Toyota’s French star wasn’t fazed by his third place on the road, setting strong times throughout Friday. After six stages, Ogier leads the rally – though the gap to Adrien Fourmaux in second is only 2.1 seconds.
Ogier admitted even he was a little surprised to be in the lead.
“Tonight was not really expected, so for sure we must be very pleased with that. We had a strong, consistent day and we even took the lead tonight with, I would call better tyre management probably in the afternoon.”
“Now it’s the best start position we could pick for tomorrow. The gaps are still very small. Adrien and Ott (Tänak) especially are very, very close. So for sure, tomorrow will be about trying to push us as much as today,” Ogier summed up.
Once again, Ogier nailed his tyre choice for the stages and managed tyre wear superbly. But according to the eight-time champion, there’s no special trick behind it.
“It’s just the driving style. It’s nothing special and no secrets. It’s been checked for years and there’s nothing up there. No secrets. Just trying to be a bit smoother than the others, brake and throttle application and steering application. And that’s it,” Ogier stated.
Despite many drivers suffering offs, Ogier claimed his day had been trouble-free.
“There’s always some risk but today felt really good. There was no moment in the car but you just need one to be out of the race. That means it’s never time to relax unless you have a very big lead. I like to be in this kind of battle and looking forward to tomorrow.”
