Ogier Notches Seventh Guanajuato Rally Mexico Victory
Sebastien Ogier (FRA) Vincent Landais (FRA) of Team TOYOTA GAZOO RACING WRT perform during the World Rally Championship Mexico. (Red Bull Content Pool Photo)
Sébastien Ogier added another record to his already impressive record by winning Sunday afternoon’s Guanajuato Rally México.
The Frenchman, who started the second rally of his part-time 2023 campaign, moved to the top of Mexico’s roll of honor with a record seventh win at the North American event, an accolade he previously shared with old foe Sébastien Loeb.
With a sizable 35.8 seconds remaining before the final stage, it was a relatively uncomplicated Sunday for the Toyota Gazoo Racing man.
He completed the remaining four speed tests with ultimate skill, earning maximum bonus points from the Wolf Power Stage, finishing 27.5 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville in the event where he made his FIA World Rally Championship debut in 2008.
“The car was great this weekend and it was a flawless rally for us and the team,” said Ogier, who now leads the drivers’ standings by three points over Neuville.
“Because I’ll be driving at the next rally, it’s important to start first there on the road and it was important to also get the points for the team,” he added, looking ahead to Rally Croatia.
Neuville’s tenacious spirit behind the wheel of his Hyundai i20 N captivated fans as he battled relentlessly with Ogier’s teammate Elfyn Evans. After starting the day 5.3 seconds back, Neuville closed the gap on the Welshman, who was hampered by a bent wishbone.
The Belgian’s persistence paid off as he overtook his rival in the final to finish second overall by just four tenths of a second and brought an exciting end to the four-day duel.
Kalle Rovanperä had trouble keeping up with the top trio and was content with a lonely fourth place overall in his Toyota. The defending champion continued to pull away from Hyundai’s Dani Sordo, who finished fifth, more than a minute back.
The rough gravel terrain took its toll on several of the leading Rally1 crews, with Gus Greensmith finishing a mighty sixth overall in his WRC2-spec Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Behind him were support category challengers Emil Lindholm and Oliver Solberg.
Ninth overall was the best Ott Tänak could achieve after a turbocharger failure cost the M-Sport Ford Puma driver more than 14 minutes on Friday morning, while WRC2 star Kajetan Kajetanowicz completed the top 10.
The WRC is back on tarmac for next month’s Rally Croatia, which runs from 20-23 April. The event will take place in the capital Zagreb.
Overall rating:
1. S Ogier / V Landais FRA Toyota GR Yaris 3 hrs 16 mins 9.4 secs
2. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N +27.5 sec
3. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris +27.9sec
4. K Rovanperä / J Halttunen FIN Toyota GR Yaris +1 min 55.3 sec
5. D Sordo / C Carrera ESP Hyundai i20 N +2min 58.8sec
6: G Greensmith / J Andersson GBR Škoda Fabia +12min 31.5sec
Driver Championship Points (after round 3 of 13):
1. S Ogier 56 points
2. T Neuville 53 points
3. K Rovanperä 52 points