Tuesday, 20th May 2008

JWRC points' leader learns valuable lessons.

Sebastien Ogier managed to secure valuable points on the Rally d'Italia Sardegna last weekend, the third round in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship category, despite having to retire on the opening day.

Ogier, who had dominated the first two rounds in the JWRC - winning in Mexico and Jordan, struggled for traction on the first leg and was running in fourth when he was forced out on the repeat run through Monte Corvos, SS4.

"On SS4, we came across another competitor parked up on the outside of a left-hand corner," the Frenchman explained.

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"To avoid hitting him, I dived to the left, but I cut the corner too much and picked up a puncture. I carried on for another kilometre or so like that, but then I hit a small wall and broke a steering rod. When we stopped to change the wheel and make repairs, we saw that a drive-shaft had popped out, so that was the end of our run."

Re-starting on day two in 13th place - having picked up 15 minutes worth of penalties - he had it all to do in his Citroen C2 S1600, but a mature approach saw him gradually climb his way up the leaderboard as others faltered, ending day two in eighth and then gaining more ground on Sunday, to finish up fifth.

The result ensured he pretty much maintained his dominant lead in the JWRC standings, with his 9 point lead reduced by just 1 point.

"The scenario of this rally was different again to what we experienced in Mexico and Jordan," reflected the Equipe de France FFSA-backed man.

"After our problems on Day 1, we really had to motivate ourselves to try to recover lost ground. It was important to finish in the points, which is what we ended up doing, and the final result isn't that bad for us at the end of the day. It's a good recovery.

"We learned a great deal over the three days, especially concerning the handling and set-up of our Citroën C2 Super 1600 and on the best way to approach difficult stages like these, but also on how to recover from what seemed to be a pretty desperate situation at one point.

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