Sébastien Ogier is finding it harder to win World Rally Championship rallies than ever before in his career.
Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais secured an impressive victory at last week’s Rally Portugal, pouncing when Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja lost the power-steering on their Hyundai towards the end of Saturday.
It marked the 63rd win of Ogier’s illustrious career, and his seventh in Portugal which extended his own record at the event as the rally’s most successful driver.
While Ogier was pleased with his tactics to apply pressure on Tänak at the weekend, he was the first to admit he did not have the speed to match the Estonian.
And at the previous round, Rally Islas Canarias, he could not compete with team-mate Kalle Rovanperä either.
On raw pace alone Ogier was a clear second-best to Kalle Rovanperä on Rally Islas Canaria – and it was a similar story against Tänak in Portugal
Now 41, Ogier is in a very different phase of his career as a part-time driver, and in recent rounds has appeared open to the reality that his age may be affecting his craft ever so slightly.
He confessed to backing off through a section in Gran Canaria that featured a large drop off the side of the road, and in Portugal suggested he’s no longer the prime athlete he was when speaking to DirtFish on a road section.
Ogier has still won as many events this year as any other driver (two), but confessed to DirtFish he’s finding it harder than ever before to win rallies.
“Well, it doesn’t get easier, that’s for sure, most probably or even for sure getting harder,” the eight-time champion said.
“Also with the fact of this Super Sunday, because look at the situation yesterday night. I had 27 seconds – normal, old days you would have just think ‘OK, everybody’s going a bit through and then pushing one more time in a powerstage.’
Though he lifted off the gas a little too much on Paredes 1, Ogier was able to draw on the same talent and experience that won him eight world titles to finish the job in Portugal
“But now everybody goes flat out. And it’s very easy when you try to minimize the risk to fall in a little bit the wrong rhythm or too safe a rhythm. And, this morning, it looked like I liked to scare myself again! I straight away lost 11 seconds because I was too cautious, too clean in the first stage. And then I was under pressure up to the end.
“I had to push because you never know. I mean, 15 seconds is not much, especially on such rough stages, second pass. So, yeah, it’s been a big fight up to the end. I think I mentioned already often this weekend how hard it was physically as well.
“Yeah, delighted to be in the top step of the podium here for the seventh time in Portugal. It’s always been a special place for me [and] was always going to be a country I have somewhere in my heart, but even more now.”
Ogier’s victory in Portugal, claimed at 41 years and 152 days, makes him the ninth oldest winner in WRC history.
Sébastien Loeb currently holds the record at a shave under 48 years old with his drive at the 2022 Monte Carlo Rally.
