Sebastien Ogier’s season opening win was not as straightforward as it seemed
Yes, despite a development freeze imposed on his employers Volkswagen Motorsport, Sebastien Ogier won the season opening FIA World Rally Championship round. No, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion.
In fact, as the first day of the Monte Carlo Rally started amid the rain and the cold, it was former Formula 1 star Robert Kubica who had made a better call on tyres to lead the rally overall after the opening two stages.
The Pole’s eventual slip – albeit down to fourth and then to third – and retirement following a crash did little to dampen the hopes of rallying fans who felt a little ‘cheated’ after Sebastien Loeb announced a four-event campaign in his final WRC season last year.
The big clash between him and former Citroen teammate Ogier never materialized as the younger of the two Sebs romped home with the title.
Hyundai’s meticulous preparation ahead of this year’s factory campaign threatened to produce a bit of competition for Ogier as Citroen’s former number two driver Dani Sordo hovered in third and fourth place overall over the first four stages.
His retirement as well as that of Belgian teammate Thierry Neuville should rightly not be considered as a discouragement for fans of Hyundai, including those who may get a kick out of seeing an i20 tear it up on rally stages, as well as neutral rally fans.
There’s potential there for sure, for a stiff resistance to Ogier but conversely this could just be the season where the Frenchman silences the doubters who felt he triumphed last year against next to no competition.
His come-from-behind charge is definitely permissible as evidence to that effect.
Although realistically, motorsport fans in general are probably more likely to be excited at the prospect of Kubica living up to the prediction of his M-Sport team boss, who believes the pole will win a WRC event this year.
It has been the opinion of some that circuit racers, particularly those in open wheel series and championships like F1 are well equipped to excel in rallying due to excellent peripheral and long distance vision (a requirement in F1 where visibility is compromised).
It was a view challenged by Sebasten Loeb excelling while testing an F1 car around six years ago, but then entertained once more after Kimi Raikkonen produced some impressive drives during his two year WRC stint. The Finn was, however, nowhere near as committed to rallying as Kubica seems to be.
In fact, the reason why Kubica is even competing full time like this instead of in F1 is due to injuries sustained in a tarmac rally to his right hand.
He could have been a contender for an F1 title for sure, could he make it happen in WRC instead? It’s definitely worth following.
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