Canary Islands Rally: Sébastien Ogier clinches his first victory of the year

Experience Paid Off

Between the 42-year-old Frenchman, nine-time world champion, and the 24-year-old Swede, it was ultimately experience that spoke. On the clean and fast asphalt of the mountainous roads of Gran Canaria, the two Toyotas struggled to outdo each other. Slowly but surely, the son of the 2003 world champion Petter Solberg put pressure on Ogier, the leader since Friday morning: after trailing by as many as nine seconds, the Swede came within 2.2 seconds of the leader before the 17th stage out of 18.

But then, a misplaced turn and Solberg hit the left front of his car against the safety barrier. With a missing wheel, it was over for him, with a merciless verdict: zero points from the Canaries. “The first loop this morning was on a fairly damp track, but then it was much drier and I was too optimistic in this right turn,” regretted the Swede.

“That’s not how we would have wanted it to go. Oliver had done an excellent job until now,” praised Ogier. “I never let myself get destabilized when I saw him attacking, I kept my pace. I’m sorry for you, Oliver, but I’m sure we’ll have other duels.”

But his start to the season was shaky, with a third place in Monte-Carlo and an eleventh in Kenya. Ogier is still in sixth place overall, a length behind the Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux (5th in the rally) and 43 points behind Evans. But he is closing in on Solberg by ten points (4th). This is his first victory since the 2025 title, last November in Japan, and his 68th in the World Championship since 2010.

“Happy to add a new rally to my list,” quipped the one who is in for “enjoyment” as this season could be his last, according to his interview in L’Equipe on Sunday. Disappointed by the lack of performance of the upcoming WRC 2027 regulations, Ogier admits that “the trend for now is not really to continue.”