Sébastien Ogier’s Rally de Portugal Notebook 🇵🇹
Fast-tracked into the world rally championship by Citroën, the now six-time world champion claimed his maiden WRC win in a C4 WRC at the 2010 Rally de Portugal. Having won the rally four times since then, this is also one of the events where he has enjoyed the most success.
On your first appearance at the event in 2009 in a C4 WRC, you showed genuine promise when running sixth overall on the opening leg, before making a mistake the next day…
“Yes, coming over a huge crest, I misunderstood a pace note and unfortunately turned the wrong way! But it’s true that I have always thought the roads on this rally were magnificent. At the time, the rally was held in the Algarve further to the south and I have to say I preferred the road surface there, which was more consistent. In 2015, the event became based in Porto, where the conditions are unfortunately very rough on the second runs. Having said that, the level of enthusiasm among the fans on the stages is unlike anywhere else and that’s good for the sport, so I guess I understand why the event was moved back to the north. With the change this year to the opening leg, which was previously the hardest of the three days on the cars, I hope that the roads will be smoother and faster.”
For a long time, this rally was famous for how the fans moved out of the way of the cars at the very last moment as they flew through the stages. Did you grow up watching footage and dreaming about racing here?
“When I was younger, the only rally that I really followed was Monte-Carlo. When I look at pictures from the past, it was undoubtedly impressive but in the end, I’m very glad I didn’t experience that. I’m pleased that we, both the fans and the crews, now enjoy improved safety thanks to all the efforts made since then.”
In 2010, following your performance in New Zealand, were you expecting to record your maiden win at the next round, in Portugal?
“We had certainly got to the point where we were close to winning, so of course I hoped that we would manage to do it as quickly as possible. However, it’s never all that easy to take the final step. Clearly, securing the win at this rally was a fairly important stage in my career. Afterwards, we kept on improving and making progress. Winning your first rally certainly takes some of the pressure off. You feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. So I have very fond memories of the way in which we managed to secure our maiden win.”
Was it your greatest win?
“I’m lucky in that I have quite a few great wins. It will always be a bit special as it was our first win and undoubtedly one of the most important too, because it enabled us to more relaxed about aiming higher.”
What is your favourite stage on the current itinerary?
“Fafe, in addition to its iconic status and the huge crowds that gather around the jump, is a magnificent stage in terms of driving too. It’s just that nowadays, we all know it by heart, so it tends to feel more and more like track racing than rallying.”
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