Rally driver Sébastien Ogier near miss with cattle – Video
Taking part at the WRC Guanajuato México 2016 Rally, French racing-driver, Sébastien Ogier proved his nerves of steel while calmly dodging a family of cattle. The animals, unaware that a 318 hp and 430 Nm of torque, 1.2-ton ballistic racing machine was headed directly for them, decided to cross the road in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
Sébastien Ogier Bio:
With his dad being a Senna fan and his uncle an autocross driver, Sébastien Ogier fell in love with motorsports from his early childhood. After having a go at karting for a while, as a teenager he admired the big names of the Rally Monte-Carlo when the race happened to come near Gap. An accomplished sportsman and official ski instructor, he took a course in Rally Preparation and Assistance before entering the auto racing world.
By winning the Rallye Jeunes – a talent spotting event organized by the French Federation – in 2005, Ogier secured himself a driving seat in the Peugeot 206 Cup. This was the beginning of his collaboration with his co-driver, Julien Ingrassia. Best rookie of the year, he scored his first podium finish, then went on with winning four races over the next season, making a name for himself in the championship. As a reward for his performances, he was elected “Espoir Echappement” – a famous award granted by a French magazine, which had previously been held by Didier Auriol, François Delecour or Sébastien Loeb.
In 2008, less than two years after his maiden rally, Sébastien Ogier made his debut in the world championship in Mexico. He started out with a first win in his Citroën C2 S1600, ending up 8th overall, a place that equals one point in the WRC championship. With two subsequent victories in Jordan and Germany, he clinched the Junior World Champion title at his first attempt and the gates to the premier class opened up for him.
Thanks to this title, Sébastien Ogier was offered a WRC wheel for the last rally of the 2008 season, in Wales. He accomplished quite a feat by winning the first stage of a black-iced RAC, leading the race until he got trapped by his lack of experience. This impressive performance had all eyes turning towards him when he started out his WRC career in 2009 within the Citroën Junior Team.
After another win to his name at the Rally Monte-Carlo in between the seasons (at that time, the race was part of the IRC schedule), he began his first campaign behind the wheel of the C4. The first half of the year was quite hard for the rookie, until he entered a positive spiral with a second place at the Acropolis – his first podium in the world championship.
His maiden victory happened as soon as the next season in Portugal. From then on, Sébastien Ogier only did better and better, joining the official Citroën team for the gravel rallies of the second half of the year. As a team-mate of Sébastien Loeb, he clinched a new win in Japan, on a race he was running for the first time. He soon became known for his ability to adapt quickly and his careful management of race conditions.
Hard work is always rewarded, and Citroën asked him to be a permanent member of the team for the 2011 season. Although he was sharing it with Sébastien Loeb, Ogier wasn’t shadowed by his team-mate and, like him, he scored five successes over the course of the season. He even considered the title for a while, until he finally had to make do with a 3rd place overall, as Citroën preferred to bet on the Alsatian to battle for the title. After the curtain had fallen on the championship, Ogier found comfort in winning the Race of Champions, which he was running for the first time.
At the end of 2011, Sébastien Ogier set himself a new challenge: he joined Volkswagen Motorsport to collaborate with the German brand in developing the new Polo R WRC, whose debut was announced for 2013. In the meanwhile, the French driver switched between testing sessions and rallies, taking part in 12 out of the 13 races of the 2012 season with a Skoda Fabia S2000. He did very well in his category, without aiming at the title since his interests were elsewhere: he had to build a VW team strong enough to win as soon as the Polo would be ready to launch itself into the contest.
The Polo R WRC was presented in December 2012 in the prestigious scenery of Monaco, and went on to fight its first rally the following month. First stage, first scratch for Ogier who climbed onto the second step of the podium, a great reward after all his hard work. His maiden victory behind the wheel of his new car came as soon as the next rally, in Sweden, which is all the most impressive as northern drivers historically dominate the race. Ogier was only the second non-Scandinavian driver to win it!
Sébastien Ogier has set the tone for the season! With three double wins – rally + Power Stage – in Mexico, Portugal and Italy, he secures himself a comfortable lead over his opponents in the fight for the title. Then comes a memorable win in Finland, a very demanding rally known to be more favorable to Scandinavian drivers. Despite Julien Ingrassia’s recent collarbone fracture, the French duet stands out once again and totals a 90-point lead in the championship.
Rally Germany offers the driver a first, though slight, chance of clinching the title. However, a broken suspension arm puts a stop to his advance. In Australia, the situation is reversed: title chances are real, and the Ogier clan is starting to believe in it. Having dominated the race, the French driver is getting ready to celebrate… when he misses the title by one point in the last stage, due to a last minute leap forward in the overall standings of his last opponent.
Ogier and Ingrassia will have to wait until the Rallye de France to win their laurels… which they do even before starting on the first stage! Doubling as the Power Stage, it puts an end to the suspense when their opponents in the race to the title fail to score the maximum points. World Champion by the Thursday night, Sébastien Ogier celebrates with style by winning his home rally three days later. Sébastien Ogier joined the very select club of the world champions. He is the third French driver to have done so.
The dust had barely settled after his first win, however, before he warned that defending his world title would be another challenge altogether, perhaps even harder than winning the first. And it is indeed this much-cherished world title that the French ace has retained in 2014, after beating off the challenge of his increasingly tough rivals. Seb has enjoyed some superb wins this season – 8 out of the 13 rallies contested – and has become the eighth driver to secure more than one title, the fourth to manage to do so in two consecutive years.
At the end of 2014, Sébastien Ogier’s statistics speak for themselves, with 24 wins and two titles in barely five full seasons in the WRC. He has also taken 17 victories in the Polo R WRC, with which he has contested 26 rallies.