World rally champion escapes from police
In motor sport, as in any other field, strange things happen and people who are idols and unquestionable authorities become the subjects of such events. But suddenly something happens to them, totally unforeseen and untypical for such people. Such was the case of Sébastien Ogier, seven times world rally champion and one of the best drivers in the world at Rally Croatia.
As for many other similar rallies, participants have to drive for a part of the way along public roads where they have to become regular road users and respect the rules. Such was the scene of Ogier’s final day accident, as he desperately tried to snatch victory from his closest rival Elfin Evans.
Ogier was travelling in his Toyota to the start area with the other competitors in the race. While driving on the public road, he decided to stop on the side of the road for something, but while doing this, he most likely forgot to look in his rear-view mirror. Therefore, he did not notice a BMW travelling on the same road. This car was going at a fairly high speed, and the result was an inevitable collision, during which the German dented the right side of the Japanese very sensitively.
The Croatian Traffic Police arrived on the scene and Ogier told them that he had to be at the start on time, otherwise he would not be allowed to continue in the race and he would have to pay a heavy fine for not fighting.
The police officers, however, were adamant that he would only be released after a full hearing, which was expected to be long. F Facing a deadlocked start, Sébastien Ogier got behind the wheel and quickly fled the scene of the accident. Police officers tried to stop him, but Ogier managed to pull out onto the track and made a getaway.
The driver managed to be in time to start, but according to the FIA Technical Inspectorate’s opinion, the damage he sustained in the accident was not too serious and he could compete in the event.
The final dop of the competition, taking place on the 18th special, was decisive. Four seconds behind Evans, Ogier still had a good chance of winning the overall standings. However, after the accident, it was harder to win, as the damaged car lost some of its dynamic characteristics.
Ogier managed to pull out a win, but only six tenths of a second ahead of his rival in the final stretch. And after the finish, Ogier still had to deal with the Croatian traffic police. Their explanations were fully satisfactory to the legendary rally driver, but he faced sanctions from the FIA. The rider was conditionally disqualified for one round and fined five thousand dollars.
