Sébastien Ogier issued a storm warning – thrashed Hyundai’s WRC driver in test rally

Before the final three rounds of the World Rally Championship season, Ogier, who currently leads the standings, faced tough competition at the Herbst Rally, as Hyundai’s Rally1 driver Adrien Fourmaux also took part. The French drivers aimed to prepare for next weekend’s Central European round.

The Central European Rally will also feature special stages in Austria next week, with additional stages in Germany and the Czech Republic. This time, the duel between the Frenchmen ended in Ogier’s favour, as the veteran secured victory by 15.8 seconds over his compatriot.

At the halfway point of the rally, Fourmaux held a narrow lead, with both drivers setting two fastest times on the opening four stages. After that, however, Ogier pulled clear by setting the best times on all four afternoon stages.

“Fun time at Herbst Rallye preparing for CER next week. Interesting day to fine tune the set-up. Thanks to the organizers for a nice event and all the fans for the warm welcome!” Ogier said.

In the overall classification, third place and the fastest among the Rally2 cars was the host nation’s Hermann Neubauer, who beat Germany’s Björn Satorius – also driving a Toyota Rally2 car – by just under a minute. Third place went to Škoda driver Raimund Baumschlager.

The Central European Rally kicks off on Thursday with a shakedown stage, while the main competition begins on Friday morning. In total, there will be 18 special stages covering around 306 kilometres.

Ogier leads the World Championship by two points over his team-mate Elfyn Evans. Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä, meanwhile, trails the leader by 21 points. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak, in fourth place, is already 43 points behind Ogier.

Watch below a summary of the test rally featuring Ogier and Fourmaux.

Herbst Rallye, results: