Gap (AFP)

Seven times world champion in WRC rallies, Sébastien Ogier is always thirsty for victories, while the 2021 season begins Thursday in Gap with his "favorite" event: the Monte-Carlo Rally where "the desire to do well is always increased tenfold" .

Even if this season must be his last complete in the WRC, Ogier could in the future return, for fun, to the "Monte" which he has already won seven times, a record tied with Sébastien Loeb.

Q: Despite being in camera, do you have any interactions with fans?

A: "Very little. Overall, people respect the prohibitions. There are still a few who greet us, but we are not supposed to come into contact with them, the windows of our cars are supposed to stay closed, So here we are, we open them a few centimeters just to say a word to them and play the game a minimum for people who have just spent hours in the cold to see us pass. But it is sure that it will not be the same atmosphere than usual and that the public will certainly miss us this weekend, in particular for me in this famous service park of Gap which was super lively. But the desire to do well is always a little bit higher in Arriving at Gap, at home. A lot of people will follow us from a distance despite everything, so I intend to give everything this weekend ".

Q: The stages have been rescheduled very early in the morning to respect the curfew in effect at 6:00 p.m. in France.

You will start at 6:10 am (Friday) or 6:30 am (Saturday), what does that change?

A: "We are used to getting up early but then the alarm clock will ring super early. And beyond the alarm clock, these are also the conditions: it will still be dark on the first stages of the day and it is always a little more complicated, in winter conditions. As you can imagine, there is certainly more ice, more slippery areas, frosted perhaps, so that could possibly add some more pitfalls. This is an additional difficulty. which adds to the race ".

Q: Even "retired", could you come back here to participate in "your" rally?

This would be the occasion to really say goodbye to your supporters, deprived of this rally year because of the Covid-19.

"I am not closing any doors, there is no plan either, but I do leave the door open to this kind of opportunity, to redo a rally here or there. And of course, if I select some- uns, Monte-Carlo may be at the top of the list. I don't need to repeat myself, this is my favorite rally, so chances are, even if nothing is done to date And indeed, that could be the case because this year they (his supporters, note) will follow us from a distance, so that's for sure, if I have the chance to relive the extraordinary atmospheres of recent years on the Monte -Carl ', that can also be an additional argument to come back ".

Comments collected during a virtual press conference by Olivier Levrault.

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