Photo Credit: M-Sport The news is finally out, we know where Sebasiten Ogier will be and what he'll be driving to defend his World Rally Championships drivers crown, and it's the move that many wanted. Sebastien Ogier will drive for Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport team in 2017 alongside co-driver Julien Ingrassia, with Estonian pairing Ott Tanak and new co-driver Martin Jarveoja joining the French crew in the all new Ford Fiesta RS WRC 2017 (pictured above).
Rumours had been circling faster than you can say the phrase regarding Ogier's future, and the Frenchman has tested both the Fiesta and the Toyota Yaris WRC in the past couple of weeks. Reports were that Ogier's test with the Cockermouth squad had been positive, but a deal was yet to be struck. But today the news that many British rally fans were waiting to hear was out, Malcolm Wilson had got his man and Ogier will pilot an M-Sport machine in next year's WRC. The quadruple champion said: "There will be a lot of new things this season, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. We have a new generation of World Rally Cars and a new team - it's certainly an exciting time. "There's not long before we line-up at the start of Rallye Monte-Carlo and we've not had a lot of seat time with the Ford Fiesta WRC, but we'll give it our best to be ready. We're aware of the challenges, and I can see how hungry Malcolm and his team are for success. "It's funny to think that just a few months ago I was sitting at a motorsport forum at Wales Rally GB saying how nice it would be to work with him one day. I had no idea at the time it would come qutie so soon, but here we are." Malcolm Wilson is equally excited about capturing his man. It is third time lucky for Wilson who tried to sign Sebastien Loeb back in 2005 and Ogier himself in 2012 before the Frenchman decided to sign for the new Volkswagen team. With the World Champions in the number 1 car and the highly rated Tanak as number 2, Ford can surely buy themselves a championship title by providing manaufacturer support for the M-Sport team once more. They've not been in a better position to clinch either the drivers or manufactuters title in a decade. Wilson said: "We go to Rallye Monte-Carlo with the number one on the door of the Ford Fiesta WRC and the strongest driver line-up we've had in years. "To say we're excited about next season is an understatement. We believe we have produced an exceptional car, and we're in the best possible position ahead of this exciting new era. "We have worked extremely hard to secure Sebastien and Julien and they believe the Ford Fiesta WRC is the car with which they can best defend their championship." This news means that there is a question mark over Eric Camilli's future who has a contract for 2017, but news is expected regarding the young Frenchman shortly. The WRC jigsaw is starting to fall into place, with Elfyn Evans expecetd to sign a deal with DMACK and Jari-Matti Latvala having signed for the new Toyota team, with an official announcement expecetd tomorrow. The big intirgue now surrounds the private Volkswagen entry, which may or not come into fruition. If it does, it is likely that Nasser Al-Attiyah and Qatar will be the ones investing in the Polo R WRC 2017. and Andreas Mikkelsen will surely be a driver. The Rally Australia winner is fast running out of options to be at the start of Rallye Monte-Carlo next month. It would be a crying shame if he weren't to feature in next year's championship. But what a championship next year is set to be. With Ogier now at M-Sport, there is a serious title contender at each of the four teams: Ogier at M-Sport, Neuville at Hyundai, Meeke at Citroen and Latvala at Toyota. And the cars sound and look so great, I think 2017 could be one of the most exciting WRC seasons in years, especially with a British driver involved at the front. Ogier will still be the favourite, but the Frenchman is far less familiar with his Fiesta RS WRC than his rivals are with their machines, and the Monte is not the place you want to be learning a car's characteristics in competition. Does somebody fancy packing me in their suitcase to Monte-Carlo in January?
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January 2018
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