Just A Blip: Sebastien Ogier To Not Take Easy On Competition

Sebastien Ogier has no intention of taking it easy on his WRC rivals just yet

Even though Jari-Matti Latvala gave the factory Volkswagen rally team a win in Sweden with Sebastien Ogier failing to finish, no one was really serious about writing either the German marque or its French superstar for the remainder of the World Rally Championship season.

True to form, Ogier bounced back with a win in conditions that were about as stark a contrast to snowy Sweden as you are likely to get on the WRC calendar.
Hot, sunny, dusty and rocky Mexico was the setting for yet another Volkswagen 1-2, however the third spot on the podium was taken by Hyundai’s factory i20 entry of Belgium’s Thierry Neuville.

The hard earned third spot for Neuville was almost a retirement, however, until an odd set of events got the Hyundai back to its spot in the service park.
Following the podium ceremony where giant bottles of Corona beer – it was Mexico after all – were handed to the top three, Neuville’s started to overheat.
The teetotaling Belgian was saving his bottle for the Hyundai service crew but did not hesitate to pour some of its content into the i20’s radiator.
The stop-gap measure worked well enough for the car to make it back to service and be officially classified as third while New Zealand’s Chris Atkinson finished seventh to give the Korean marque a double points finish.

Hyundai won’t, however, be pushing extra hard following the result. At least not at the following round in Portugal. The team has ruled out any engine upgrades while Volkswagen diligently (so we hope) follows its self-imposed freeze on development in 2014 to allow its competitors to catch up.

The WRC is sorely in need of some competitiveness as years of Sebastien Loeb pounding rivals into the dust has been followed by Ogier’s domination of rallying’s top flight.

Interest in the championship has, however, spiked in Poland which accounts for the most number of visitors to its official website (globally).
The Robert Kubica effect clearly in action although the Pole has a long way to go to challenging the top flight like he used to in Formula 1.