However, the victory did not come in the way Ogier would have wanted. His teammate Kalle Rovanperä, who dominated the rally and led by a wide margin, went off the road in the second-to-last special stage of the day and had to retire.
“I can’t really smile today. This was a very sad day for our team and especially for Kalle and Jonne,” Ogier said.
“They would have deserved to win today. They were incredibly fast all weekend. Unfortunately, motorsport can be quite cruel sometimes,” Ogier continued.
Ogier also has a bitter experience this season, having lost in Sardinia by a dramatic 0.2-second margin to Ott Tänak. However, the Frenchman at least finished second and brought good points to his team. Rovanperä got nothing this time.
“The consequences were much harder for them. And not just for them, but also for our team. This turned out to be a really bad weekend for us, even though we were supposed to take a good step forward this weekend. But there are still races left, and we have to try to turn things around again,” Ogier said.
Ogier has often been talked about as not being able to win fast gravel rallies. Now he was once again able to prove the doubters wrong, but even that did not bring much comfort to Ogier.
“Kalle was definitely in a class of his own this weekend. But we didn’t drive badly either. I’m quite satisfied with my overall performance. Maybe this statistically corrects the win I lost in Sardinia,” Ogier pondered.
“But of course, winning in Finland always means more than other victories. I’ve become a team player and I’m sad for the team. They deserve better,” Ogier said.
In terms of atmosphere, Rally Finland will remain memorable for Ogier. Toyota received tremendous support from the home crowd throughout the weekend.
“I think quite a few people are very sad here now, but at least we got the victory. It’s better than nothing,” Ogier said and ended by speaking some Finnish.
“Thank you all!”, Ogier said in Finnish.
