“I basically have a brand contemporary rival now.”
Those were the phrases uttered by then six-time world champion Sebastien Loeb in 2010 after losing a challenging-fought Rally Portugal duel to Sebastien Ogier – as the young pretender to the World Rally Championship throne claimed a breakthrough maiden victory. It change into a premonition as proper as Loeb’s precision within the assist of the wheel that will presumably well well attend the Frenchman story a occupation 9 world titles and 80 rally wins to this level.
Portugal 2010 marked the emergence of a brand contemporary world narrate and challenger for Loeb. It change into the precursor for various intense and on occasion controversial duels, till Loeb decided to bow out as a paunchy-time WRC driver following his ninth title-successful campaign in 2012.
Twelve years and a few fight scars later, Loeb and Ogier dwell presumably the two most revered names within the WRC. Ogier picked up the WRC baton beforehand held by Loeb at the discontinuance of 2012 to produce certain the Sebastien dominance persisted, successful eight of the subsequent 9 world titles with Volkswagen, M-Sport Ford and Toyota.
But in a unparalleled coincidence, this rivalry has been rekindled now that Ogier has joined Loeb as a semi-retired WRC driver. The pair, no longer quite ready to lumber into the sunset proper yet, have each and each launched into partial-season programmes in 2022. After bowing out as a WRC paunchy-timer with his eighth world title in 2021, Ogier has remained half of the Toyota set of living-up within the squad’s third GR Yaris, while Loeb has teamed up with M-Sport for one-off events in its Ford Puma.
The duo created headlines in January after turning into embroiled in belief to be one of many WRC’s all-time classic scraps. It change into entirely decided in Loeb’s favour in a final stage showdown, when a puncture for Ogier on the penultimate stage of the time-honoured asphalt season opener forced him to relinquish his lead.
With the pair now set of living to line up again in their first WRC outings since Monte Carlo this weekend, for a capacity Gigantic Gravel GOAT Off in Portugal as the WRC celebrates its 50th season, it’s pertinent to endure in mind that it change into 12 years ago on the Iberian gravel where Ogier’s WRC myth started. It sparked an affinity with the rally that has to this level yielded 5 wins in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017, an match story Ogier shares with Markku Alen.
Ogier took his first WRC bewitch in Portugal in 2010 after a good combat with Loeb
Picture by: McKlein / Motorsport Pictures
No topic what the self-discipline, every driver remembers their first bewitch. And Ogier is not any diversified, especially as the milestone victory arrived following a straight combat with doubtlessly the most successful driver that the WRC had ever seen.
“It change into a colossal moment for me for my half and for my occupation,” Ogier tells Motorsport.com within the lead up to Portugal. “This way of step is mandatory to head ahead and to your self belief. I soundless endure in mind neatly this bewitch, and especially after it occurred after belief to be one of many mountainous fights we had with Loeb.”
It change into a bewitch that had been coming. Ogier had speedily cultivated a reputation as ‘rallying’s next mountainous thing’ and earned a critical shot at the WRC mountainous time in 2009 with the Citroen Junior Crew after successful the Junior WRC title at his first strive in 2008. That year he’d been driving a Citroen C2 backed by the French motorsport governing physique, the FFSA, and scored spectacular wins on the gravel levels of Mexico and Jordan to boot to Loeb-speciality Germany.
“We have now agreed they are going to power, however if belief to be one of them race off the avenue I will be basically upset. And when I’m upset, it is rarely always proper” Olivier Quesnel
At some level of his first year within the assist of the wheel of the C4 WRC, Ogier change into making name for himself no topic an inconsistent birth up to lifestyles in rallying’s top tier. The rollercoaster scamper change into nonetheless punctuated by a breakthrough maiden podium, as Ogier completed 2nd to Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen at the notorious Acropolis Rally in Greece. There, he outclassed manufacturing facility Citroen stablemates Loeb and Dani Sordo, who retired and completed 11th respectively.
