Sebs subbed from top spot
ONE of the most extraordinary eras in international motor sport has come to an end this week past, with a driver who is not called Sebastian and who does not come from France winning the World Rally Championship.
Referencing the winner of this year’s title — Estonian driver Ott Tanak — by who he is not and where he does not hail from would seem a little odd, but for one thing: the last time we had a nonFrench nonSebastian winner of the WRC drivers’ crown was back in 2003.
Following Petter Solberg’s championships winning run in 2003, from 2004 to 2012, the incomparable Sebastian Loeb won an astounding nine world crowns in succession. Then came the six year reign of his compatriot, Sebastian Ogier.
Ogier was still in the mix for the title this season, and is currently third in the points standings with one round — this month’s Rally Australia — to go. But when Tanak secured second place in last weekend’s penultimate championship round in Spain, that was enough to secure the crown ahead of both Ogier and the other title contender, Thierry Neuville.
With six wins and three further podiums this year, Tanak is a deserving champion; both Neuville and Ogier have won three rallies apiece.
While we already know the 2019 drivers’ champion heading for Australia, the equally prestigious manufacturers’ title is still up for grabs. Here Neuville’s team — Hyundai — currently holds a slender points advantage over Tanak’s outfit, the defending manufacturers’ champion, Toyota.
Changing tack completely, after
revealing the finalists for NZ car of the year honours in the last issue of Drivesouth, this issue we test one of those finalists, the Mercedes GLE. We will aim to test several more of the contenders on these pages over the next few weeks ahead of the winner being confirmed in early
December.