WRC
Ogier reflects on ‘satisfying’ Sardinia win as Toyota's perfection rolls on
Sébastien Ogier hailed his hard-fought Rally Italia Sardegna win as a “very satisfying” reward for both himself and Toyota, as the Japanese marque made it six wins from six in this year’s WRC.
Ogier’s third victory of the 2025 campaign – and second in succession – came after a nail-biting finale on the Mediterranean island, where a mistake in Sunday’s Wolf Power Stage almost handed the win to Hyundai’s Ott Tänak. A stop-and-reverse manoeuvre after overshooting a tight right-hander saw Ogier’s lead slashed from 17.1sec to just 7.9sec at the finish.
“I’m very happy to secure this win,” Ogier said. “It was a close fight until the end with Ott and this morning I had the opportunity to build a bit of a margin. Therefore in the Power Stage I was not pushing for the full points, but we still had to fight with the ruts and I got caught in a tight corner and preferred to stop and reverse the car.
“It wasn’t ideal and cost us some Sunday points, but we had enough in hand to achieve our main target which was to win. It’s a very satisfying win for myself and the team, which did a great job after Portugal to improve the car set-up and the speed – even without a test. The car was enjoyable to drive and the times were coming more easily.”
Ogier and Landais in action on Rally Italia Sardegna's final day
© Toyota
Ogier’s triumph moves him firmly into title contention despite contesting just four of the six rallies so far this season. He now trails team-mate Elfyn Evans by just 17 points heading to the mid-season EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (26 – 29 June).
Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala praised the consistency and adaptability of his drivers across what was a typically punishing Sardinian weekend.
The car was enjoyable to drive and the times were coming more easily.
“There was a lot of drama through the event, and for some reason there always has to be drama in the Power Stage in Sardinia,” Latvala smiled. “But thankfully Seb managed to bring it home after a great performance from the beginning.
“Kalle could build his performance day by day, finishing with an amazing time on the Power Stage, while Elfyn was suffering the most from opening the road but drove a clever event and took the points that he could.
“It hasn’t been the easiest rally for us in the past, and this year we were starting with three cars at the front on Friday, but still we could take our sixth win in six rounds, which is really incredible. All five of our cars finished in the points without retirements and overall it’s been a positive weekend for the championship.”
