More than anybody else in the World Rally Championship, Sébastien Ogier knows titles come courtesy of the harder yards. He completed some of those running first on the road in Estonia last week.
And now, he’s as interested as the rest of us – probably, let’s be honest, even more interested than the rest of us – to see how Toyota’s rough rally development work plays out in Turkey next week.
The six-time champion emerged from Tartu satisfied. And frustrated.
Ogier told DirtFish” “The main aim when you are leading the championship and opening the road is to try to stay ahead of your nearest rivals [in the championship] and I was able to do that over Elfyn [Evans] and Thierry [Neuville].”
Ogier’s Estonian tally from third place overall and two powerstage bonus points ensured he added a single point to his now nine-point advantage over the Welshman.
“It was frustrating though,” Ogier added, “I think we could have done more. We struggled for grip with the car on Saturday afternoon and we were a little bit compromised because we lost a tire from the rim on the first stage of that loop.
“But now we look forward. I said already, I’m impassioned to see where we are in Turkey. I have good memories from our win there last year. To repeat that result is not going to be easy, it’s a tough event and to open the road again there will be especially challenging.”
