OGIER’S SIXTH SENSE
WRC champion pays tribute to team as rivals crash out
After signing off on his time with M-sport as a world champion, Sebastien Ogier paid an emotional tribute to the British squad and assured team members he would never forget them.
Ogier’s sixth consecutive world title was his second in one of the Cumbrian-built Ford Fiesta WRCS. Following his 2018 win, he will now move to Citroen for next season.
“I cannot ever forget my team,” he said. “These guys, all of them, they are so special. What we achieved together, this will stay with me forever.”
Just hours after clinching his sixth world title, Sebastien Ogier admitted he did wonder why he’d decided to leave Malcolm Wilson’s M-sport Ford World Rally Team.
Ogier’s fifth place on Rally Australia was enough for him to take an emotional and incredible victory after the most competitive season in a decade. Ogier admitted he was unsure when he joined M-sport for the start of last season, describing the move as a gamble – but one which paid off handsomely.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Ogier told Motorsport News. “How could I? But when I signed, I would have signed for less than this. It’s been incredible, just an incredible journey.
“I have to say, it’s very hard to say I am leaving, but it’s like… leaving a girl you love; why are we doing that? Why now when we achieve everything in the last two years. But now we have an exciting adventure waiting for us now and I am also looking forward to this one now. At least we say goodbye in the best way.”
Ogier singled Wilson out for special praise and talked of the special bond the pair have forged since they began working together last year.
“He’s a special man,” said Ogier. “He’s a great businessman, a great human and the best boss. He’s somebody who has been in rallying for a very long time. I remember when I said a long time ago that I would like to work with Malcolm some day and now I have done that and you can believe me when I say that this time didn’t disappoint me.
“He has such passion for rallying and for everything he does. He does everything at 120 per cent all of the time. When there is a problem or something that needs to be improved or changed, he would do everything he could to fix it. Sometimes the budget blocked things, but he was always so determined to give me the best; I can’t remember one time when Malcolm said to me: ‘No, that’s not possible, we can’t.’ Whenever we mention something to make the car better, he said we could do it and we would do it.
“Honestly, I am going to miss him and miss this whole team. I’m going to miss my team – I just hope I’m not going to miss this car too much!”
An emotional Wilson admitted M-sport would miss Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia enormously in the future – a future which remains uncertain for the Cockermouth-based team.
“We have to rebuild now,” said Wilson. “My efforts will now be directed at making the commercial side of this thing stack up. But what a story we’ve written together, eh? Hasn’t it been fantastic. You know me, I’m quite emotional about these things and I have to say today has been the most stressful event I’ve ever been involved with.
“The stress was coming from so many different places. The