After a six-month wait Sebastien Ogier has finally climbed back onto the top step of the podium in the World Rally Championship following his victory in Portugal.
The former Junior world champion explained the significance of his third career victory in his Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3 WRC and how it has reignited his title bid following his failure to finish in Mexico earlier this month.
How important was this victory?
“All wins are important but this is special because it is the first since Japan six months ago. It is a bit long to wait but it is good to get back in the championship and it helps for the rest of the season. I was performing in the last races and fighting for the podium and victory, but for many reasons I didn’t finish and today is my third victory. I am very happy with this victory. It’s a good feeling.”
What was the secret of your success here in Portugal?
“To be fast, don’t do a mistake and avoid punctures. I’ve managed to do that this weekend and I have won. But I was a bit lucky because Sebastien [Loeb] had his problem with Mikko [Hirvonen] in the dust [on Saturday]. It was not his fault so he really deserved the three points he got on the Power Stage. In the end the difference between us this weekend was quite close. For the team this is the perfect result because we scored maximum points.”
Does this victory make up for your disappointment in Mexico?
“Yeah, I think we had very bad luck in Mexico. We were very fast, but we made a mistake. It was not a big mistake, but it had a big consequence and meant we had no points from there. I wanted to come back here and make big points. I was under pressure, but we took a good victory. I want to thank the team; they gave me the perfect car to do it.”
How hard was this win?
“It’s never easy to win a rally, especially when you are fighting at this level, where there are lots of fast guys in the championship. It’s not easy, but this was almost the perfect weekend. We started very carefully on Thursday and wanted to stay in a good position, and then we start to push and get the gap and we had a good gap for today. Today was just to stay on the road and finish the rally, avoiding punctures. Finally we did it and it was a big pleasure to cross the finish line.”
Do you think Loeb will be your biggest rival going forward this season?
“Seb is a rival because he has won seven titles and is maybe the fastest. He is a good example to follow. We still have a lot of work to do but this is a good way to come back into the fight.”
Credit: World Rally Championship (www.wrc.com)
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