Dealer
Ogier talks Rally Mexico
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Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have won Rally Mexico four times, but their start to this year’s event was stalled last night when the opening street stage in downtown Guanajuato was halted when a purpose-built jump near the finish was found to be sending World Rally Cars into orbit.
The Citroën C3 crew, along with championship frontrunners Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Toyota) and Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai), were awarded a notional time based on that of Kris Meeke, the last driver to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and complete the test before it was stopped.
Before lift off, Ogier spoke at the pre-event press conference – and this is what he had to say.
Sébastien Ogier, you own four overall wins at this event, so you know what it takes to achieve success here. You will start third on the road on the opening day, probably the first time you have been in that position. How much of a difference do you think it will make? “It will feel good to have the lines in front of us. But we all know that, for every success you have, the next one will not come easily. You have to be good. There are many drivers here who target good results. For the rest of the season, it should be a good fight at the top. I have a good feeling and we did a good job on the test. Citroën always performed well here in the past here and it’s been working well.”
We see minimal changes to the route this year, however you mentioned yesterday that the surface has changed. Can you explain that a little more? “I feel that we have the same stages but the feeling is different. We have a lot of corrections in the notes from one year to another. They are small differences. I like to have precise notes and the lines in many corners and the rocks are not in the same place. Some roads may have been rebuilt and are nicer. And on others, there has been some rain and damage and there are ditches in some places. I expect some tricky sections, especially on Saturday. The rally could become rough with high temperatures. It will be very challenging.”
Citroën has won seven of the 14 events run here in México - good odds! How has the car felt on gravel? “The test went well. But it is always different when you actually come here. The car feels strong and so does the engine, even with the altitude. The grip level was slippery this morning. I was a bit surprised and we made some small adjustments. The speed was not too bad this morning. The shakedown does not mean much. We will see what we can do tomorrow. Friday is important in the fight for the podium.”
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia wear Stilo WRC DES Zero 8860 helmets.
