OGIER KEEPS WRC TITLE HOPES ALIVE IN TURKEY

Sebastien Ogier kept his WRC title hopes alive by winning in Turkey – Photo: Red Bull

Sebastien Ogier kept his WRC title hopes alive by taking the win in Rally Turkey.

The Frenchman in pursuit of his seventh straight World Rally Championship title across three different manufacturers led home a Citreon 1-2 at the rock-strewn mountain tracks of Turkey that took their toll on his championship rivals Ott Tanak (Toyota) and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

“This win was really needed and our only chance to get back in the championship fight,” said Ogier.

“We knew anything could happen because it’s a super-rough rally but the bad luck we had on the previous round in Germany was behind us.”

Esapekka Lappi led until a slight mistake on Stager 12 – Photo: Red Bull

Ogier’s teammate Esapekka Lappi had led the majority of the opening two days of the rally, but a slight mistake and then stalled on stage 12 along with dropped the Finn to second at the end of Saturday’s running.

Lappi then survived a puncture on the second last stage to claim second completing the 1-2 result for Citreon.

Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen completed the podium after holding off a challenge from M-Sport’s Teemu Suninen.

Punctures were a common theme on the rough rocky roads of Turkey striking the Toyota’s hardest at the start of the rally. Jari-Matti Latvala led the opening stage until a puncture put him out of contention in stage two. He did recover to claim sixth ahead of teammate Kris Meeke.

Thierry Neuville recovered from a gentle roll to finish eighth – Photo: Red Bull

A mistake and gentle rollover for championship contender Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) during Saturday mornings loop saw him finish in eighth after battling for a podium position earlier in the event.

Points leader Ott Tanak retired his Toyota from Saturday’s running with an electrical issue but resumed on Sunday under Rally 2 rules with and all or nothing drive through the final Power Stage to salvage five championship points to keep a 17 point advantage heading in the next round in Great Britan.

WRC will be back in action during 3 – 6 October for Wales Rally GB.

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