Ogier and WRC Mini shine on German Tarmac
It's just 11 months since the WRC MINI first turned a wheel and it's already put down a marker down firmly on the asphalt of Rally Deutschland declaring the no nonsense-intentions of the fledgling team with the iconic 37 car, driven by Dani Sordo, achieving its first podium position on a WRC event; 3rd, just under two minutes off the pace of the winning Citroen DS3 WRC driven by Sebastien Ogier.
Citroen's number 2 driver Sebastien Ogier gave the DS3 WRC its 8th consecutive win this season with a controlled drive in changeable conditions on the Trier based event however, the result was not viewed with great enthusiasm by Citroen's recently resigned star driver Sebastien Loeb, who after a time consuming puncture on the second day, spent the remainder of the rally driving at ten tenths which saw him pull up to within 39 seconds of Ogier at the end of the WRC's first asphalt rally of 2011.
The result has closed things up at the head of the 2011 driver's championship with Loeb on 192 points to Ogier's 167 and Hirvonen's 156. Following his third place in Germany Dani Sordo has now crept in at tenth with 23 valuable points after only 3 WRC events for the team, car & driver combination. In the prestigious manufacturers championship Citroen leads convincingly with 333 points to Ford's 242 and M-Sports 105.
From Germany the WRC circus now steers its way east to round ten, Rally Australia 11/13th September.
21st August, 2011