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This weekend starts the World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo, and Sebastian Ogier does it in front of his countrymen, his last campaign, presumably, as a pilot and premiering, at the same time, the colors of Toyota. It is the new challenge that he has assumed, after his random rentrée in Citroën, the hexacampeón of the world. A promising epilogue, undoubtedly, behind the wheel of the car with which Tänak has dethroned him in 2019 and with which he will give a unique career.

Question. What have you learned throughout all these years?

Reply. Luckily for me, I have lived very good times, in which I progressed more and more. I have very good memories of my first season with a WRC (2009). Probably, he was going too fast for the shoot he had at that time [laughs]. As a pilot, you first need to be able to go quickly; Then, find the limits and know how to manage them with solvency, which requires some time and experience. And also patience. When you start, you always have the feeling that you must continually attack one hundred percent. And that is a mistake, because it leads you to make many mistakes, as happened to me at the beginning ... Although it was also the way I had to learn. Perhaps, if I had been slower, taking the car intact to each assistance, I would not have expanded the program of six tests that I was given at the beginning, after winning the Junior World Cup (2008). You never know ...

I already showed that not only did I win by having a great car, I did it with a private one "

Q. How would you compare the Ogier of the past with that of the present?

A. I am a completely different person. As an athlete, I have evolved a lot during these ten years, but also as a man. My responsibilities and my priorities have changed a bit. Now, I live calmer. When you start on this, you have a lot of pressure on it to show that you deserve to be there and that you are able to reach something. Today, logically, with the successes that I have already achieved, the situation is different. That allows me to be more relaxed, and probably enjoy more also with what I do.
<HIT> Ogier </HIT>, with Toyota

P. He started running in 2006, and in 2013 he was already world champion. Is it still as killer as at the beginning?

A. The ambition is still there, I still have the same character, I am not someone who does things halfway. Or I go with everything or, if not, I do not. I do not contemplate being part of a competition if you do not give the maximum. But that hunger is already different. When you are young, you are willing to do anything to crush anyone in front of you in order to get what you want. You need to have that spirit to be a champion, and I still have it, although at a lower level.

P. Cesare Fiorio, the legendary head of Lancia, believed that fatherhood weakens a pilot. Have you felt that way?

A. Well, your perspective in life changes. You see things differently. When I'm doing my job, I give one hundred percent, all I have, but the most important thing for me is no longer the rallies. At first, I only thought about rallies, rallies, rallies ... Now, my son and my wife are a step above. When I was going to be a father in 2016 and they brought me this topic, I was sure that, with my helmet on, I would remain the same; but then moments or situations arise during a career in which, perhaps, you think about it a little more than before. That's for sure.

Q. Do you regret anything?

A. I am a person who always looks forward. I prefer to stay with the positive. There were some difficult moments. The first year at WRC I received a lot of pressure, I didn't know if I would have a future later. When I arrived at the official Citroën team in 2011, I had to endure a lot of tension with Loeb and the team people. I would have loved to know how to keep calm sometimes in front of the media, not saying what I thought, better controlling my emotions. But it's complicated with a strong character like mine, and, when you're young, even more.

P. Some time ago he confessed in an interview with MARCA that he hates losing. This year, they have taken the title for the first time. What does defeat taste like?


A. Basically, if I don't win, I don't feel the best anymore. Although the truth is that over time I have relaxed more. Since I am a father and I have a family, I find it easier to disconnect when I return home, leave behind what happened in a rally and live a vine


https://www.marca.com/motor/rallies/...0618b4595.html