Sebastien Ogier is filling the New Zealand police coffers. The Frenchman, who reappears in the New Zealand Rally after several months absent in the World Championship, has been sanctioned twice for respective speeding fines on links between stages. They have endorsed two ‘recipes’ of 350 and 600 euros, respectively, although the worst could come if they catch him a third time, since it would fall, in addition to the economic penalty, a five-minute penalty in qualifying.
The Frenchman has shown that, despite his semi-retirement, he has not lost his powers. He has won a section and was leading until the last special, in which he gave up the lead of the rally to Ott Tanak. A touch in the penultimate stage left his Toyota without a rear wing, and that hurt him in the final stage. But he remains third, just 6.7 seconds behind the Estonian.
The problem is that all that effort you can go to hell if you don’t slow down in the link sections between the specials. After almost a thousand euros in ‘recipes’ from the police, a third offense would not only punish his pocket, but would also make him lose all his chances of victory in the antipodes.
