Breaking news
WRC Rally Sweden
Ogier encouraged by Citroen's loose-surface speed
Sebastien Ogier says he can take confidence in the Citroen C3 WRC’s loose-surface ability despite his early retirement in last weekend's Rally Sweden.
David Evans
Edited: Feb 23, 2019, 3:17 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Ogier won last month’s largely dry asphalt Monte Carlo season opener, but the first real test for his new car came last weekend, with Citroen having largely struggled in Sweden in recent years.
The French marque has worked extensively on the C3's transmission and suspension since then, but Ogier's bid for back-to-back wins came to an end on Friday as he hit a snowbank on SS6.
He rejoined under Rally2 rules and won three stages on his way to 29th overall, and managed to salvage two bonus points for the fourth-quickest time on the Power Stage at the end of the rally.
While he was disappointed with the final result, Ogier said he was encouraged with the feeling from the C3.
“Honestly, I think the car was not too bad,” he told Motorsport.com. “The speed was pretty decent when we were first on the road. I think there is some positives in this side for us.
"It can be positive looking forward into the season. I don’t have any regrets. It’s just like it is. I will look forward and that’s what it is.
"This [rally] is not miles away from gravel [set-up], so we could work on the car and take some data. There’s still some work interesting to do in this condition.”
While Ogier came away with only two points in Sweden, Ott Tanak moved to the top of the championship standings, adding five Power Stage bonus points to the 25 he scored for winning the rally.
It means the Toyota driver has a seven-point buffer over Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, with Ogier a further nine points back in third.
On Tanak's success, Ogier said: “He did the best move, but we are only at event number two [of the season]."
Slipping to third in the championship means Ogier does not have to open the road for the next round on the calendar in Mexico, which takes place on March 7-10.
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article M-Sport: Sweden shows we are still a "threat"
Next article Hyundai explains decision to bench Mikkelsen
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
David Evans
How the much-missed Richard Burns scaled the WRC mountain
WRC
WRC 11 mo
How the much-missed Richard Burns scaled the WRC mountain
M-Sport pins hopes on major mid-2020 engine upgrade
WRC
WRC Jan 15, 2020
M-Sport pins hopes on major mid-2020 engine upgrade
Hanninen to co-drive for Latvala in Sweden
WRC
WRC
Rally Sweden
Jan 14, 2020
Hanninen to co-drive for Latvala in Sweden
More from
Sébastien Ogier
Sebastien Ogier tipped for partial WRC 2027 programme
WRC
WRC 10 d
Sebastien Ogier tipped for partial WRC 2027 programme
Sebastien Ogier’s 2027 WRC future is undecided, but he won’t be at Monte Carlo
WRC
WRC
Rally Italy
1 mo
Sebastien Ogier’s 2027 WRC future is undecided, but he won’t be at Monte Carlo
More from
Citroën World Rally Team
Citroen reveals new-look 2025 WRC line-up
WRC
WRC
Rally Monte Carlo
Dec 17, 2024
Citroen reveals new-look 2025 WRC line-up
Ostberg gets full WRC2 season with Citroen
WRC
WRC Jan 10, 2020
Ostberg gets full WRC2 season with Citroen
Top Stories of 2019, #7: Citroen quits amid WRC shake-up
WRC
WRC Dec 25, 2019
Top Stories of 2019, #7: Citroen quits amid WRC shake-up
Latest news
You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller
MotoGP
Qatar GP
You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller
Why the anticlimactic WEC title showdown was the worst-case scenario
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
2 h
Why the anticlimactic WEC title showdown was the worst-case scenario
How Istanbul is revamping its F1 circuit to clinch long-term future
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Turkish GP
3 h
How Istanbul is revamping its F1 circuit to clinch long-term future
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe