The eight-time WRC champion crashed out of a podium position on the final stage of the Acropolis Rally in Greece, rolling his Toyota Yaris a few kilometres shy of the finish.
Thierry Neuville led a Hyundai one-two-three to extend his lead in the FIA World Rally Championship with just three rounds remaining.
Ott Tanak inherited third place after Ogier’s folly while Dani Sordo moved up to second.
Ogier took to social media after his rollover with a tongue-in-cheek post, suggesting he got “a bit of karma in the end” after hitting out Neuville earlier in the rally.
Ogier, who is only competing part-time this season, led the rally at the midway point on day one ahead of Ford driver Adrien Fourmaux.
An engine issue dropped Neuville to three cylinders and eventually Ogier struck trouble with a turbocharger failure. They ended day one in third and fourth respectively.
Neuville’s place at the top of the championship meant he has been the road sweeper for much of the season.
In Latvia, he labelled the burden of being first on the road a “pain in the ass” and suggested it was an unfair penalty for succeeding in the series.
Ogier, who was second on the road, threw shade at Neuville at the end of day one having held a 48.9-second advantage before his mechanical gremlins cost him two-and-a-half minutes.
“We proved that the championship leader is not that fast honestly because he was first on the road and we were second on the road and we took 45 seconds in four stages,” said Ogier.
“Maybe he should stop crying and learn driving first on the road.”
🥊 https://t.co/BFOTqum45w pic.twitter.com/VcYj1BMI5Q
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 6, 2024
Those comments would come back to bite Ogier as he rolled and Neuville rose to the lead, storming away to win by 1m46.8s over Sordo.
“Well, I guess I got a bit of karma in the end,” Ogier wrote on social media.
“Part of the game. It was a fun week at Acropolis Rally, I gave my all to recover as much as possible after our misfortune on Friday but it didn’t pay off this time.
“We’ll be back very soon. Now back to my loved ones. And last but not least… hope you’ve been entertained!”
Ogier rolled on the #WolfPowerStage and lost second place! 🤯#WRC | #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/Aq7SaIdCmh
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 8, 2024
Acropolis was a proper rally of attrition with only one of the nine Rally1 entries competing trouble-free, so much so that WRC2 class winner Sami Pajari finished fourth outright.
Runner-up Sordo suffered a puncture on SS9 while Tanak had two tyre failures on SS7.
Neuville leads the FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ standings by 34 points over Tanak.
Discussion about this post