Ogier to do it for the fans

Sebastien Ogier says the support he gets from the French fans is one of the best things about competing on his home round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Ogier won Rallye de France Alsace last season but won’t be able to defend his crown this season due to his Super 2000-specification Skoda Fabia packing less punch than the pacesetting World Rally Cars he and co-driver Julien Ingrassia will be up against.

Nevertheless the Volkswagen Motorsport pilot, who is hard at work developing the German firm’s new Polo R WRC for its competition debut in 2013, is excited by the prospect of competing on the Strasbourg-based round from 4-7 October.

“It’s always a nice event to go to and usually we have a lot of spectators here,” said Ogier. “There were so much spectators here last year and it’s always nice for a drive to have a lot of support, especially from the French fans. We won’t be able to battle for overall victory with our Skoda Fabia but will of course be giving our best to provide the team with [as much experience] for next year as possible.”

Despite being a regular in the top 10 this season, Ogier admits repeating the feat in France will be a tall order. “It’s always difficult to predict the result with this car,” said the 28-year-old. “Again I will try to be first in my category.”