Toyota secured the manufacturers’ title already at last week’s Central European Rally. There are still two rounds remaining this season, but Toyota has pulled out of Hyundai’s reach.
Ogier did not enjoy the best of runs on the Central European asphalt event, as he was forced to retire after going off the road. However, in his other outings this year, the French ace has been in sensational form: from nine rallies, he has collected five victories and eight podium finishes in total.
It is also worth noting that Ogier – who skipped three events this year – has delivered more points for Toyota than his team-mates Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä, against whom he also competes in the manufacturers’ battle. Ogier has contributed 232 points to Toyota’s tally, Evans 192 and Rovanperä 183.
Toyota’s season as a whole has been nothing short of remarkable.
“It’s hard to pick up a highlight when the team have won 11 of the last 12 races. So I think it’s definitely better for the blood pressure that it happened in that way. But I can still remember the emotion we had last year in Japan that felt really amazing,” Ogier said, referring to the moment when Toyota sealed the manufacturers’ crown on the final stage of last season’s Rally Japan.
It has become more of a rule than an exception that Toyota have left Hyundai in their wake in the fight for the manufacturers’ World Rally Championship. Nevertheless, Ogier values this year’s title very highly.
“We are always very egoistic as drivers. But I still rate this day one of the best in my career in terms of emotion. So that’s what it means for me to be part of this team and to achieve this kind of team effort.”
“This year, journalists tell me it felt a bit like easy to win this year. But it’s never easy to achieve this kind of success, especially at high level. There might be not too many teams or not as many teams as we would like in this championship. But still, the competition is very intense.”
Toyota’s drivers will now fight among themselves for the drivers’ title in the final two rounds. Evans leads the battle by 13 points over both Ogier and Rovanperä.
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“We have a fantastic pair of drivers here and I think the excitement will still be there in the last races, now for the drivers’ title. But now we can be proud of this achievement as a team. It’s five in a row now. So that’s quite something,” Ogier stated.
“We have recently broken the record for the most wins in the championship, and I think we should be in a good position to try to raise the bar as high as possible.”
The penultimate round of the World Rally Championship season will take place in two weeks’ time at Rally Japan.
