Watch out, preserves. Two months after adding a ninth Monte-Carlo to his collection, Sébastien Ogier this Sunday became the first driver to win seven times in Mexico, bettering the record he shared with Sébastien Loeb, invincible in Mexico between 2006 and 2012. Three-time winner with Volkswagen, the Frenchman has a fourth consecutive success between 2013 and 2015 after those of 2018 (Ford), 2019 (Citroën) and 2020, with the Toyota Yaris already.
« I am proud of that, I dedicate this victory to my friend Tim who recently passed away Ogier declared on arrival, with a moving thought of former German pole vaulter Tim Lobinger, who died of cancer last month aged 50.
The second Friday night, at the end of a day in which Ott Tänak had been relegated to the bottom of the standings after a turbo problem, Ogier had taken the lead Saturday morning after going off the road from Esapekka Lappi, whose Hyundai had an electric pole.
From then on, the eight-time world champion was content with his lead over the Evans-Neuville duo, until the Power Stage where the Frenchman picked up the pace to disgust the competition by setting the fastest time. A demonstration that will allow Ogier to take the lead in the 2023 World Championship despite his deadlock in Sweden! ” I’m in the next round (in Croatia, next month) that is on asphalt and it is always better to be first on the road on this surface ‘ he appreciated.
Behind the untouchable Ogier, Neuville emerged victorious from his duel with Evans, handicapped by a shock absorber problem this Sunday, by 0”4. The Belgian is second in the championship, three points behind Ogier and one point ahead of Kalle Rovanperä. All weekend in, the reigning world champion finished fourth, nearly two minutes behind Ogier. Leading the championship for this event, but delayed by a broken turbo on Friday, Ott Tänak finished ninth in the rally and occupied fourth place in the championship, five points behind Rovanperä.
Stopped by a mechanical problem from the start on Friday and then by a broken shock absorber on Saturday, Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport-Ford) finished very far. Long battling for the podium in WRC2, a category ultimately dominated by Britain’s Greensmith (Skoda), Adrien Fourmaux saw his chances of success disappear this Sunday due to a technical problem. A race to forget for M-Sport.