A fixed scamper of three top sixes from the final 5 rallies of 2009 set of living up Ogier to approach assist out of the blocks even sooner for his 2nd season with the Citroen Junior Crew in 2010. By the fourth round in Novel Zealand, Ogier seemed destined to chalk up a maiden bewitch entirely to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory when a whisk on the final stage handed his future Toyota team boss Jari-Matti Latvala the spoils by 2.4s. That change into Ogier firing a warning shot to his rivals and indeed to Loeb, who completed third. When the WRC reconvened in Portugal, Ogier knew he’d confirmed he might well presumably well maybe bewitch within the WRC.
“About a weeks sooner than I misplaced my first bewitch by two seconds in Novel Zealand and I knew I change into basically started to be there [challenging at the front],” recounts Ogier. “But being capable and basically doing are diversified issues.”
With Loeb main the championship, it supposed he would face the disadvantage of opening the dry and dusty gravel roads. While this atypical art of hurt limitation has confirmed to be belief to be one of Ogier’s strengths, assist then a favourable avenue space change into tune to his ears. Ogier knew he had to produce this attend depend and attributable to this fact drove flat out – racing into 26.6s lead over Sordo, who had misplaced time to an overshoot at a junction. Loeb ended his day of avenue-sweeping 44.8s adrift.
Ogier had misplaced the likelihood of victory in Novel Zealand to a final stage whisk that supposed he completed 2.4 seconds within the assist of Latvala’s Ford
Picture by: Sutton Pictures
Nonetheless, the tables can be turned approach Saturday. As dictated by the championship guidelines, Ogier would now have to birth the roads by virtue of main the rally at discontinuance of the first leg. It change into time for Loeb to strike assist and he did so, taking 22s out of Ogier on the morning loop to switch into 2nd general.
Ogier stemmed the loss of time to the charging Loeb within the afternoon, however the blue contact paper had been lit. A aggravating fight for the victory change into unfolding. As soon as the crews returned to the provider park, Ogier’s lead had been reduced to 21.1s, with 5 Sunday levels closing.
The fight between the junior and the WRC master change into no longer misplaced on then-Citroen boss Olivier Quesnel, who laid down the law in no risky terms at the day-ending press conference.
“My purpose is to ranking each and each championships so tomorrow they [Ogier and Loeb] will possible be ready to power,” acknowledged Quesnel. “But this is in a position to presumably well forbidden to head off the avenue – I produce no longer want to search what occurred in Novel Zealand.
“We have now agreed they are going to power, however if belief to be one of them goes off the avenue I will be basically upset. And when I’m upset, it is rarely always proper.”
While a reminder of what occurred in Novel Zealand change into doubtlessly the closing thing Ogier wanted, Quesnel’s wants were indirectly granted – albeit entirely after his drivers had engaged in a relentless scrap. An below-stress Ogier, as soon as more opening the avenue, witnessed Loeb proceed to indulge in into his lead. However the young pretender supplied a look of the avenue-opening abilities that will presumably well well existing so precious within the future years assist and by hook or by crook managed to dangle the lead.
The pair would line up against every diversified in entrance of a packed crowd gathered at the Estadio Algarve, constructed for UEFA’s Euro 2004 football match, for one closing blast around the specially-constructed tarmac expansive particular stage. Despite a reminder of how it might well perchance presumably well maybe soundless unravel when Petter Solberg crashed his privately-scamper Citroen C4 on the tight test, Ogier no longer entirely drove cleanly however edged Loeb by 0.2s to bewitch the rally by 7.9s having soaked up two days of relentless stress from the WRC’s benchmark.
After sweeping the avenue on the opening day of the rally, Loeb charged assist however might well presumably well maybe now not usurp Ogier
Picture by: Sutton Pictures
“It is some distance a good attempting feeling and I’m very, very gratified,” acknowledged Ogier at the time. “It has no longer been easy with Sebastien within the assist of me, pushing me the total time, however we additionally pushed challenging for all of the rally and made no mistakes.”
