After six years of domination, Sebastien Ogier’s reign at the top of the World Rally Championship ended when he lost his crown to Estonian Ott Tanak at the Rally de Catalunya here last weekend.
The Frenchman is the second-most successful driver of all-time in the sport behind compatriot and former teammate at Citroen Racing, Sebastien Loeb.
Ogier, who returned to Citroen Racing this year, the team he started out his career with at the French company’s junior team in the championship before winning titles with Volkswagen and a privateer team M-Sport Ford, has announced that he will retire at the end of 2020.
Ogier spoke to reporters about his career, not wanting to chase records and what it takes to be consistently successful.
When asked if the hunger has diminished after winning six titles, the Frenchman said, “I think, for sure you can say that when you are chasing the first one you are maybe, more hungry for it than afterwards. But still when you have this spirit of being a competitor, fighter and don’t like to lose, you always try to stay in this position anyway.
“In rallying, normally you have a good chance to get better as you age. A little bit like wine.”
On his decision not to chase Loeb’s record of nine titles, considering at 35 he has a lot of time left, Ogier explained, “this record is not important. Because in my eyes I have already achieved more than what I dreamed about some years ago and am proud of it.
“Of course, you always want more. There are so many things I still want to do in my life. I will do my best to finish on a high next year but this record has never been a target for me.”
Question oneself
Explaining the secret behind maintaining a consistent run of triumphs at the highest level, the Frenchman explained, “it’s important to always ask yourself how you can be even better. And always try to question yourself. And that’s always been my way of working. I always try to analyse what I am doing wrong. Even when we win, we always try to work and see what we can do better for the next race. I think that’s the way to stay competitive and on top in a World Championship.”
(The writer was in Spain at the invitation of Citroen India)
