ITALY. Monza: Frenchmen Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia driving for the Toyota Gazoo Racing team concluded their journey of WRC together with a fantastic victory at FORUM8 ACI Rally Monza. Ogier won by a margin of 7.3 sec in the final speed test leaving behind Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin in the second position.
Watch Ogier wins his 8th WRC Title | WRC Rally Monza 2021
Dani Sordo who drives a Hyundai i20 in WRC for Hyundai Motorsport came third just 14.0 sec behind Evans.
Thierry Neuville, who secured the fourth position was 10.7 sec behind Dani. Oliver Solberg secured the fifth position despite engine issues in the final stage.
Teemu Suninen climbed to the sixth position after Takamoto Katsuta spun into a barrier and broke his Yaris’ front left suspension in the final stage and finished seventh ahead of Gus Greensmith’s Ford Fiesta.
British driver Greensmith also spun in the final stage but finished almost two minutes ahead of Kalle Rovanperä.
Ogier and Ingrassia together clinched their eighth FIA World Rally Championship title in nine seasons. Ogier won the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo, Rally Croatia, Rally Italia Sardegna, and Safari Rally Kenya before claiming his fifth victory of the season this weekend.
Ogier scored 230 points and is one step closer to the record nine titles held by fellow Frenchman Sebastien Loeb.
Evans totaled 207 points to secure the second position in Championship while Belgian driver Neuville finished third in the Championship with 176 points.
Toyota Gazoo Racing team won the 2021 constructors’ championship title by 59 points from Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team.
Watch the best of Rally Monza 2021 – Crashes, Action and pure sound
“I just feel kind of empty right now because it’s always an exhausting season,” said a jubilant Frenchmen Sébastien Ogier.
He further added “We give so much into it. I need to go to every single team member and give them my big thanks because without them we are nothing. They are world champions today as well; we are manufacturer, driver, and co-driver champions.”
“It’s so hard to describe these kinds of emotions,” said the 37-year-old.
“I am honestly really happy to have secured a podium finish here in Monza and to end this era of WRC cars with a top-three finish. I hope next season with the new hybrid regulations will be even more fun” said the Spaniard Dani Sordo who drives in WRC for Hyundai Motorsport.
WRC Rally Monza – Race Result
Ogier & Ingrassia (Toyota Gazoo Racing), Time taken: 2:39:08.6, Position 1st
Evans & Martin (Toyota Gazoo Racing), Time taken: +7.3, Position: 2nd
Sordo & Carrera (Hyundai Shell Mobis), Time taken: +21.3, Position: 3rd
Drivers Championship standings after WRC Rally Monza
- Sebastien Ogier – 230 pts
- Elfyn Evans – 207 pts
- Thierry Neuville – 176 pts
- Kalle Rovanperä – 142 pts
- Ott Tänak – 128 pts
Manufacturers’ standings after WRC Rally Monza
- Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT– 522 pts
- Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT – 463 pts
- M-Sport Ford WRT – 200 pts
About Sébastien Ogier
Born in the year 1983 at Gap in France, Sébastien Ogier had his first major international success in the year 2008 when he won the Junior World Rally Championship title with three victories.
In 2009, Ogier won the Rally Monte Carlo. He joined the new Citroën Junior Team and finished eighth in the WRC in the same year. The following year Ogier joined Citroën’s full works World Rally Team and secured six podium finishes.
He joined VW Motorsport for 2012’s World Rally Championships. In 2013, Ogier along with co-driver Julien Ingrassia tasted their first victory at Rally Sweden. He concluded the year with a win at the Wales Rally GB. Ogier repeated his world champion feat in 2014, 2015, and 2016 to create an incredible unmatched record.
His fantastic driving continued and helped him win his sixth title in 2018.
Ogier returned to the Citroën Total World Rally team in 2019 but unfortunate crashes and resulting car problems led to an overall third position finish. In the 2020 season, Ogier switch to Toyota Gazoo Racing along with Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä and won his seventh WRC title in eight seasons. Ogier remains the second most successful driver in the WRC’s history.
About WRC 2021 Rally Monza
Rally Monza was first held in 1978 and consisted of mixed surfaces, with stages on the track and on gravel link roads within the circuit. The track became all asphalt from 1985 onwards.
Stages at Monza’s historic Temple of Speed circuit feature a smooth race track, flat-out curves on the restored banked oval, and tricky mixed surface service roads. While the Sottozero tests are contested in darkness, the Serraglio tests offer 22 surface changes in less than 15km, and above all the technical mountain roads near Bergamo offer terrifyingly difficult terrain.
About FIA
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile or International Automobile Federation (FIA) is an association established on June 20, 1904. FIA works across three key interlinked areas of activity i.e.: Sport, Campaigns, and Mobility, and promotes motorsport and road safety around the world.
Conclusion
Next year will witness the WRC’s new hybrid era featuring hybrid-powered Rally1 cars. The year’s Rally in Monza marked the end of the World Rally Car era after 25 seasons. Ogier will now step back from full-time driving next year onwards and his co-driver Ingrassia officially retired from WRC.
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