Ott Tänak has called on his former team-mate Sébastien Ogier to stick around and fight for this year’s World Rally Championship.
Tänak and Ogier shared the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in 2017 and remain good friends as well as fierce rivals. Talking to DirtFish after watching the Frenchman win his second rally of the season, Tänak admitted he would like to see more from the current championship leader in the remainder of the season.
Asked about his presence in the WRC, the Estonian grinned.
“It’s fair to say he’s never left,” he said, referencing Ogier’s presence on five of the last six WRC rounds.
“I guess he’s done [almost] every rally since the end of last year, he’s always been there. OK, he was probably clever to miss Sweden to have a good road position in México.
“But, for me, if he’s going to stay [in the WRC], it’s the best for the championship and for rallying itself. I would welcome to have him around and to clean the road for us as well!”
The Toyota star’s stance remains resolute.
“I answer this question one more time,” he said. “I work with the team to pick the best rallies for them and for myself. I am here to have fun and to give the teams as many points as possible. That doesn’t change.”
Here’s an interesting fact for you to end this one on. Taking the tally of points from the last three rounds of last year and adding them to the first three from this year, who’s leading that six-round 2022/23 championship?
Ogier. By four points from Thierry Neuville.
