Sebastien Ogier has revealed that a puncture contributed to his final stage roll at the Acropolis Rally that has “put ourselves in a bad position” in the World Rally Championship title battle.
The eight-time world champion appeared on course to finish second behind eventual winner and title rival Thierry Neuville before crashing out on the rally-ending Power Stage that halted any hopes of claiming Super Sunday points.
Ogier managed to repair damaged suspension incurred to his GR Yaris in the accident and was able to eventually nurse the car home to claim 13 points after ending Saturday sitting in third position.
When asked to explain what happened on the final stage, he said: “There were rocks everywhere in this one, and I knew it and this one I hit is a place where you have to go in the cut which is full of rocks and it is matter of centimetres if you hit the right one or not.
“The time that I realised I had a puncture at the next braking I didn’t anticipate it enough and it is quite a high speed section per a crest. I couldn’t brake and I understeered and I ended up rolling.
“Luckily I managed to fix the car because it was not looking so good and one wheel was nearly off and I was not confident I could fix it. But it worked so I could recover what I could for the team.
“At the end I have no problem to take the responsibility of this crash after the puncture and not being able to react quickly enough and stop and change this puncture.”
Sébastien Ogier, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Photo by: Toyota Racing
Ogier had led the rally heading into stage five when a turbo failure cost him more than two-and-a-half minutes, ending his victory hopes. The part-time driver, who wasn’t expected to fight for the title, was Neuville’s nearest rival in the championship [27 points adrift], but now finds himself 38 points in arrears.
“It [the title hopes] wasn’t looking really good before now and it is not going in the right direction that is for sure,” he said.
“That is not a big deal for me, it was something that popped up and I said ‘let’s see what happens this weekend’, which would be a weekend where the luck factor would play a big role.”
He added: “Obviously the last two events have been hard on the team, especially on Sunday, which these days is crucial, which means we lost ground and put ourselves in a bad position for the championship.”
Ogier fined €30,000 for stage end…
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