Sébastien Ogier has expressed his bewilderment after losing a nearly secured victory at the Rally of Portugal, where he suffered a puncture in the penultimate stage. After an impressive performance during Saturday, Ogier achieved a lead of 21.9 seconds to approach Sunday with a chance of securing his eighth victory in this rally.
Everything seemed favorable to Ogier until, in the penultimate stage, a puncture in the rear right tire forced a tire change that made him lose two minutes. As if that wasn’t enough, his teammate from the same team, Sami Pajari, also suffered a puncture in the same spot, further complicating matters for the Toyota Gazoo Racing team.
Despite the adversities, Ogier managed to finish in sixth place, while Thierry Neuville from Hyundai benefited from the situation and took the victory, which represents the 23rd triumph of his career.
Ogier acknowledged that accepting the loss is difficult, especially after the great work done under tough conditions during the rally. In his words: “It’s hard to see how our effort dissolves in an instant, but this is part of motorsport. Today we ran out of luck, there’s no further explanation for this puncture.”
The 42-year-old driver reaffirmed his determination and stated that, despite the disappointment, he still has the abilities needed to compete at the highest level. “I have to put this behind me and focus on the next event in Japan, with the assurance that I can still fight for victories,” Ogier concluded.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI