Sebastien Ogier wins Poland Rally as Abu Dhabi World Rally Team struggle

Sport360 staff 19:14 05/07/2015
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Ogier (r) celebrates his win.

    Sebastien Ogier extended his World Rally Championship title lead with his fifth win in seven rallies at the Rally of Poland on Sunday.

    The 31-year-old Frenchman led the seventh round of the series from Friday afternoon, holding off Volkswagen Polo R teammate Andreas Mikkelsen of Norway to win by 11.9sec after almost 300 kilometres of furious competition in very hot weather in north-east Poland.

    “We have put together seven perfect rallies and, although it’s a bit early for predictions, I think I have taken a huge step towards a third title,” said two-time defending champion Ogier.

    Ott Tanak prevented a Volkswagen podium clean sweep by claiming third in a Ford Fiesta RS, matching his career-best result and giving his manufacturer only their second podium finish of the campaign.

    Jari-Matti Latvala crashed in the final stage while attempting to catch the Estonian. It was Ogier’s 29th career success and took him to 161 points in the drivers’ standings, the sole driver in triple digits.

    Mikkelsen is a distant second on 83 points, with six races of the season remaining.

    Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally team finished inside the top 10 after an incorrect tyre choice at the outset affecting the grip in both Abu Dhabi cars, preventing them from competing for top positions.

    Despite this setback however, Kris Meeke finished in 7th and Mads Østberg in 9th aboard the DS 3 WRC, strengthening the team’s 2nd place in the overall standings.

    “Unfortunately I think we lost the race before it began, when we had an accident during shakedown,” said Meeke.

    “However, I think we showed great competitive spirit until the end and we’ll be looking forward to rally Finland.”

    In the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC); Abu Dhabi Racing junior driver Mohamed Al Mutawaa and his co-driver Stephen McAuley also managed to finish rally Poland inside the top 10, aboard their Citroën DS 3 R3-Max, following a steady but cautious driving strategy.

    “I enjoyed Rally Poland a lot with its fast but tricky stages and numerous blind corners. We took it at a steady pace and the strategy worked,” Al Mutawaa said.

    “I am extremely happy with the result particularly as this is the 1st time I have participated in such a difficult rally. We picked up a few mistakes in the pace notes which we will try to avoid during rally Finland.”

    Recommended