Sebastien Ogier once again reminded everyone of his class while contesting a partial World Rally Championship campaign for a second successive season.
The eight-time champion added to his glittering career statistics by claiming record-breaking ninth and seventh wins in Monte Carlo and Mexico respectively. Ogier even led the championship after his Mexico triumph, despite sitting out Sweden in between.
A third win arrived in Kenya after overcoming several challenges, the Toyota driver describing it as a “hell of a fight”, and Ogier could have easily added two more to his tally given he was leading in Sardinia when he crashed out, and in Greece before breaking his suspension.
How impressive was Ogier in 2023?
There is no hiding away from the fact that Ogier had road position advantages in 2023 courtesy of his part-time campaign, but the Frenchman more than made the most of them with impressive pure pace.
Road position wasn’t always an advantage though. An unseasonably dry Monte Carlo meant roads became more polluted from cuts, yet Ogier commandingly swept to yet another victory at the WRC’s blue riband event.
He would have received some benefit from starting fifth on the road in Mexico, but again Ogier still had to preform to the highest level to claim an impressive victory. However, in Sardinia the road position advantage was much less starting third. But Ogier was still able to boss proceedings before sliding off in tricky wet conditions.
But perhaps the best indicator of how impressive Ogier’s season was arrived in Kenya. The harsh African rally threw everything at him, as Ogier suffered a loss of hybrid power, three punctures, a run-in with a tree and a broken windscreen. Yet still he held off a charging Rovanpera to score one of the most impressive wins of his career.
"I feel I had the potential to achieve even more, but I’m happy with the job I delivered and the pace I had" Sebastien Ogier
“I’m happy in a way and still a bit disappointed in the other way,” said Ogier when reflecting on his season. “I feel I had the potential to achieve even more, but I’m happy with the job I delivered and the pace I had.
“I just feel with a little bit more luck I could have had more podiums and actually more wins, but that is the way it is in the sport. I think the most important thing is that I’m still able to deliver strong results and therefore I’m happy and I think the team is as well.”
