"
It won't be the same looking at MotoGP in the future
."
On
, Sébastien Ogier welcomed the departure of Valentino Rossi, who retired after his final grand prix in Valencia last Sunday.
This Sunday, it will be the Frenchman's turn to bid farewell to a discipline that he too will have flown over.
An unknown remains: will he be crowned world rally champion for the eighth time in his career?
Ogier advances to Monza, the scene of the twelfth and final round of the WRC season, with a comfortable 17-point lead over runner-up and teammate Elfyn Evans.
A lead acquired thanks to a consistency a bit more important than the Welshman (4 wins against 2 for Evans, 38 specials won against 32; 6 podiums each).
Enough to get the roller coaster?
The hunter has become hunted
First, it should be remembered that the Gapençais has an opposite comparative advantage to last year, where he was 14 points behind… on Elfyn Evans, who left at the worst of times, thus offering a seventh title to his rival.
The hunter has thus become the hunted.
“
The situation with the approach of Monza is more favorable than a year ago, now I have the cards in hand
, agrees Ogier.
But nothing is done, we have to stay focused.
"
Julien Ingrassia and Sébastien Ogier won the title during the ultimate rally, in Monza, in December 2020. Panoramic
Especially since the pressure has de facto changed sides. His Welsh runner-up, never titled, has certainly learned the lessons of the past and advances this time as an outsider, the feeling of having nothing to lose. "
We are the underdogs but Scott (Martin, his co-driver) and I will give the best of ourselves
," Evans warns.
Our approach is very simple: aim for the best possible result and see how it goes
. ” A scenario that had therefore smiled on Ogier last year. One thing is certain, a great battle is shaping up between the two protagonists from this Thursday,
shakedown
day
before the first specials on Friday. “
We can't wait to see a battle on equal terms between Sébastien and Elfyn to decide the title
Enthuses former driver Jari-Matti Latvala, now Toyota's Team Principal.
The der for Ingrassia, Sébastien Ogier's co-pilot
The Italian asphalt has everything of a warm welcome for the Toyota driver, who won there last year for his first visit, while a final stage in Monza had been added to compensate for the various defections. due to the pandemic.
This year, Monza is added to the calendar again as a replacement, this time for Rally Japan.
The equation is then very simple, Ogier must not concede more than 17 points to his rival, knowing that in the event of a tie, the Frenchman would end up world champion thanks to a larger nest egg.
Ogier dreams of a successful conclusion for his 168th WRC start (53 wins, 90 podiums) alongside his co-driver Julien Ingrassia, with whom he began his collaboration in 2006. Aged 41, Ingrassia announced that he would definitively withdraw from rallies, while Ogier (37) would continue to make a few appearances, without being able to hope to win the nine world titles of his illustrious predecessor, Sébastien Loeb.
"
The race for records has never been my career plan
," explained the person anyway, visiting the Figaro in December 2018, the day after his sixth coronation.
The other stake in the constructors' championship
This last dance thus takes on an otherwise more symbolic dimension for the duo: “
Certainly, this rally will really be the end of a sporting chapter for me and especially for Julien
¸ notes Ogier, very relaxed before this final outing with Ingrassia.
But that's not something that concerns me at the moment. I think this is the best way to prepare for this rally, so that I can give the best of myself, my eyes riveted on our goal of winning both titles.
"
Because in addition to the world title, Ogier and Ingrassia will make their contribution to the constructors' championship, owned for two seasons by rival Hyundai. At Monza, Toyota advances with a comfortable mattress 47 points ahead of the Korean manufacturer, and sees a second title in the 21st century, after 2018. A title that would allow the Japanese to better prepare for the transition to the hybrid era next year, where the cards could be reshuffled.
"
We are excited to go to Monza to bring back the three league titles, it has been our dream for a long time,
" said Latvala, the Toyota Team Principal.
This hat-trick (manufacturer, driver, co-driver) would be a first since the 1990s for the Japanese manufacturer, while in 2018 Sébastien Ogier was driving a Ford.
This would also validate the choice of the Finn as Team Principal, confirmed ahead of this 2021 season. “
It would be the perfect way to conclude this era of the rally car
,” concludes the Finn.
No doubt this title fight should start with Toyota's business.
