Rally Finland - Finish

A result below expectations in Rally Finland  

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia took fifth place in Rally Finland, an event which proved to be a difficult one for them. Second out on Friday, on roads covered with a layer of loose gravel, the Citroën World Rally Team crew finished the opening leg in seventh position in what was still a very tight contest at that point. Affected by illness during the following night, a weakened Sébastien Ogier had then to handle the longest leg of the weekend and could see the podium slipping away from him. He nevertheless managed to avoid the pitfalls and climbed back to fifth place, a position that was confirmed on Sunday and completed with the addition of two points in the Power Stage.

Sébastien Ogier:

"This was a tough rally for us and we couldn't do any better. We expected Toyota to dominate in their backyard, but we were still hoping to obtain a better result. The fact is though that we didn’t manage to fight for the podium, nor to post a best time during the weekend and that’s disappointing. It’s true that I wasn’t physically in great shape during the whole rally and it didn’t help that I felt drained on Saturday, but I don’t think that cost us a lot of seconds in the end. I felt better on Sunday and we hoped this would allow us to finish on a high note, but we weren’t quick enough to claw back a place, nor to score any big points on the Power Stage."

"I have no intention of looking for excuses, but I really tried to give everything in my driving. My observation would be that the duo Citroën-Ogier has to improve so that we can find the speed that we’re lacking. We’ll prepare for the next rally on tarmac now with another day of tests next week which will be very important. We shall do everything we can to be in the best possible position in Germany. It will be crucial to get our performance back again and to fight for victory."