps a little more at the time when the rally took place in the south rather than the north. Either way, the atmosphere is always great and I look forward to being there. »

An advantageous order of passage?

Fifth in the world championship, due to a part-time schedule, Ogier could do well on the Portuguese gravel. Indeed, the regulations require the leader of the general classification to open the road on the first day of each rally. Where the pilot Toyota has often been in this disadvantageous situation in the past, he can now approach the rally more calmly. If, however, the weather does not interfere…

« This is a rally where we shouldn't be disadvantaged by our position on the road, and maybe it can even give us a little advantage. However, it is too early to say for sure because there may also be heavy rain at times. This is my first time in a gravel rally for a while, but we had a good test last week and I'm looking forward to this rally. »

It remains to be seen whether the Gapençais will manage to repeat his performance on Croatian soil, where he won during the previous round of this WRC sauce 2024!

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