Has Sebastien Ogier messed up again? An expert has a clear view of the rally star’s current mood | Sport

Henri Haapamäki believes that this year it is Hyundai’s turn to celebrate the world championship of rally manufacturers.

Urheilu followed the Central European World Rally Championship moment by moment in this article.

Thierry Neuville has won the most races in the World Rally Championship (21) without ever celebrating the world championship. The Belgian has won silver five times, and could have secured his first championship in the Central European rally.

Neuville’s possible championship celebrations moved to the final race in Japan, when he fell from the top of the overall race to fourth on Saturday after getting stuck in a ditch.

Neuville changed his tactics and drove to secure the final rally. He finally cleared 18 points from the weekend and now leads his teammate Ott Tänakia with 25 points.

Ylen’s rally expert Henri Haapamäki according to Neuville did a reasonably good performance in difficult conditions and is heading towards the world championship.

He still gives Tänak a slim chance to become champion.

– In Finnish, it requires an interruption from Neuville and top success from Tänak. It is no longer completely dependent on Tänak’s own good performance. Yes, the point difference is so big at the moment, says Haapamäki.

Ogier’s time is not over

The roads in Central Europe were fast, and it was difficult for the drivers to judge the grip. Actually, all Tänaki and Elfyn Evans apart from, they more or less got a feel for the off-road conditions during the weekend.

Different kinds of dirt easily get on the road and there can be moisture on the surface. It is difficult to read at high speed where the tires are holding.

Particularly Sebastien Ogier’s the spin that led to the suspension on the 17th special test showed the difficulty of reading the road.

The eight-time world champion is known as a reliable driver, but has fallen into driving mistakes in three rallies in a row. According to Haapamäki, it’s about hard work and bad luck.

Ogier decided in the middle of the season to drive all the remaining races of the season, because the championship was possible.

– Yes, he is still one of the fastest and most reliable drivers in the series. Surely the risk threshold has been raised to the extreme and efforts have been made to drive for top results, after all, the danger that is twice as terrible lies in that.

– I wouldn’t go out of my way to raise any separate reason for the consecutive exits. The boom season is certainly ahead again.

Haapamäki points out that Neuville was lucky with his own run out, because it happened in an open area, from where it was possible to crank back onto the road.

Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala admitted his displeasure to STT, because Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä have both suspended three times this season.

– It’s a cold fact, there’s nothing you can do about it. They have driven hard, but then there have also been mistakes. When you don’t drive a full series, you have to take more risks.

Sami Pajari slipped

Sami Pajarin the first asphalt rally in the main class went smoothly, but ended on Sunday with a crash and suspension in sixth place.

According to Haapamäki, the Finn’s weekend was in any case successful, as he was able to drive close to the top in challenging conditions.

– A lot of good kilometers were achieved again and the difference to the top is not crazy big. Of course, when the exit came and in a reasonably clear place, I must have gone a little too hard into the corner.

– Based on the videos, maybe it looked a bit like a note mistake, because the place was clear and he drove into it too hard. Sami himself could not yet say what caused the drive out.

Pajari is racing for the WRC2 class championship in Japan, for which a first or second place in the class competition is enough. In Haapamäki’s opinion, the championship is not important in terms of future team places.

– Yes, the screens have already been given. Individual championships do not decide rally1 places. Sami has shown that he has the necessary speed and skills for the main class. I believe that next year he will be able to drive more races.

The team championship is five for Hyundai

Due to Ogier’s suspension, Toyota narrowed Hyundai’s lead in the Manufacturers’ World Series to 15 points. The Japanese team has won the last three manufacturers’ championships, but the streak is now threatening to end.

Henri Haapamäki believes that this year is Hyundai’s turn to celebrate.

– Yes, it’s almost ready except for the seal. What is needed is quite a flop from Hyundai and a top success from Toyota. Yes, these are starting to be more theoretical issues.

– Everything is possible in motorsport, but the odds are starting to get pretty small.