OGIER MASTERCLASS IN FRANCE
M-SPORT STAR TAKES TOUR DE CORSE
From the outside it’s a bland, beige, unbranded container at the side of the runway at Bastia airport. Inside? It’s the nerve centre of Sebastien Ogier’s tilt at a sixth straight World Rally Championship title.
The M-sport Ford World Rally Team is surrounded by swankiness: the brains behind Citroen’s operation look down on the Cumbrians from first floor hospitality; Hyundai’s triple-level facility can top that; Toyota has spread its sparkle and shine far and wide across one level.
Yet they all trail a crew guided by 12 men packed inside that dull container. The plush race truck that once offered engineers and senior team personnel their own desks, darkened windows and climate control has gone. Sold.
Team principal Malcolm Wilson and his deputy Rich Millener are perched on the same corner of a work bench. “The struggle’s real,” Millener smiled thinly.
For the first time, Motorsport News was given access to this inner sanctum for the Tour de Corse last weekend. Ordinarily, such areas are a strict no-go to those further down the food chain. Only two rallies ago, M-sport’s container door was kept firmly shut as plans were laid to tactically stall Ogier’s start to the Rally Sweden powerstage.
But last Sunday, we were allowed in to watch the morning’s 34-mile run from Vero to Sarro-carcopino, just inland from Corsica’s west coast.
With Ogier starting the final day 44 seconds clear of his nearest rival, the season’s longest stage so far wasn’t quite as critical as it might have been. Regardless, the process was the same and silence descended as the start time approached. M-sport’s second factory Ford Fiesta WRC – the all-welsh version of Elfyn Evans and his stand-in co-driver Phil Mills – arrived at the line on their way to the finish of a fine first outing together.
The arrival of WRC All Live and coverage of every stage of every rally has transformed these command centres. Before this year, the vast majority of stages were nervously consumed via split-time displays and a tracking system plotting the cars’ progress as dots on a screen. But now, it’s wall-to-wall telly with nowhere to hide.
The cars moved into the stage and the only discussion in the container was the brief confirmation of split times, with Wilson noting an early charge from Ott Tanak, the Estonian formerly of these parts. Evans’ progress was plotted positively against Hyundai’s Dani Sordo – the Spaniard with whom he was vying for fifth.
In terms of footage, the teams get the general feed beamed around planet Earth, they don’t have tailored coverage showing only their own cars. I wonder if that’s frustrating?
“I’ll be honest,” smiled Wilson, “we’re sometimes a bit happier when it’s not our cars on screen!”
There was no doubting a nervier edge to the atmosphere when a Fiesta onboard filled the screen. Every kerb looked closer, every gear change more laboured. And that noise… did anybody hear that change in the engine note?
The camera cut to Esapekka Lappi pulling over to change a puncture. Immediate calculations were made to consider the implications on the road, should the Finn be delayed and come out in front of an M-sport car. He didn’t.
A fraction over 34 minutes after the lights went green for Ogier, his co-driver Julien Ingrassia pushed a button on his side of the car.
“Stage clear for Julien,” said the fivetime world champion co-driver. M-sport’s Iain Tullie responded: “Time for Julien: 34, zero, zero point four.”
And relax. For now. “That’ll do,” smiled Wilson. “One down, one to go.”
Just over two hours later, the second Sunday run was done and Ogier, Ingrassia and the British team celebrated its third win from four starts. Last season a fifth title was secured with just two wins from 13 events. It’s difficult to imagine a better start to 2018.
M-sport was missing some pace at the end of last season, with Hyundai looking stronger than ever, but now there’s even less doubt about which of the WRC’S big four has wintered well.
“It’s true,” said Ogier, “we were missing something at the end of last year. We made a step [last time out] in Mexico and another here. But it’s not perfect yet, there’s always more to do – don’t tell the team it’s perfect. We have to keep pushing.”
Ten days out from last week’s Tour de Corse, at the pre-event test, M-sport’s head of rally engineering Chris Williams had a fair idea they were on the right road.
“My comments [to Chris] were a bit more positive than normal after the last test,” admitted Ogier.
Corsica and the first asphalt encounter of the season offers a real indication of who’s where with their car. If it’s bone dry, you’ll have a fair idea of which engine’s pulling the best, mixed conditions demonstrate a car offering the best feedback to fill a driver with confidence, while full wet shows who’s got what in terms of traction.
