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Frenchman closes on the title - no, not that one...
This time last year Sebastien Ogier was busy making his name in the realms of French national rallying. On the verge of winning a prestigious one-make title, the one-time ski instructor could have no idea what the next year would bring.
Fast-forward 12 months and the 24-year-old stands on the verge of greatness. He stands on the verge of his first World Rally Championship title.
Salou could be a memorable place for Ogier come Sunday afternoon, if the Citroen C2 Super 1600 driver bags his fourth win from five starts and his fellow competitors play their part. For the FFSA-backed Ogier to become the first Frenchman to win the Junior World Rally Championship since Brice Tirabassi in 2003, he needs 10 points.
If he does that, it doesn’t matter what second-placed Shaun Gallagher does - he can’t beat Ogier; Aaron Burkart (Citroen) needs to non-score while Suzuki’s leading driver Michal Kosciuszko needs to be seventh or lower. It’s a toughie. The most likely of all of those variables is an Ogier win. Burkart tends to run better on asphalt and Kosciuszko hasn’t been off the podium on the three rounds he’s finished. Maybe this one will go down to the wire a week later in Corsica. If it does, it’s likely to be an Ogier procession.
Ogier has been the class of the field in a similar sort of a way to Sebastien Loeb’s 2001 Super 1600 Championship success. Parallels between the two are always going to be drawn, it’s inevitable. With that in mind, Ogier must be super-keen to win the last two rounds of the season - a feat which would equal Loeb’s record of five wins in a season in the 1600cc category.
Ogier’s run into next week’s Rally Catalunya, an event that’s likely to be the biggest event of his life, couldn’t have been better. He subbed for an injured Simon-Jean Joseph on the Ulster Rally in August and dominated his class on, what were for him, previously unseen and notoriously tricky Northern Irish lanes. After that, he screamed back through the field to come from last to ninth overall on the Corte Rally in Corsica earlier this month. That comeback drive on a round of the Corsican Championship ranks as one of Ogier finest drives - and it bodes well for the two tar rounds to come.
In the face of all the hype, Ogier remains his usual calm, collected and self-effacing (more Loeb analogies...) self. “It’s hard not to think of the title,” Ogier said. “But I’m trying, really trying to focus on one rally at a time. This is what I have to do. It has been a fantastic season, yes, of course it has, but I have to still make some more work. The job is not finished yet.” But surely, it’s only a matter of time.