Before Saturday’s special stages, Ogier is in third place, just 6.6 seconds behind the leading duo. The joint leaders are Ogier’s teammate Elfyn Evans and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.
In the morning, Ogier suffered due to his starting position, and perhaps the long break from driving was evident in his performance. However, in the afternoon, the Frenchman perked up and set a blistering time on the day’s final stage, almost ten seconds faster than anyone else.
“I don’t know what happened, but it’s a very positive one for us. It put us back in the fight. So obviously, we are happy with it,” Ogier said.
“Honestly, I didn’t do anything really different than the rest of the day. I really pushed quite hard all day and I’m quite satisfied with my drive and with the car as well.”
Ogier noted that the biggest difference earlier in the day was indeed the starting position.
“The feeling was good and it was really good fun to drive. But yeah, we knew the start position would cost us. Sometimes it did in the morning and, unfortunately, again in the afternoon with a bit of bad luck, again with the weather.”
Saturday’s stages are forecasted to have rain, which will add an extra layer of challenge.
“I think it’s the start of a new rally tomorrow. Today was not easy but tomorrow should be even harder,” Ogier considered.
“That’s rally, you know. Rally is constant adaptation to new conditions and new elements. That’s never easy, especially as we haven’t really prepared for this condition here. We have been testing in 30 degrees plus very sunny weather, and tomorrow will be cold, wet, and very low grip,” Ogier summed up.
It is clear that careful attention must also be paid to car setup as conditions change dramatically.
“So for sure, there are some adjustments that need to be made with the setup. And it’s never super easy to do that when you haven’t really tested it.”