The defeat confirmed to Loeb there change into a brand contemporary pretender to his throne and an admission there change into a brand contemporary power within the championship.
“I tried the total rally to beat him, however he change into proper too immediate,” acknowledged Loeb. “On the 2nd pass by way of the levels he change into untouchable. I basically have a brand contemporary rival now.”
“In 2011 that change into basically the entirely season where we fought for a championship together. Even then I change into soundless lacking a petite little bit of experience to be as solid as I change into afterward in my occupation” Sebastien Ogier
Reflecting on the milestone presently time, Ogier says this change into the moment when he realised that noteworthy for a WRC title change into a pragmatic aim.
“He had to birth the avenue on day one and I might well presumably well maybe bewitch the attend and change into ready to bewitch the lead,” he says. “Then the two next days I had to head flat out being first on the avenue and in point of fact he change into catching me and catching me.
“On the discontinuance, I managed to stop ahead by no longer up to 10 seconds, so it change into an intense bewitch and belief to be one of those moments I might never neglect. It change into distinguished to indirectly write within the history guide with a critical bewitch after which we would target the subsequent target. It change into a extremely distinguished step and from this moment we were focusing on the sphere championship.”
One other rally bewitch arrived in Japan as Ogier completed 2010 fourth general, while Loeb took a seventh world title. However the Ogier vs Loeb rivalry would entirely closing every other paunchy season in 2011, when Ogier change into elevated to the manufacturing facility team alongside Loeb.
Loeb congratulates Ogier after his Portugal 2010 bewitch, the first of 54 to this level for the younger Frenchman
Picture by: Sutton Pictures
That season that produced intense battles and flashpoints as the pair fought for supremacy, doubtlessly the most vital of those coming in Germany where a excited Ogier defied Citroen team orders to dangle location within the assist of Loeb and trusty a 1-2 enact. He as an alternative kept pushing, closing in on his rival sooner than Loeb picked up a puncture. Citroen carried out its 1-2 however no longer within the narrate it wanted, inflicting divide within the camp. It did nonetheless create an iconic line from Ogier at the stage enact: “Clearly I will no longer have a good time it when my teammate has a situation, however no no longer up to presently time I basically have seen there’s justice within the sport.”
Ogier left Citroen at season’s discontinuance and spent 2012 in an S2000 Skoda Fabia scamper by Volkswagen Motorsport while developing the contemporary Polo WRC. That supposed he never had a hope of noteworthy for wins, though he did glean facets in seven rallies and completed a excellent fifth in Sardinia.
Since 2011, there were fleeting moments where rallying’s most successful have locked horns at the height of their powers, with January’s Monte Carlo narrative duel presumably doubtlessly the most efficient of the bunch. This weekend offers up the aptitude for a 2nd portion of that in Portugal, even if Ogier has already downplayed the likelihood of a Monte Carlo repeat.
“I mediate it has in point of fact been a selected time to have two drivers adore this dominating the series one after every diversified,” Ogier adds. “I on the total express this rivalry change into practically made higher by the media than it basically is, on narrative of we didn’t compete against every diversified for that long.
“In 2011 that change into basically the entirely season where we fought for a championship together. Even then I change into soundless lacking a petite little bit of experience to be as solid as I change into afterward in my occupation.
“Clearly I’m gratified I always appreciate combating with him. We had a pair of good fights during our occupation and it’s good to search that the followers are taking into account it [this weekend].
“On the discontinuance of the day, as Seb has acknowledged, we’re very same and had same careers when it comes to achievement. It is some distance always good for the journalists and the followers to argue who change into doubtlessly the most efficient and this dialogue will race on for a extremely very long time.”
Whatever happens in Portugal this weekend, Ogier will always have the memories of that 2010 duel within the Algarve sun and that first overcome his compatriot, which crucially gave him the assumption he might well presumably well maybe notice in Loeb’s footsteps.
Ogier’s first bewitch change into a decisive one for his self belief and inspired him that he might well presumably well maybe bewitch titles in future
Picture by: Sutton Pictures
