Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier secured a record-equalling ninth world rally title in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to equal the tally of fellow Frenchman Sebastien Loeb and become the sport’s oldest champion at 41.
Loeb won his nine titles successively between 2004 and 2012 with Citroen.
Ogier won six titles consecutively from 2013-18 and added two more in 2020 and 2021. He has found success with three different manufacturers — Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota.
He had announced his intention to retire from full-time rallying at the end of 2021 but has continued part-time and won his latest title despite being absent from three of the 14 rounds, winning six.
The Frenchman will be 42 on December 17 and is now the oldest driver to win the world championship. The previous oldest was Finland’s Hannu Mikkola at 41 years and 183 days in 1983.
First title for co-driver Landais
“What a season, that’s for sure,” Ogier said after finishing third in Jeddah with Evans sixth.
“What a fight with Elfyn and (co-driver) Scott (Martin). They have been super strong pushing us to the limit up to the very last stage of the year.”
The title was a first for Ogier’s co-driver Vincent Landais, who teamed up with him in 2022.
Evans, who had hoped to become the first British champion since Richard Burns in 2001 and started the rally three points clear, took five bonus points from the final Power stage but Ogier was second in that to limit the damage.
“It was a tough event obviously,” said the Welshman, championship runner-up for a fifth time in his career.
“I think we did what we could in reason. A puncture on Saturday morning didn’t help but that’s the name of the game, everybody’s had their fair share of issues.”
The rally was won by Hyundai’s outgoing champion Thierry Neuville, with the Belgian finishing 54.7 seconds clear of French teammate Adrien Fourmaux.
Toyota’s double world champion Kalle Rovanpera, who was also mathematically still in title contention at the start of the event, finished seventh.
The Finn is now leaving rallying to start a new career in single-seater circuit racing, with his eyes on a possible future in endurance or even Formula One.
Saudi Arabia was making its debut on the world championship calendar as the first round staged in the Middle East since Jordan in 2011.
Ogier equals Loeb’s record with ninth world championship
https://arab.news/4nnge
Ogier equals Loeb’s record with ninth world championship
- Ogier wins ninth world rally title, oldest champion at 41
- Frenchman secured title despite part-time campaign
Drake Maye aims to do what Tom Brady couldn’t with the Patriots: win a playoff game in Denver
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.: Drake Maye has a chance to accomplish something not even Tom Brady did with the Patriots.
Maye is hoping to beat the Broncos in the AFC championship game in Denver on Sunday and lead New England to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver — losing all four tries, with Brady going 0-3.
“Just the AFC championship, the chance to go to the Super Bowl. That’d be huge,” Maye said. “Another road environment that’s had success in the past. … I know it would be a big-time win.”
The Patriots advanced to their 14th AFC championship game in the last 25 years on Sunday when they beat the Houston Texans 28-16 in Foxborough. Denver beat Buffalo 33-30 to reach the conference title game.
New England and Denver both finished 14-3 in the regular season, but the Broncos won the tiebreaker for home-field advantage because they had a better record against common opponents: Denver beat the Raiders twice this season but the Patriots lost to them.
That loss — to the worst team in the NFL in the first game of the Mike Vrabel era — sent New England into one of the most inhospitable environments in the league. In addition to the high-energy crowd, the Patriots will also have to contend with a low-oxygen environment that they won’t have a chance to acclimate to.
“Kind of what we’ve been doing on the road all season long,” said Maye, who has guided the Patriots to an 8-0 road record this season. “They’ve got a great team, so we’re going to have a tough challenge. But I’m looking forward to getting out there. And getting a chance to possibly celebrate on an away field would be pretty special.”
The last team to go undefeated on the road with a new head coach was the San Francisco 49ers under George Seifert in 1989; they won the Super Bowl.
“Coach has always been saying, ‘Road warriors,’” Maye said. “So, we’re trying to find that one more time and finish out strong what we’ve done this year.”
The Broncos are 18-5 in home playoff games all-time. But they’ll will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who broke his ankle near the end of the divisional round victory over Buffalo. Instead, the offense will be led by former Patriot Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass since 2023.
That’s why New England opened as a 5½-point favorite — the biggest road favorite ever in a conference championship game. The line has since moved to Denver plus-4½.
“We always feel as though no matter what anyone else has to say, we still have something to prove,” said cornerback Marcus Jones, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Houston. “We’re trying to always prove ourselves right and not trying to prove other people wrong. That’s kind of the philosophy we’ve had for a long time.”
Win or lose, the Patriots could have trouble getting back to New England: A major snowstorm is expected to dump a foot or more of snow on the area.
Vrabel said the team is prepared if it can’t leave Denver on Sunday night.
“We have multiple plans of what could go on based on the weather. something that they’re familiar with here,” he said. “I mean, there’s things I can control, that I can’t control.”
