Q&A with Sébastien Ogier

Citroen Total World Rally Team’s Sebastien Ogier scored the fifth victory of his World Rally Championship career with first place on the Acropolis Rally in Greece today, the scene of his first podium finish at world level two years ago.

He explains how he fought back into contention on the demanding gravel rally and what it means for the rest of the season.

How do you feel after winning your third world championship rally of 2011?

“I am very happy. It has been a perfect rally because we got the victory and the three points on the Power Stage so it has been a perfect weekend.”

You struggled to make an impact at the start. What was wrong?

“The start was not easy and it was difficult to find a perfect rhythm with my driving. I was also quite sick because I did not drink enough [water] during the first loop. But finally it came right.”

How did you get back into contention?

“We pushed quite hard to come back in the lead and we have done some strategy during this weekend. But it’s part of the regulation actually and I think that helped me to win the rally.”

A lot has been said about road position tactics. How does that make you feel?

“The regulation is like this. As it’s close between everybody we have to use everything to try to win. Okay it’s not very good for the sport but it’s like that actually and for me it’s normal to do this. I think everybody in my situation would do the same. Next year will be better with the new regulation.”

You didn’t make up so much time this morning but then you made up a lot of time in the afternoon. What was the difference?

“The main difference was my driving. This morning I push but not to the maximum and not enough compared to Sebastien [Loeb] who was pushing very hard and the cleaning was a bit less than we expected. This afternoon we had to really push hard to catch him. Also we had more of an advantage because maybe the road cleaning was better.”

How important was this win after your mistake in Argentina when you dropped out of the lead on the final morning?

“It was nice to come back like this after the disappointment in Argentina. Okay I can’t forget it because I could be even better in the championship but still there are six races to go and everything is possible.”

You are edging closer to Mikko Hirvonen who is currently in second position in the drivers’ championship. It all looks good for your championship challenge...

“It’s looking not good but not so bad and better than at the start. Still we are 22 points behind Seb. Okay we are closer to Mikko but the target is not Mikko, the target is Seb because he is the leader actually. We will try to continue like that and put the pressure on him and we will see.”