Paris (AFP)

He is not French, his name is not Sébastien, and yet ... Estonian Ott Tänak (Toyota) won his first World Rally Championship title on Sunday, succeeding Sébastien Ogier (2013- 2018) and Sébastien Loeb (2004-2012).

"It's a very special moment after sixteen years of French rule," said his Finnish team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, who himself was not able to overthrow Sébastien, "an era that is coming to an end."

With 36 points ahead of Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and 46 over Ogier (Citroën) after the Rally of Catalonia, 13th and penultimate round of the season, Tänak can no longer be joined in the drivers' standings. .

Only thirty points remain to be taken at the last event in Australia from 14 to 17 November.

If Ogier (8th of the rally) was put out of play as early as Friday morning by a hydraulic problem having deprived him notably of assisted steering, the suspense between Tänak (2nd) and Neuville (winner) held until the end in Spain.

Determined to fight as much as possible, the Belgian, who was to take more than eleven points in the Estonian to stay in the title race, took the lead of the rally on Saturday morning to never leave it.

- "The goal of my life" -

Tänak could have been content to control and finish at a calculated distance from his rival in the rally rankings and at the Power Stage, which offers additional points to the championship.

But this is not the kind of man, who came back from 5th place Friday night in the 2nd place final and pushed to afford the five units awarded to the winner of the Power Stage. And the title by KO

"It's a good feeling, it's hard to say exactly what I'm feeling, the pressure I had was unheard of, it was the goal of my life," said the Estonian.

"I never wanted to take a chance, but I wanted (the title)," he said "My mother told me yesterday (Saturday): + if Ott wants something, he makes it happen. I had to make it happen. "

"We did everything we could but it was not enough," was able to see Neuville, who like Ogier and Latvala recognizes that Tänak "merit".

And the boss of Toyota Tommi Mäkinen, himself quadruple world champion 1996-1999, to summarize a Rally of Catalonia in the image of the season of his protégé: "it was absolutely incredible, nobody could do anything against him ".

Indeed, the 32-year-old has won six rallies out of thirteen, against three at Ogier and three at Neuville, as well as 73 specials, against 24 in the French and 42 in the Belgian.

- "Not easy to get here" -

Tänak and his co-driver and compatriot Martin Järveoja "have done very, very good work," added Latvala. "It was not easy to get there, I remember Ott in 2012 (in his first full season in the WRC), he made a lot, a lot of mistakes!"

From where a sawtooth course until 2017, when his paternity, his new association with Järveoja and the example of Ogier by his side at M-Sport transformed it.

The slender blonde with youthful features and taciturn character wins his first success in World Sardinia that year and finishes twice third in the driver standings in 2017 and 2018, before being crowned in 2019.

In the Championship, however, everything is not done yet. The battle for second and third places will continue between Neuville and Ogier in Australia.

That for the title builders too. Thanks to the success of the Belgian and the 3rd place of the Spaniard Dani Sordo, Hyundai, who is aiming for a first title, has now 18 units ahead of Toyota, holding the crown.

And 2020 is not far: the occasion of a rematch for Neuville, who still runs after a first coronation, and for Ogier, who wants to be titled with a third different manufacturer, Citroen, after Volkswagen (2013-2016) and M-Sport Ford (2017-2018), before retiring.

© 2019 AFP