Ogier had to start among the first cars on the road, but that hardly seemed to slow down the eight-time world champion.
Ogier won the rally and made history in the process. It was his fifth career victory in Sardinia – a feat no other driver has achieved.
Ogier is once again only contesting a partial WRC season, but as a “part-time driver” he is absolutely perfect for Toyota. Ogier has already claimed three wins this season and is impressively second in the drivers’ standings.
“Ogier showed once again that he can win even when starting among the first cars on the road, even though that is a major penalty in Sardinia,” Moya marvelled in an interview with Revistascratch.
Moya emphasises that Ogier is a completely exceptional talent, even when compared with the very best drivers.
“Ogier is an immensely skilled strategist and masters tyre management superbly. All tyre manufacturers agree that Ogier wears out tyres the least,” Moya praised.
“Back when I was at Volkswagen, I often compared how he finished a stage versus Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen – all had the same car and same tyres. Ogier always drove cleaner, tidier – he preserves his tyres better. That’s why he can sometimes choose a different tyre combination from the others. For example, on Sunday morning he set off with four soft tyres, Moya illustrated.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is also known for driving very fast and cleanly, but no one else manages tyres better than Ogier – at least in Moya’s view.
“Of course, it’s difficult to compare different cars – you can never be completely sure. But I would say that Ogier is still today the cleanest and most precise driver,” Moya concluded.
Luis Moya had a stellar co-driving career, winning 24 WRC events and two world championships (1990, 1992) alongside Carlos Sainz.
