Ogier on WEC Rookie Test: “It was fun and interesting”
Sebastien Ogier described his first taste of Hypercar machinery and being present in the FIA WEC paddock as fun and interesting after his test during the WEC Rookie test at the Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday.
The seven-time WRC World Champion tested the No.8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar in Bahrain today, sharing the cockpit with winner of Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain winner, Sebastien Buemi.
Ogier completed several stints at the wheel of the Toyota Gazoo. Racing run car and set a best lap of 1m50.647s on used Michelin tyres.
“It was very interesting, I would say and, and fun to be honest,” he said.
“In life, you are always looking for something new and (it was) an experience, and definitely something where there is not much comparison with rally. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot already obviously. It's a starting point. I didn't put so much pressure on myself about expecting being fast straightaway.
“You know, you have to be realistic. It was my first time ever in a Hypercar and it was interesting, and the team helped me a lot between the runs, to try to find the direction.”
Ogier is eyeing a potential future expansion of his career into the world of endurance racing and said that “the ambition was there” to one day race and attempt to win at Le Mans
“But it's probably still some way to go,” he added.
“So that's something that is very fresh now and it's something I need to discuss with them (the team) and really try to get their feedback of this first day.
Ogier also thanked Buemi for assisting with the engineering team on making Ogier comfortable in the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar.
“He's a top driver, so it was nice for me to have his reference and show me exactly what I do wrong basically, and where I need to learn to drive the car. He was pretty open trying to give me some advice.”
Toyota is expected to announce its replacement for Kazuki Nakajima next month.
