The World Champion decided to attack from the word go, whilst managing his risk-taking with perspicacity. After successfully negotiating the first two dramatic and demanding legs – for both drivers and cars – he headed into the final day in possession of a clear lead, a lead that he managed expertly over the closing four stages. He finished with a flourish, landing the telling blow on the Power Stage to take maximum points from the event.
"I’m pleasantly surprised by how things have worked out," commented Sébastien Ogier. "On paper, it didn't look like this rally would be particularly easy for me, but it’s in my nature to always want to try hard and fight. Perhaps my hopes were also kept alive because the race was very long, a real endurance test. You had to be able go the distance at a sustained pace, despite the relatively demanding stages."
We adopted our usual strategy: start at a high pace, to limit the time lost at the beginning of the rally as much as possible. It’s important to push at that stage in order to stay in touch with the frontrunners and be able to challenge for the lead when the opportunity arises," explained the Volkswagen driver.
"In addition to having the raw speed, I think the way we managed the race put us in a strong position, because experience helped us to control our pace according to the conditions. The team equally did a remarkable job, and not just from a technical point of view: all the associated aspects contributed to this result, especially the very good weather information, which helped us to make the right calls on tyre choice."
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia leave Sardinia with a 66-point lead in the World Championship. The WRC now heads for Poland!
Rally Italy final standings:
1. S. OGIER 4:25'54"3
2. H. Paddon +3'05"4
3. T. Neuville +4'22"5
4. E. Evans +5'34"8
5. M. Østberg +7'50"1
6. JM Latvala +8'06"7
7. Y. Protasov +14'57"7
8. P. Andreucci +15'03"3
9. J. Kopecky +17'41"7
10. K. Al Qassimi +19'12"0
Best performers: S. OGIER & JM Latvala (7 best times), H. Paddon (4), M. Østberg (2), M. Prokop, O. Tänak & T. Neuville (1)
World Championship standings:
1. S. OGIER: 133 points
2. M. Østberg: 67 points
3. A. Mikkelsen: 64 points
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