Sebastien Ogier says that it is not Pirelli's fault referring to the fact that he lost the win of Rally Italia Sardegna in Powerstage and that he will have a discuss with Toyota as he believes that his problems were due to the wheel.
The Frenchman was fighting with Ott Tanak until the end of Saturday morning when the last one decided to have a safe approach after Thierry Neuville's retirement in Stage 8, therefore Ogier managed to extend further his lead at the end of Saturday. However, Tanak cut Ogier's lead from 17,1 to 6,2 seconds after the end of Stage 15 as his target was to score some points from SuperSunday standings while Ogier was managing his gap on Sunday. A puncture hit Ogier three kilometers before the end of Powerstage resulting in dropping 6,4 seconds compared to Tanak and eventually losing the win for 0,2 seconds in Sardinia. Apart from the fact that he was very close in breaking another record in WRC, Ogier would have claimed his third victory of the season with Toyota if he did not suffer from a puncture on the final stage of Rally Sardinia. Finally, it must be mentioned that he lost the lead of the rally again as the rear right tyre was off the rim in Stage 5.
"It was a big pressure over the head, of course", Ogier said.
"It was hard to accept again after two cases in a puncture where, I mean, it’s not Pirelli’s fault, I have to say it.
"It’s the wheel’s fault.
"It’s too weak and just a little bit bent inside.
"I didn’t even feel the impact, to be honest.
"Just on the line and then it’s made a small hole inside the wheel and then slowly losing the air.
"I’m sure it’s something we need to investigate with the team because, I have to be honest, Pirelli did a good job in the last months now and improved a lot their products.
"I think they are on a good level now, and the problem is coming from our side.
"And that’s something that happened already a couple of times to us that needs to be improved".
Source: DirtFish.com
Photo Credits: Toyota
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