It’s not possible is it?
Sébastien Ogier couldn’t go on to win this year’s World Rally Championship despite only being on a part-time program, could he?
He might be the championship leader right now, but even he doesn’t seem to think it’s a realistic possibility.
And he’s continually ruled out fighting for a record-equaling ninth championship.
But what if he does manage to keep himself in the hunt? Well, then the game will change, and Ogier has revealed to DirtFish that he is prepared to do battle and fight for it.
“I say to them, as long as they wait for me, I’m happy to come at the end of the year and fight on the last two rallies, maybe win the championship!” Ogier said.
“But it’s going to be a long, long shot.”
Ogier is currently level on 69 points with Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans in the standings, but leads on victory countback with two to one. He will fall down the order next week as he sits out of Rally Portugal.
Fourth place in the standings is currently only four points behind, and it’s possible Ogier could head to Sardinia fifth in the championship order.
That would suit him nicely, since it would give him a much nicer starting position on the road.
“I’m missing some rallies, so yeah: so far, so good,” Ogier added on his current championship position.
“This weekend [Croatia] could have been better, but now a bit of relax time for me again before coming to Sardinia with the target to do well again.”
It’s that relaxed approach that makes an Ogier championship bid not a complete impossibility.
Targeting events he enjoys, and by playing a strategic game, Ogier could set himself up perfectly by appearing when the road order would suit him best.
Therefore, while his title rivals around him might struggle at certain events due to running first on the road, Ogier can take full advantage and continue to haul in big points on each event he contests.
He might be doing his best to convince everyone that a title challenge isn’t realistically on the cards, but given his position four rounds in – and looking at possible events he could contest later on in the year – you can’t help but think that, deep down, Ogier still thinks he’s in with a sniff.
