The series’ newest event, Rally Paraguay, began in disappointing fashion for Ogier, as the Toyota star suffered a puncture on the second stage. The Frenchman lost over half a minute but refused to throw in the towel.
Ogier quickly battled his way back into contention for a podium. By Saturday evening, he had climbed into the rally lead after his team-mate Kalle Rovanperä ran into serious trouble.
Rovanperä suffered a puncture on the penultimate stage of the day, losing more than two and a half minutes. The Finn dropped from first place down to sixth overall.
Speaking after the day’s action, Ogier stressed that he never wants to inherit the lead because of his rivals’ misfortune.
“Unfortunately almost everyone in front got into some trouble at some point with punctures. Unfortunately for Kalle, it cost him even more than any other top driver,” Ogier said.
“That’s a bit of a shame that these kinds of things happen, but we have to deal with it at the moment and try to do what we can to avoid those kinds of issues,””he added, indirectly pointing towards WRC tyre supplier Hankook.
Ogier heads into the final day with a ten-second advantage over his compatriot Adrien Fourmaux. A fourth victory of the season would strengthen his position as one of the leading favourites for the world title.
“I think we can be satisfied for sure. Starting after stage two 40 seconds behind and being back in the lead now was a bit unexpected. But we never gave up, we kept pushing all the time, and now we got the reward for it,” Ogier concluded.
