Sebastien Ogier has officially retired from EKO Acropolis Rally Greece after an issue on stage 12, find out more below.
Why Is Ogier Retiring?
On stage 12 Sebastien Ogier experienced a mechanical issue. That issue being one of the rear suspension arms on his Toyota breaking. Add that to the two punctures he got and he was crawling through the stage. Ogier lost just under 4 minutes to Kalle Rovanperä on the stage, losing the lead in the process and falling to fourth overall. The stage may have been over but the real battle was just starting for the Frenchman. As now Ogier had to make it back to service before time ran out. Ogier didn’t make the cut off, stopping on the road section after the stage to attempt to repair the issue.
Will He Return?
Sebastien Ogier’s retirement sounds like it’s only for the third day, not for the remainder of the event. Until the official start list for day four is confirmed we won’t know if the Frenchman is restarting. The WRC has Ogier marked as 9th on the timesheet currently, 2 minutes and 45.4 seconds behind Takamoto Katsuta. Ogier will likely be able to move up to 7th overall if he returns for the final three stages and doesn’t have any extra issues.
What Ogier Being Out Means For The Rally
Sebastien Ogier was the most likely to win the event after Thierry Neuville retired from the event early into the third day with the same issue as Ogier. Kalle Rovanperä and Ogier were expected to battle for the event win, however, due to Ogier’s retirement Rovanperä has won the event unless he has an issue tomorrow. Ogier’s retirement also pretty much guarantees Ott Tänak a spot within the top five. As the Estonian now sits 2 minutes and 40.3 seconds behind Elfyn Evans and 1 minute and 26.5 seconds ahead of Takamoto Katsuta. Although as today has proven anything is possible in an event like EKO Acropolis Rallg Greece. Especially after heavy rain left the event in a Safari Rally Kenya-like state.