Ogier explains his accident in Stage 17 of CER

 

Sebastien Ogier says that he did not expect to be such a muddy corner at the spot he had the accident last week and feels very disappointed considering the results he delivered for Toyota on the last three WRC rounds.

The eight-time WRC Champion was leading Central European Rally from Stage 1 to 3 as he overshot a corner resulting in dropping to second overall while he made a mistake on the last junction of Stage 5. He managed to retake the lead in SS11 when Thierry Neuville had two spins there resulting in losing three positions and to being out of the podium places, but Ogier's first place was under threat by Ott Tanak as their gap was tiny at the end of Saturday. On Sunday, the Estonian stole the Ogier's lead at the end of the opening Sunday stage as the last one had a lock-up and went straight on a left hander, but he was entirely out of the battle for the win when he understeered and hit the trees just 600 meters into SS17, thus Tanak claimed his second victory of the season with Hyundai. Ogier was among the title contenders despite his part-time campaign and was chasing his ninth crown in World Rally Championship, but his lack of results have put him out of contention. Last but not least, it must be mentioned that CER was not included at Ogier's initial deal with Toyota for this year, but he had to take part in Central Europe since he has chances to fight for the championship and Kalle Rovanpera had already completed his partial programme with the Japanese team.

"I feel really very sorry for the team for what happened on Sunday", Ogier said. 

"In this penultimate stage the first corner going under the trees was much muddier than I anticipated and I just understeered wide and hit the tree on the outside. 

"The route note crews did not have the chance to pass through this stage before us so I didn’t have the information in my notes, but this is no excuse because I’m behind the wheel and the other drivers didn’t make the same mistake. 

"Right now I feel very disappointed, especially for the team because it could have been a strong weekend for us. 

"It's been three rallies in a row where we clearly have the speed but not the result at the end. 

"Thanks to Elfyn and Taka we still have a chance in the championship at Rally Japan and we will try our best again there".

Photo Credits: Toyota