Red Bull Motorsports
WRC
Seb Ogier: I'm competitive and want to win every time I put on a helmet
Despite being forced to retire during the penultimate leg of the Acropolis Rally, French driver Sébastien Ogier took plenty of positives from his display in Greece, as he explains in his latest blog.
Before we talk too much about the Acropolis Rally and what happened on the stages, I want to send thoughts, appreciation and thanks to the fans and the people of Greece. What they have been going through with the wildfires and now the terrible storms and floods which came last week, it’s too much.
I’m sorry for the people and honestly, really humbled by the welcome we got and the support we had from them for the whole rally.
There was plenty of support for all the drivers
© Team Sebastien Ogier
When the rain started, it was incredible. At times during the recce, you could hardly drive because you could hardly see past the end of the bonnet. The organisers did a remarkable job to keep the rally running.
For me, I was happy with my speed and happy to be fighting and leading after my extended summer holiday. I didn’t drive since we won Safari Rally Kenya in June and it definitely takes a little bit of time to bring your head and your eyes around to the speed of this Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
The battle with Thierry [Neuville] was a really interesting one and it was tough for him when he retired – we hit the same hole as him, it was really impossible to miss.
Ogier was in contention before being forced to retire
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Sadly, Saturday afternoon was not so kind to us either. We were P1 after the penultimate stage, but then we had no hybrid going to the last one.
Psychologically, it’s not so nice to know your rivals have maybe 25 percent more power than you when they get their hybrid boost. OK, I took this from my mind and just drove.
We were only a couple of kilometres in when I got a rear puncture. Then I got another puncture on the other rear tyre! I knew there was quite a big gap to third place, so I thought I could drive slowly and stay second.
Ogier has led all six rallies he's entered this year, winning three of them
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Later in the stage, coming from one hairpin, there was a bang and the upright broke. With this suspension damage, it was very difficult to carry on.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe how much drama you can have in one stage. This was definitely one of those. Vincent [Landais, co-driver] and I worked on the car to try to drive to service in Lamia, but immediately we knew there was some risk with the replacement parts getting very hot. The last thing we needed was a fire, so we retired.
That was tough. We had battled so hard and it didn’t feel like we got much in reward. That’s the way this sport is sometimes.
Congratulations to Kalle [Rovanperä] and Jonne [Halttunen]. To win from being first on the road on Friday is something really difficult to do and they deserved the victory.
Kalle Rovanperä fought back from a difficult Friday to claim another win
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Kalle Rovanperä en route to his third victory of the season
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
From my side, the positive I take away from a weekend like this is that my performance is still there. We did six rallies this year, won three and led the other three before we had some trouble. I can be happy with that.
Talking to journalists, I still get asked the question about my motivation for the weekend and whether I would like to do the full season again.
The answer, like always, is no! I really enjoy my time at home with my family and I have no desire to make all of the rallies. The motivation to go to Greece? It’s to drive this car, to enjoy the rally and to have fun.
Ogier will hope there's no more car issues when he's next in action
© Team Sebastien Ogier
Of course, I'm competitive and I want to win every time I put on a helmet, but I mainly come to rally to take pleasure from the weekend and these amazing cars. It’s that simple.
For now, I will watch Rally Chile from home and get ready for what’s looking like an interesting Central Europe Rally next month. We’re certainly going to be seeing a lot of kilometres pass by as we drive through the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany.
