Over the years, we’ve become accustomed to Sébastien Ogier playing down his chances of bagging a strong result, only to see he and co-driver Julien Ingrassia standing aloft one of the World Rally Championship podium positions come Sunday lunchtime.
But there was a time where such an outcome was a genuine surprise – no more notably so than on Rally Mexico in 2015, when Ogier defied the odds dealt his way to bag a third consecutive win at the start of the season.
As a result of his prior victories in Monte Carlo and Sweden, then Volkswagen driver Ogier had the unenviable honour of sweeping the dusty roads clear for his rivals on both the Friday and Saturday – as, for 2015, running order rules dictated the championship leader started at the head of the field.
Ogier said he had spent longer than usual trying to set up his Polo R WRC, but was downcast about his chances of making the podium – even though he had headed the order after the Thursday evening superspecials.
Cue nine Ogier stage wins from a possible 21, and a dominant victory by more than a minute over his nearest challenger.
Sure, he had help from his rivals – team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala lost a wheel early on Saturday, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville rolled, while Ott Tänak lobbed his Fiesta into a lake (more on that later this month on DirtFish) – but Ogier also made his own luck. The Frenchman led at the end of each day of the event, and only once finished outside the top three on a stage (on the penultimate test of the event).
Free of the shackles of opening the road, he bagged the maximum powerstage bonus for good measure with the fastest time through the final stage.
It was also the third time in three years that Ogier had won in Mexico – a feat the six-time WRC champion can repeat by winning the 2020 running of the event.
