Insatiable, Sébastien Ogier offers himself “with tears in his eyes” a record 8th Monte-Carlo Rally

Winning on Toyota the 89th edition of the famous rally, which celebrated behind closed doors because of the Covid-19 the 110th anniversary of its creation, the 37-year-old French driver now exceeds his compatriot Sébastien Loeb (7), nine-time champion of world.

For his last full season in the WRC, Ogier sent a strong signal to the competition by winning 8 of 14 special stages. He relegated his teammate to Toyota but nevertheless main rival Elfyn Evans at 32.6 seconds and Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai ), 3rd, more than a minute away by winning the last “Power Stage” special and his additional points in the championship.

Ogier should not have been there, however: he had announced a year ago that 2020 would be his last season.

But the pandemic has changed his plans, and less than two months after beating the same Evans in Monza (Italy) to claim his 7th world title, the Frenchman has propelled himself to an 8th coronation.

"The right decision"

Sebastien Ogier

“I'm super happy, the car was great, it was really fun.

I almost have tears in my eyes, I think it was a good decision to do another year! ”He declared before the Marseillaise on the podium alongside his co-driver Julien Ingrassia.

The native of Gap, the fastest on his land, was able to stay the course to afford his 50th WRC victory, despite brake problems on the first day Thursday, a puncture and a spin on Friday or even "the special most slippery of (his) career ”Saturday.

In the standings, the Finnish hope of Toyota Kalle Rovanperä, 20, and the Spaniard of Hyundai Dani Sordo complete the top 5. Among the manufacturers, Toyota, ahead of Hyundai, which lost Ott Tänak, 2019 world champion, on retirement. after punctures, and M-Sport Ford, which saw Teemu Suninen crash off the road on Thursday.

Closed door and express route 

In the current context, the crews could never have seen Monaco.

But against all odds, or rather against pandemic and bad weather, the Monte-Carlo was maintained.

Fans were asked to watch their favorite race on TV, which normally offers scenes of jubilation on the side of the roads, and the night events took place ... before dawn, to respect the curfew in in force at 6:00 p.m. in France.

The "Monte" also found itself with the shortest route in its history, 257 km, and deprived of its monument, the Col de Turini, after the storm Alex which had killed several people in October and devastated valleys.

Failing that, the pilots were entitled to Sunday at the Saint-Raphaël pass, in the Préalpes d'Azur, messy hairpins and changing conditions between snow, ice and asphalt: everything that makes the salt of the oldest rally.

Thierry Neuville, winner last year but who has just replaced his ten-year-old co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul, gained confidence over the weekend to finish on the podium with two specials won.

The other Frenchman entered in the WRC Pierre-Louis Loubet, 23, left the road on Friday, nevertheless joined the arrival of his first “Monte-Carl '”, but far behind.

Also tricolor hope, Adrien Fourmaux, 25, finished in 9th place overall and in 2nd place in WRC2, an elite antechamber.

Twelve races are on the program this year, the next being the Arctic Rally (February 26-28) in northern Finland for a 100% snow-covered event on the edge of the Arctic Circle.

Read also

• A Monte-Carlo with a curfew sauce