Ogier was sublime on a changeable day one and even better through a dry weekend. Admittedly, running at the front of the field on the cleanest road first time through Friday’s stages offered a small advantage, but rivals who pointed to that were clutching at straws. Blown away by Citroen in Corsica 12 months ago, the French Fiesta left the rest for dead last week.
“Seb’s very direct in what he wants and we’ve spent time working towards what he wants,” said Williams. “We have one or two small pieces that are new, but it’s all fine-tuning. We made a step forward with damping, the geometry’s slightly different.”
Demanding drivers are nothing new to Williams, who cut his teeth at the sport’s highest level with Carlos Sainz.
“Working with Carlos was pressure,” he said. “He was a workaholic. All the time: push, push, push. Even when the other guys were testing, he was straight on the phone as soon as they had finished: ‘What have they been doing? What have you tested?’ When we first tested the Escort [WRC in 1996], he didn’t get out of the car and if he thought you were taking too long working on the car between runs he started beeping the horn and shouting: ‘Come on, I want to go!’”
Williams is typical of the M-sport hardcore: he’s been there and seen it all. But none of them have seen anything like the sort of dominance being generated right now.
And that brings us right back to that beige container.
Well known for running the tightest of ships, it’s no coincidence that as Wilson trims the niceties, the car’s getting quicker. And as the car gets quicker, Ogier relaxes and drives faster still.
From the moment Ogier arrived at Volkswagen in 2012 to the moment of his dieselgate-enforced departure four titles later, he wanted for nothing with the German manufacturer. He was comforted and cosseted at every turn. M-sport was always going to be different. The Gap star quickly learned to live without his own space in the team’s hospitality, but a lingering doubt remained about longer-term development and the required budget to tailor the Fiesta to him. Those doubts have gone.
That was evidenced in Mexico last month. Starting the powerstage a minute ahead, how much would Ogier risk a bankable 25 points for a potential bonus of five. Time after time in the Polo he delivered the perfect weekend, something he’s yet to do with the Fiesta. In Mexico he came within 0.4s of a perfect 30 points (before being penalised for clipping the chicane). And in Corsica, there was even more proof of a driver in complete harmony with the machine and team around him.
Williams has seen that from the inside: “He is more at home with us now. He knows we’re very focused on him and winning the championship with him again.”
Wary that such talk might tempt the slightest complacency, Ogier steers clear.
“It’s difficult to compare the teams and the cars,” he said, “but it’s sure that it’s coming better and better with M-sport. But, you know…”
Yeah, we know – there’s always room for improvement.
The team’s heard this one time and again before. And they’re not going to stop hearing it any time soon.
Not that they need to be told. The drive, push and passion for back-toback success is as strong as ever behind those beige walls.
SS1 La Porta-valle di Rostino 1 (30.47 miles) Ogier 31m53.8s Leader Loeb +9.7s
Fastest Second
SS2 Piedigriggio-pont de Castirla 1 (8.42 miles) Ogier 7m59.9s Leader Meeke +21.1s
Fastest Second
SS3 La Porta-valle di Rostino 2 (30.47 miles) Ogier 31m44.1s Leader Neuville +33.7s
Fastest Second
■ SS4 Piedigriggio-pont de Castirla 2 (8.42 miles) Fastest Lappi 7m59.4s Leader Ogier Second Neuville +33.6s
■ SS5 Cagnano-pino - Canari 1 (22.13 miles) Fastest Loeb 21m58.6s Leader Ogier Second Neuville +34.2s
SS6 Desert des Agriates 1 (9.60 miles) Fastest Loeb 8m32.4s Leader Ogier Second Neuville +38.4s
SS7 Novella 1 (10.81 miles) Fastest Tanak 11m07.7s Leader Ogier Second Neuville +41.6s
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■ SS8 Cagnano-pino - Canari 2 (22.13 miles) Fastest Lappi 21m44.7s Leader Ogier Second Neuville +47.7s
■ SS9 Desert des Agriates 2 (9.60 miles) Fastest Loeb 8m31.1s Leader Ogier Second Meeke +49.5s
SS10 Novella 2 (10.81 miles) Fastest: Tanak 11m07.1s Leader Ogier Second Tanak +44.5s
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■ Ss11vero-sarrola-carcopino (34.28 miles) Fastest Tanak 33m46.9s Leader Ogier Second Tanak +31.0s
■ SS12 Penitencier de Coti-chiavari [Powerstage] (10.10 miles) Fastest Lappi 9m41.2s Leader Ogier Second Tanak +36.1s