Ogier tested on two types of roads: the morning section was slower and more technical, while the afternoon stage was much faster and filled with crests. Toyota moved its test area this year from Central Finland to Southern Savonia, giving Ogier the chance to drive on new roads.
“Feeling is pretty good in the car. I mean it’s a while now since the team is based in Finland. So I think the experience of driving this road for the team is pretty good. But we’re still always learning, still always trying new things,” Ogier told RallyJournal.com.
“And we came to this test with some new ideas from the team, and it seems to be quite interesting. So we will have to see during the week. I´m happy to be back on this fast road. It’s, for me, always magical to drive Finland stages. That’s probably the most beautiful stages for World Rally car.”
Ogier knows that everything needs to come together perfectly if he wants to fight for a second consecutive Rally Finland victory this weekend. In addition to his own teammates, he will likely face a strong challenge from Estonian Hyundai driver Ott Tänak, who has taken one win and three second places in the last four rallies.
“Definitely you need the confidence. You need to feel very good in the car, but yeah, hopefully we found it here and I can enjoy,” Ogier summarised.
“The win is always my target when I start to race. Of course I haven’t done Estonia. I mean, it’s similar profile with high speed stages. So it will be a challenge for me to straightaway be on the pace at the beginning of the rally. But I hope to find that. This test very close to the rally should help me a little bit to be as ready as we can, but you know last year, I had a pretty good feeling driving here and I was also doing some good times.”
Rally fans who followed Ogier’s test day were clearly impressed. Among the top drivers, Ogier has adapted best to the tyres of the new supplier Hankook. The French multi-time champion’s smooth and direct driving style suits the tyres better than that of Kalle Rovanperä, who has struggled on gravel all year.
Rovanperä tends to hurl the car into corners at high speed, causing Hankook’s tyres to lose grip and performance. Ogier’s approach, by contrast, matches the Korean rubber much more effectively.
“You could see Ogier’s pace from his very first run. Compared to Kalle, the difference is like night and day. Ogier is definitely the favourite this year,” one spectator commented from the roadside.
Rally Finland kicks off with the traditional Harju spectator stage on Thursday evening. The rally concludes on Sunday, featuring a total of 20 special stages.
