Triumph over his WRC successor Kalle Rovanperä at the Rally Spain gives Sebastien Ogier no particular satisfaction
At the Rally Spain, the penultimate round of the 2022 World Rally Championship (WRC), Sebastien Ogier (Toyota) once again let all his class shine. The eight-time world champion drove to his first victory in the hybrid era of the WRC in sour manner, beating his successor on the WRC throne, Kalle Rovanperä.
However, Ogier does not take any particular satisfaction from this triumph. “I didn’t have to prove anything here,” the Frenchman answered a question to that effect at the post-rally press conference. “In my opinion, Kalle is the deserved world champion, there is nothing more to say about it.”
However, Ogier is naturally delighted with his first WRC victory since the Monza Rally in November 2021. “Of course it’s always nice [to win], and of course it’s been a while, but I’ve only done four rallies so far this year. “
“I lacked a bit of luck,” Ogier says, also referring to the 2022 Monte-Carlo Rally, where he only lost the win to long-time rival Sebastien Loeb due to a puncture, “but finally we had a weekend where everything worked for us. “
“The feeling in the Yaris was just fantastic and I was able to do what I wanted with the car this weekend. It was a perfect weekend, the car was great, I enjoyed the stages and it’s nice to take the manufacturers’ title for Toyota in style. The team has done a great job all year and it is more than deserved,” Ogier continued.
With his 55th victory, Ogier consolidated second place in the list of the most successful drivers in WRC history. In addition, he now belongs to the exclusive club of drivers who have won at least one WRC round in ten consecutive seasons. Before Ogier, only Loeb, Jari-Matti Latvala and Colin McRae managed this.
“That’s good [to know],” Ogier said when the statistics were brought to his attention. “Statistics are always nice to read, but of course that’s not why I drive. For me, it’s more important that I still enjoy what I’m doing and that I have the opportunity to be competitive in some rallies with a great team around me. That gives me a lot. “
