Toyota driver Ogier was initially set to compete in only about half of this year’s events. However, the French star has achieved outstanding results – three victories and three second-place finishes – and almost stealthily, he has found himself in the hunt for this year’s world championship.
Following his strong performance at the Rally Finland in early August, Ogier announced that he intends to participate in all remaining rounds of the season to pursue his ninth championship title. The Frenchman currently sits second in the championship standings, 27 points behind Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville.
You can check the current WRC standings here.
On Wednesday, Ogier conducted his pre-Acropolis Rally testing in Greece, where he aims to close the gap on Neuville’s championship lead in a couple of weeks.
Watch the videos of Ogier’s test below.
“Summer break is over,” Ogier’s co-driver Vincent Landais mentioned in his own post.
While there is plenty of content from Ogier’s test day on social media, the situation is quite different for Neuville. Neuville also completed his pre-Acropolis Rally testing on Wednesday.
Hyundai began their testing programme on Monday, meaning the team’s trio of drivers – Neuville, Ott Tänak, and Dani Sordo – have now completed their tests. However, unusually for today’s social media-driven world, very little material from Hyundai’s tests has been shared online.
Neuville did post an Instagram story from his service area on Wednesday morning and, at the end of the day, shared a photo of himself sweaty and still in his racing suit.
For reasons unknown, Hyundai has managed to keep their testing activities under a tight veil of secrecy. While this might not necessarily indicate anything special, it is indeed a rare occurrence in today’s world.
Toyota’s preparations continue for one more day as Elfyn Evans conducts his test.
The Acropolis Rally is scheduled for 5th-8th September.
