Ogier was chasing a strong result in Chile to keep himself in the championship fight. However, he made a critical mistake on the final stage of Friday morning, where he went wide in a corner.
Ogier’s Toyota suffered a puncture, and he stopped to change the tyre with his co-driver Vincent Landais on the stage. This cost him two minutes, and the Frenchman fell far behind the frontrunners.
One of the hottest topics from the opening day of Rally Chile has also been Ogier’s protest during interviews with the WRC Promoter. The French driver has made virtually no comments, which is a reaction to the suspended €30,000 fine he received after the previous round in Greece. The stewards judged that his comments had harmed the WRC.
After Friday morning’s stages, Ogier walked into the WRC Promoter’s TV interview and seemed to start things off in a cheeky manner. Ogier scratched below his eye calmly and for a prolonged period with his middle finger—this could easily be interpreted as the Frenchman flipping off the higher-ups at the governing body.
During the interview, Ogier did not discuss his morning’s issues but instead explained the reasons for his defiance.
“You realise that I don’t really want to talk today. We’ve been told that we shouldn’t at the moment. So, it’s not a fantastic reaction to do what I’m doing. It’s nothing personal against you, nothing personal against the fans,” Ogier said in the interview with seasoned rally reporter and commentator Rebecca Williams.
“I’m sorry about that. But we have very few tools we can use. So, today I don’t feel like talking, and I’m sorry for all the people who deserve better than this, but we’ve been told from the top of the FIA that we need to keep quiet. So, it’s a bit sad,” Ogier added.
In addition to Ogier, Hyundai’s Ott Tänak also kept his comments brief during the morning, showing support for his former teammate.
Toyota holds the top three spots in the rally after three stages. Elfyn Evans leads ahead of his Finnish teammates Kalle Rovanperä and Sami Pajari.
