Newly crowned Junior༒ World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier was unable to make it to the finish of the Rallye du Condroz-Huy following an event long battle with fellow Citroen driver Bruno Thiry.

The Belgian event took place over three days with Ogier and Thiry running🐈 in close proximity on the timing sheets through to the final day.

While Thiry was able to finish 14th overall in his Citroen C2-R2 MAX, Ogier was forced out due to a gearbox issue on the final leg of thꦬe event although he admitted he had enjoyed the experience.

"Although it was cut short, we enjoyed a fantastic rally!" he said. "I struggled at first on these very greasy roads. I was braking too early - but there was so l꧂ittle grip! Gradual﷽ly I got slightly more used to the stages and we came back into the frame again. A good choice of intermediate BFGoodrich tyres for the final loop of stages yesterday (SS10 and SS11) allowed us to make up the time lost to Bruno.

"With just eight-tenths of a second between us and only two stages to go, we were set for an exciting finish - until we encountered our problem. But I can draw an extremely positive conclusion from this rally. I've once more increased my experience in some very difficult conditions. I'm also happy abo♕ut all the work we did together with PH-Sport. We opted for some good settings on the car and made the correct tyre choices. In these really difficult conditions, the driveability of the C2-R2 MAX was a useful ally. In the mud, its traction, damping and eagerness made it awesome to drive.

"ꦯFinally, I was very pleased to be able to set similar times to those of a well-known driver like Bruno Thiry - who was competing on home territory."