ogier was surprised to win in japan

The Frenchman took control of the Sapporo-based event on the final day, wresting the lead from Petter Solberg who had led for much of Friday and Saturday despite suffering from the flu.

Despite having won the event, Ogier admitted he wasn’t a big fan of the soft nature of the roads on Hokkaido.

“It wasn’t like in New Zealand,” said Ogier. “On that event I got there and it was a real pleasure for me to learn to drive those roads and to push harder. Here in Japan, I didn’t like the surface and the road so much, it was harder: on day one I could only think to the podium, that was all I was driving for.”

When Ogier found his rhythm on the roads, he was able to speed up and push Solberg harder at the front of the field. He then realised victory was possible and collected his second success of the season with a commanding performance through the final day.

“Maybe I am surprised,” he said. “But I am happy to be surprised. When I came, I said it was not the kind of road I prefer and I expected the difficult weekend. But we learn quite quickly and at the end it’s a very good weekend.

“To have the first win in the official team is a very special feeling for me. But when you are in a fight with Petter, it’s never easy. On the final morning, we had to take big risks. I knew it would be stupid to retire and not take any points for the team or for me, but you had to push when you are against Petter and Mikko [Hirvonen].”