Sébastien Ogier’s hopes of victory at Rally Chile were dashed on Saturday when he retired from the event after hitting a rock near the end of SS8. The eight-time world champion, who initially led the rally, saw his weekend unravel following a series of misfortunes, starting with a puncture on Friday that dropped him from the lead to ninth place.
After smacking a bank on Friday’s third stage, Ogier’s race strategy took a bold turn as he opted for a risky soft-biased tire choice on Saturday morning—a gamble on stages notorious for causing trouble for Toyotas using similar tires the previous year.
“From the position we have, we have to try something,” Ogier explained, as he aimed to claw back positions.
The strategy appeared to be paying off initially, with Ogier clocking the second fastest time on SS7. However, disaster struck on the next stage when he ran over a rock on the apex of a slight corner, severely damaging his Toyota and rendering him unable to steer into the following left-hander. The impact forced Ogier straight off the road, bringing his rally to an abrupt end.
Adrien Fourmaux, who was the first to pass Ogier’s stricken car, described the incident: “He hit a rock on the inside of a braking, it was a really big rock. It’s really a shame for him, definitely not his rally.”
Despite the crash, both Ogier and his co-driver Vincent Landais escaped unharmed, but their Rally Chile campaign came to a bitter close as the damage proved too severe to continue. The retirement adds another chapter of frustration to Ogier’s weekend, which had already been marred by bad luck and strategic gambles that ultimately didn’t pay off.
