It has now been confirmed that Ogier has decided to enter the Herbst Rally, which takes place in Austria during the second week of October.
The asphalt rally will of course serve as a test event for Ogier ahead of the Central European Rally later in October.
Ogier’s decision clearly shows that the Frenchman is not prepared to leave anything to chance in the intense title battle. He will compete together with his co-driver Vincent Landais, driving Toyota’s Rally1 car.
The Herbst Rally is held close to the Czech border. Conditions are expected to be very similar to those awaiting competitors at the Central European Rally.
Ogier comes into the event with two consecutive WRC victories under his belt. He took wins in both Paraguay and Chile, climbing to the top of the drivers’ standings with a two-point lead over his Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans. Ogier will therefore likely benefit from an almost perfect road position for the third-to-last rally of the season, as he will be first on the road.
Ogier will now benefit from better preparation for the Central European round than his team-mates, as neither Evans nor Kalle Rovanperä, currently third in the championship, have a test rally lined up.
At the Herbst Rally there will be as many as two Rally1 cars in action, as Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux will also start the event held in northern Austria. Fourmaux has a busy schedule before the Central European Rally, as he is also competing this coming weekend in a warm-up event run alongside the Croatia ERC round.
The Central European Rally takes place from 16–19 October across the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany.
