3 Winners and Losers of WRC Rally Saudi Arabia

Sebastien Ogier claimed his ninth world title at the World Rally Championship’s season finale, the Rally Saudi Arabia, and here are my winners and losers of the event.

Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool

Winners

Sebastien Ogier

The obvious winner. A record-equalling ninth world title puts Ogier on par with the Legendary Sebastien Loeb. It’s an impressive achievement considering the now-nine-time world champion has run a part-time schedule this season, missing three rallies across the year. 

Ogier’s championship win also gives his co-driver, Vincent Landais, his maiden world title after partnering up with the champion in 2022. 

Martins Sesks

Sesks has shown us once again that he has the talent to compete in the WRC, as he dragged his Rally1 Puma up to the sharp end of the timing boards and held it there for most of the weekend, until the final day. 

Despite his bad luck at the end of the event, the Latvian gave Ford their highest probability of a rally win in the season finale in his very few outings with the team, something not achieved by the team’s full-time drivers across the season. 

Thierry Neuville

While Neuvile has watched his hopes of defending his championship fall in flames across the season, the outgoing world champions can take solace in winning the final event of the season. 

Neuville kept himself out of trouble all weekend, whilst others faltered with punctures and delaminations, to secure his first and only win of the season, comfortably ahead of his teammate Adrien Fourmaux.

Embed from Getty Images

Losers

Elfyn Evans

Once again, Evans is the runner-up for the title. It would be a painful reality for the Welshman to swallow, losing the championship by four points, marking him as our first loser of this list. 

However, the Welshman has put in an impressive performance all season to drag the championship out until the very last event. 

Kalle Rovanpera 

Rovanpera couldn’t have the fairytale ending of his WRC career, as an outside chance of securing the title heading into Saudi Arabia, as the two-time world champion leaves the sport with a seventh-place finish. 

The departing champion had led the championship contenders at a point of the rally but after a puncture on the penultimate stage, it dropped him behind both Ogier and Evans, and all but threw him out of championship contention. 

Adrien Fourmaux

Saudi Arabia could have been Fourmaux’s first-ever WRC win, alongside Sami Pajari and Sesks, but a late penalty for the Frenchman cost him overall victory at the season finale. 

Fourmaux was given a one-minute penalty going into Saturday’s final stages after checking in a minute early to the technical zone. Without it, he could have won the event as he finished under a minute behind Neuville.

Sebastien Ogier has clinched ninth title as Thierry Neuville takes Saudi Arabia win

Read more WRC here:

• Sebastien Ogier has clinched ninth title as Thierry Neuville takes Saudi Arabia win
• Sebastien Ogier on the cusp of ninth world title at Rally Saudi Arabia
• Sesks inherits lead after Saudi Arabia day 3 as title goes to the wire
• Evans puncture drops him down order after morning loop at Rally Saudi Arabia
• Fourmaux leads Rally Saudi Arabia while Evans loses ground
• Sesks leads Rally Saudi Arabia as title contenders fall behind

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.