‘Super Seb’ makes it six in WRC with Ingrassia; Gaurav Gill finishes fifth in RC2 class
Coffs Harbour, 18 November 2018: M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia secured their sixth FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers and Co-drivers, respectively, this weekend – coming out on top after a dramatic final-day showdown at Kennards Hire Rally Australia. A composed drive to fifth was in marked contrast to the heartbreak suffered by Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak, who both crashed whilst trying to keep their hopes alive.
Ogier’s calmness shone through after heavy rain transformed the gravel forest roads into a muddy mess. He was faultless while both Neuville and overnight leader Tänak escaped brushes with the scenery during the morning’s opening three speed tests. Worse was to follow. Neuville parked his Hyundai i20 three stages from the finish after swiping a bank and ripping a rear wheel from his Hyundai i20. In the next test, Tänak slithered into a tree and his Toyota Yaris ground to a halt with no drive.
Ogier could afford a celebratory drive through the final Power Stage in the knowledge the championship was already secured in his final appearance in M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta before switching to Citroën in 2019.
This year’s championship has been the most exciting in years, but Ogier, Ingrassia and M-Sport Ford produced something special once again – speed, determination and outstanding team spirit all contributing to another very successful year for the Cumbrian squad.
“It’s been an incredible season, so close. Not so long ago, we were thinking it was going to be tough to grab this title, but we never gave up. We gave everything, with a fantastic team behind us who kept fighting and in the end we grabbed it in the last rally. It’s so emotional,” said Ogier.
Ingrassia said: “We had a beautiful journey with M-Sport over these two years, and everything we achieved we achieved together. We wanted to end our time with Malcolm and the team in a special way, and that is what we did. There have been a lot of ups and downs during the season and the rally, and we gave it everything to achieve this amazing result. Hopefully I have a little energy left to celebrate with the team tonight!”
Tänak’s first trip into the trees handed the lead to team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala and the Estonian’s early exit confirmed a first victory since February 2017 for the Finn. It also preserved his record of winning a WRC round in every season since 2008. His win also secured the manufacturers’ title for Toyota Gazoo Racing in its second season back in the WRC after a 17-year absence.
“It has been too long, almost two very long years. I was losing hope that I would win a rally but these tricky conditions went my way,” said Latvala, who triumphed by 32.5sec.
Hayden Paddon survived Sunday’s carnage to claim second in an i20, with first leg leader Mads Østberg filling the podium in a Citroën C3, despite hitting a tree and peeling the rear right door panel off his car. The Norwegian was a further 19.7sec back. Esapekka Lappi finished fourth in another Yaris with Elfyn Evans filling the top six behind team-mate Ogier.
Craig Breen visited the scenery a remarkable five times in six stages but survived to finish seventh after Teemu Suninen retired his Fiesta before the final test following an impact in the previous stage. WRC 2 winner Alberto Heller, Australian champion Steve Glenney and Jourdan Serderidis completed the leaderboard.
M-Sport Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said: “It’s been an emotional day and I can tell you that this championship really does mean a lot. Two months ago it wasn’t looking good, but when you have Sébastien and Julien in your team you know that anything is possible. The way they fought back over the last three events was incredible and I am so proud of all we have achieved together. We will certainly miss them next year, but this was a proper team effort and I have to say that every single member of the team played their part in the result. I would also like to congratulate Ott and Thierry on such a fantastic championship battle over the course of the season. We know first-hand how competitive they are and it really was a pleasure to watch the world’s three best drivers do battle right down to the wire. The sport is in fantastic shape at the moment, and I think everyone involved should be proud.”
Global Director of Ford Performance Motorsport, Mark Rushbrook, said: “Huge congratulations to Sébastien and Julien on winning a remarkable sixth FIA World Rally Championship title – they’re second in the fantastic Ford Fiesta WRC. This achievement was the result of a great team effort throughout the whole season and everyone at both M-Sport and Ford should be immensely proud.”
EVANS AND BARRITT FINISH SIXTH
Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt have been rightly heralded ‘team mates of the year’ – playing a significant role as Ogier and Ingrassia defended their FIA World Rally Championships today. The Brits played their part selflessly this weekend – handed the Frenchmen a more advantageous road position at detriment to themselves, and showing good speed despite the looser conditions they had to contend with as a result. When road cleaning wasn’t a contributing factor, Evans showed his pace and set a string of top times through the super special stages. It’s not been the season the Welshman had hoped for, but he has shown his speed and played his role admirably – helping the team defend two of their FIA World Rally Championships.
Elfyn Evans said: “Congratulations to Seb, Julien and the whole team. I’m glad they were able to secure this one and – even though it wasn’t always easy – I’m glad we were able to help them where we could. Obviously for various reasons our season didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but the speed was there and hopefully we’ll have a chance to prove that again next year.”
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
- Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2:59:52.0
- Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +32.5
- Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen (Citroen C3 WRC) +52.2
- Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:02.3
- Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2:30.8
- Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3:05.1
- Craig Breen / Scott Martin (Citroen C3 WRC) +8:59.0
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
- Sébastien Ogier – 219
- Thierry Neuville – 201
- Ott Tänak – 181
- Jari-Matti Latvala – 128
- Esapekka Lappi – 126
- Andreas Mikkelsen – 84
- Elfyn Evans – 80
- Hayden Paddon – 73
- Dani Sordo – 71
- Mads Østberg – 70
MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
- Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC – 368
- Hyundai Motorsport – 341
- M-Sport Ford World Rally Team – 324
- Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team – 237
GAURAV GILL QUICKEST ON FINAL DAY, BUT FINISHES 5TH IN RC2
India’s Gaurav Gill (co-driver Glenn Macneall, Australia) of Team MRF Tyres and piloting the M-Sport prepared Ford Fiesta R5, though finishing 5th in the RC2 class, showed that he had the pace to be among the best.
Gill led the field on Friday and early on Saturday before going off the road in SS-11 when enjoying a lead of 38.9 seconds over eventual winner Alberto Heller. The mishap ended Gill’s campaign, but he continued under Super Rally Format to finish fifth, having won 11 of the 24 Special Stages. Being a non-priority entry, Gill was not eligible for any points or official classification in WRC2 category.
