Toyota can count on New Zealand’s Ogier

Mathieu WARNIER, Media365, posted on Sunday, September 4, 2022 at 2:15 pm.

After participating in three rallies this season, Sebastien Ogier will be present at the start of Rally New Zealand scheduled for the end of September.

After the Monte Carlo Rally, Portugal and Kenya, it’s time for New Zealand. Sebastien Ogier, who is committed to a part-program with Toyota, confirmed on Sunday that he will line up at the start of the rally in Antipodes from September 29 to October 2 at the wheel of the GR Yaris Rally1. Rally New Zealand has been absent from the World Rally Championship calendar since Sebastien Loeb’s 2012 victory, and it was “on the top of the list of events” that the eight-time world champion wanted to participate in this season, which he did not. Only once, when he took second place behind his current boss, Gary Mate Latvala, in 2010. “The rally itself is really cool, it captivated. The roads are among the best in the world to gather. And I fell in love with the diversity and nature of the country.”

Auger: “It’s hard to think of going back to 2010”

Sebastien Ogier makes no secret of it, he has an ‘unfinished story in New Zealand’, twelve years after seeing what could be his first WRC victory slip away from him three times from the last special finish line. “It’s hard to think of going back to 2010, because I was looking for my first win. It’s always an important step in the career path. I was lucky enough to get my first win after three weeks in the Rally of Portugal, so I didn’t have to wait long,” Gabinse added. Although he hasn’t driven a Yaris since the end of last June, Sebastien Ogier intends to do his best to get a very good result, and he finished second in Monte Carlo. “I expect to be competitive and hope to make more gains in the future. The roads are charming for rallying in New Zealand. We don’t have that bend of the roads in Europe, with that fluidity. It is very attractive for a rally driver. As a result, Esapekka Lappi is giving way to the Frenchman for what will be Round One. Ten of the season.