The Toyota driver is about to start his 200th World Rally Championship event. Until now, only Ogier’s former team-mate and current boss Jari-Matti Latvala had reached that landmark.
Ogier, 41, made his WRC debut in Mexico back in 2008. Since then, he has collected eight world titles, 65 rally victories and 112 podium finishes.
In the start statistics, Ogier is now just 12 rallies behind Latvala. In recent years he has competed as a part-time Toyota driver, but if he keeps up a similar schedule he could well catch Latvala next season.
“It’s kind of nice to still be here and, more importantly, still be competitive. So that’s why I’m still here,” Ogier said.
“I know that my boss Jari-Matti is very proud of his record of the most starts. So I think he’s starting to be scared that at some point I might have even more than him,” the Frenchman joked.
Latvala is not, however, the all-time WRC record holder for most starts. That distinction belongs to his former co-driver Miikka Anttila, with 220.
Other co-drivers to surpass 200 starts include Spain’s Marc Martí and Sweden’s Jonas Andersson. Scott Martin, co-driver to championship leader Elfyn Evans, will also reach the 200 milestone at next month’s Central European Rally.
Rally Chile begins on Friday with six special stages. The stakes are high, with four drivers – Evans, Kalle Rovanperä, Ogier and Ott Tänak – all fighting for the title and covered by just 18 points.
