Ogier has won two consecutive WRC events, climbing to second in the championship standings. As a result, many have begun to question whether he will really stick to his original plan of contesting only a part-time season now that a championship fight is back on the table.
One thing is certain: Ogier will not be competing in Rally Estonia in July. After Estonia, the championship continues in Finland before heading to South America with rounds in Paraguay and Chile.
So what’s your plan for the next rally?
“I know what is for sure and that is my original plan. The next one was Chile on that plan.. So at the moment, there is no different plan. At least I’ll have a bit of a break,” Ogier replied to RallyJournal.com.
In practice, the plan has been to take a break spanning three WRC rounds before returning at Rally Chile in mid-September. However, Ogier’s final remark about a “bit of a break” — along with his wording that “at the moment, there is no different plan” — raises questions. If he were to skip both July and August, it would amount to quite a lengthy absence in WRC terms.
After Chile, Ogier is expected to compete in the Central European Rally in October. The host city, Passau, is located close to Ogier’s hometown of Munich. It’s also likely that Toyota will want Ogier in action at its home event in Japan in November.
In any case, Ogier is now chasing his third consecutive rally win and fourth overall this season in Greece. Conditions are extremely punishing, with temperatures soaring above 40°C.
“I think now we have probably some of the hottest conditions we’ve been ever facing. I remember in Rally Jordan where it’s been very hot also, but I think it all depends about the speed you have in the stage. Then if it’s a bit technical and slow, it´s very difficult because you have very little airflow coming in the cockpit and then it’s tiring,” Ogier explained.
“I think tomorrow probably should be the hardest day with the stages being a lower level altitude and with higher ground temperatures.”
There’s little the team can do to ease the drivers’ suffering. Rally cars have no air conditioning, so crews simply have to endure the brutal environment.
“They can´t help a lot, but of course, we try to have as much airflow we can in the cockpit, but obviously nobody is having aircon. Sometimes the airflow feels like it’s a hairdryer. There is not so many miracles you can do. Let’s see how we survive tomorrow, but I’m quite sure it will be extreme,” Ogier said.
