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Ari Vatanen: “I’m happy Ogier’s going to M-Sport!"

The 1981 world champion reflects on Sébastien Ogier's move to the British team.

The news that Sébastien Ogier would join the British privateer team M-Sport for the 2017 World Rally Championship was met with excitement from millions of rally fans - including one particularly special one.

Ari Vatanen is one of rallying's certified gods, famous for his exploits behind the wheels of cars like the Ford Escort that brought him his 1981 World Rally Championship title and the ferocious little Peugeot 205 T16 Group B car.

Following the announcement that Ogier would join Ott Tänak to lead M-Sport's charge as the WRC moved to a new era of more powerful cars, Vatanen spoke to RedBull.com to talk about his joy - and we mean genuine joy - at Ogier's decision, and what he thought it meant for the health of the World Rally Championship.

So Ari, are you pleased with the news?

Excellent, excellent - I was so happy when I found out. I was actually at the French Federation Prize-Giving last night and someone turned to me and said, ‘Ari, 10 minutes ago it was announced that Ogier will go to Ford' and I thought, ‘Wow!' It speaks volumes for what Malcolm [Wilson, M-Sport team principal] has done.

You've got to remember that Ford have got very little involvement [in M-Sport] and Malcolm has to find money himself and do very good business in order to run the company. He has taken big gambles, and I love that entrepreneurial aspect to him. I mean, Malcolm started selling drivers' gloves out of a shoebox at Carlisle Airport and now to arrive to what he has today, he really deserves all the credit for that. People don't realise that it's easy to work for somebody else, but it's totally different when you put your neck on the line and you don't know what the outcome is going to be - it's just an educated guess and you hope it will work out well. And it has done for Malcolm, because he's a true businessman. Now to have Ogier there, imagine what that will do for them.

This is really a big moment for M-Sport...
Absolutely. Ogier's arrival will give a big boost to Malcolm, to Ford - maybe new people will get involved. Somebody needs to ignite a movement and this combination - Ogier and M-Sport - will ignite it. I'm very sad that Volkswagen pulled out, but what we've been left with, this is the best restart for now.

Were you in contact with Sébastien leading up to his decision?

Oh yes. I always tease him, because when he became world champion for the first time, he was a few months older than I was when I became world champion, so I always tell him, ‘You're not really talented, because if you were, than you'd have been younger than me when you became champion'! But I said to him, ‘Seb, the only thing that matters to you is winning, and Ford will give you that option'. Then I saw him at the FIA Prize-Giving in Vienna and we spoke about his options. So I had a little hand in it, but I don't want to exaggerate my position at all - I never do that! But I was hoping very much that it would happen, and I'm genuinely, sincerely very happy that it turned out this way.

Would you have been slightly disappointed if Sébastien had signed for one of the other teams?

Yes, I would have been because that would have been more of the same, but this is something new. You need to redistribute your cards in life. This is good for the sport; people need to get emotional and when something really good happens, you have to enjoy it and you have to spread the joy. For the wellbeing of our sport, things have to be re-done all the time.

Do you think Sébastien can take a fifth title in 2017?

You will see next year. I don't rule [Sébastien] out at all from winning - he told me that the car is very good - but of course no one can know until the first stage time comes in from Monte Carlo - then we will know! But do you realise that I'm the last Ford driver to win the World Championship? Nobody has done that since 1981, so I jokingly said to Malcolm, ‘Well, you should employ me because I'm the only one who knows how to do it!' I hope that Seb will take this burden off my shoulders now - I don't want to remain the last Ford driver to win!

So finally: given the chance, would you like to try the new 380bhp 2017 cars?

Of course. Not in competition, of course, but on a nice piece of closed special stage, preferably between big snow banks now because of my age, yes I would love to drive it. That would be like giving a Stradivarius to a violinist!

Zdroj: redbull.com