From press release
Reigning WRC champion Sebastien Ogier led an all-Volkswagen podium Sunday in Australia to seal the manufacturers' title.
The Frenchman held off Jari-Matti Latvala in a tense final leg to win the three-day gravel event in New South Wales by 6.8sec in a Polo R. Andreas Mikkelsen completed the podium lockout in third, a further 1min 11.2sec behind.
Ogier’s 22nd career win, and his sixth of the season, moved him closer to a second consecutive drivers’ title. He leads Latvala by 50 points with three rounds remaining and could secure the crown at his home rally next month.
The manufacturers’ title has not been decided so early in the season since 1989.
"Jari-Matti was strong but today I knew that without mistakes I would be OK," said Ogier.
"I tried to stay concentrated, pushing when it was clean and being more cautious in the tricky parts. It wasn’t a big winning margin but enough to win the rally and another crucial step towards winning the title,” he said.
Reigning WRC champion Sebastien Ogier led an all-Volkswagen podium Sunday in Australia to seal the manufacturers' title.
The Frenchman held off Jari-Matti Latvala in a tense final leg to win the three-day gravel event in New South Wales by 6.8sec in a Polo R. Andreas Mikkelsen completed the podium lockout in third, a further 1min 11.2sec behind.
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| Sebastien Ogier, VW Polo R WRC (Photo: WRI2) |
Ogier’s 22nd career win, and his sixth of the season, moved him closer to a second consecutive drivers’ title. He leads Latvala by 50 points with three rounds remaining and could secure the crown at his home rally next month.
The manufacturers’ title has not been decided so early in the season since 1989.
"Jari-Matti was strong but today I knew that without mistakes I would be OK," said Ogier.
"I tried to stay concentrated, pushing when it was clean and being more cautious in the tricky parts. It wasn’t a big winning margin but enough to win the rally and another crucial step towards winning the title,” he said.
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| Andreas Mikkelsen, VW Polo R WRC (Photo: WRI2) |