Ogier came, saw and won in Portugal in May, and he will also be on the starting line this week in Rally Sardinia. In addition, Toyota has entered Ogier for the next WRC round in Greece, which will take place at the end of June.
The eight-time world champion is always a major asset for Toyota whenever he lines up at the start. In Sardinia, Ogier finished second last year, but he also holds victories from the 2021 and 2013-15 seasons.
Of course, Ogier also has bitter memories from Sardinia. Last year, he slipped to second place on the final stage after a puncture cost him time, allowing Ott Tänak to snatch victory by 0.2 seconds. In the 2018 season, Thierry Neuville beat Ogier on the final stage by a margin of 0.7 seconds.
“Our victory in Portugal is good motivation to keep working hard with the team in this busy period of rallies because we know that we can still improve,” Ogier says.
“Sardinia has always been a difficult challenge, one that it took me some years to master.”
Toyota drivers are in for a tough time on Friday, as Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanperä and Ogier will be the first cars on the road. They will face plenty of loose gravel to sweep.
“This year it can be even tougher for our team because we have the top three drivers in the championship and we will have the biggest job to sweep the road for our rivals on Friday,” Ogier summarizes.
“But I have good memories from our win in 2021 from first on the road and we know well that it’s a rally where anything can happen.”
Rally Sardinia gets underway in earnest on Friday. The event features a total of 16 special stages, covering approximately 320 kilometres in total.
