Sebastien Ogier, We would have loved to celebrate the title in Australia.”

“Of course we would have loved to have been able to celebrate the World Championship title here in Australia,” Sebastien Ogier (Polo R WRC #8) remarked on his way into the service park. “But at the end of the day it wasn’t our fault that it didn’t pan out like that, we did everything that was within our power.”

A convincing win and victory on the Power Stage – unfortunately it’s not possible to gain more than 28 points in a single rally. Therefore this is more than reason enough for the whole team to raise a glass of Champagne together. Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were two of the last ones to find out that ultimately it wasn’t quite enough. “We were receiving the splits in the car, which is why we only discovered the final stage results and the drama unfolding around us once we had crossed the finish line,” Ingrassia explained.

The drama in question centered around Citroen’s Mikko Hirvonen being forced to surrender the second place he had occupied for almost the whole rally to Ford’s Thierry Neuville due to a damaged tire. As a result, the Belgian took a surprise second place in the standings and theoretically could still catch Sébastien Ogier in the Championship race. It could still happen in theory, but in reality Neuville would have to win all three remaining rallies with maximum Power Stage points and hope that Ogier doesn’t pick up a single point from any of the last three rounds. Neuville himself rated his chances of success as “highly unlikely”.

By the same token, the World Championship title could just as easily be decided in the very first stage of the upcoming Rally France (3rd – 5th October).

This is because at the Rally France, the Power Stage is the first stage to be run. If Neuville fails to secure victory here, then Sebastien Ogier will be crowned champion after all.