The world rally champion on nine occasions, Sébastien Ogier, has highlighted the intense battle he had with his teammate Oliver Solberg during the Rally Islas Canarias, a duel that is not seen every day in the WRC.
With only 3.8 seconds separating both drivers before the last four stages on Sunday, the competition intensified throughout Saturday, with times separated by tenths of a second during the afternoon.
Solberg managed to cut down Ogier’s 8.9-second advantage over the course of Saturday, excelling in the last stage of the day where he managed to overtake him by 1.4 seconds, turning this duel into one of the most intense in recent WRC history.
Ogier compared the experience to his fight in 2013 at the Rally of France, where a very close competition was also experienced. “There is nothing more intense than this,” he asserted after the stage. “With such tight times, it doesn’t happen often. It’s an intense weekend and it makes me feel excited for tomorrow’s journey. I’m looking forward to it, as these are new stages and the route will be crucial.”
For his part, Oliver Solberg, who won in Monte Carlo in January, expressed that the competition with Ogier always gives him extra motivation. “Every time Seb is here, it makes me want to improve and this is a great learning opportunity for me,” he said.
Although Solberg acknowledges that his main goal is not to match or surpass Ogier, he has also made it clear that he will seize any opportunity to fight for victory. “It’s not my most important focus, but I’ll keep competing like I did today, and if I can keep up with him, I’ll try,” added the young driver.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
