Ogier secured his third victory of the season by winning in the heat of Rally Sardinia. It marked his fifth career win on the Mediterranean island. The French star also climbed to second place in the championship standings, though—according to the original plan—he is set to take an extended summer break after the upcoming Acropolis Rally in Greece at the end of June.
This time, victory in Sardinia came with a 7.9-second margin over Hyundai’s Ott Tänak. Ogier has twice in his career lost the win in Sardinia on the Power Stage by mere tenths of a second. It was nearly the case again on Sunday, when he overshot a corner and hit a tree.
Fortunately, he lost just a small amount of time, and his comfortable lead before the final stage was enough to secure the win.
“I think I gave a little bit of my pulse to the whole team. I just have to say sorry to the team for the stupid mistake in a poor spot that cost them a few points in the team championship. But I think overall, it’s still been a very strong weekend,” Ogier said.
The French champion explained that he didn’t panic, as he knew his lead was solid.
“That’s the way it is sometimes. I had this gap, which was manageable. Obviously, I was not pushing for the full points, but still, in the ruts you always need to fight. I got a little bit caught out by oversteer in a very tight corner,” Ogier explained.
“Then I felt it was going to be difficult to make the next one, so I preferred to make this little stop against the small bushes and go back.”
Ogier was particularly pleased with the fact that Toyota showed stronger pace compared to Hyundai than a few weeks earlier on the gravel of Portugal. While Ogier won in Portugal as well, that result came largely due to Tänak’s misfortune.
“For me it’s very satisfying, but also for the whole team. We were starting one, two, three here, but we managed to be P1, P3, and score a lot of points on Sunday as well by winning Super Sunday. After Portugal, where we were lacking a bit of performance compared to Hyundai, I think the team can be very proud of what they’ve done—without even testing,” Ogier praised.
“We managed to go in the right direction, and I think we all felt that the car was more enjoyable to drive this weekend, and the times came more easily. I’m very satisfied with that. After such a hot weekend, now it’s time to cool down and celebrate.”
