Technical director Tom Fowler talks to DirtFish about Ogier's performances to-date
Photography by Toyota
Words by David Evans, DirtFish Head of Media
When it comes to Sébastien Ogier’s career, it’s a big call. But Toyota technical director Tom Fowler feels he’s ready to make it.
The Frenchman has started 198 rounds of the World Rally Championship in 17 years. He’s won 65 times, been on the podium 111 and topped the world eight times. He’s had some very, very good seasons.
Could this be the best yet? Could the 2025-specification Ogier be the pinnacle of a truly glittering career?
Fowler pauses to run a mental rule across the last six seasons, smiling as he considers back-to-back world titles in 2020/21 and 18 rally wins aboard a Yaris. But then there’s the Volkswagen era, when he rocked the world and ruled the service park for four years straight. And who could forget a brace of titles with M-Sport which further cloud the picture of the premier campaign.
“I’m not sure,” Fowler told DirtFish. “Maybe it is his best ever. The way he’s operated – and is operating – this season is incredible. The pace he has compared to the others is pretty unbelievable and it shows no sign of dropping. The point that brings that home is just how close the drivers’ championship is, with him having not started three of the 10 rallies.”
Ogier is locked in the title battle despite sitting out three rallies
Post-Paraguay, Ogier sits third in the table, nine points off championship leader and Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans.
Had that Sunday in South America turned out slightly differently, and the powerstage downpour arrived a handful of minutes later, the Frenchman might have been leading the way into Chile. That frustration was writ large across Ogier’s face when he finished the Encarnación event.
Fowler wasn’t surprised at the conflicted emotions.
“For me, that showed him as the ultimate competitor that he is,” he added. “It showed how much it meant to him to try to take the maximum points to help his championship. For those people who don’t get that, I think maybe the perspective that’s missing for them is that he was the fastest driver of the rally, without a doubt. He made up the 40 seconds he lost and he caught that time back with pure driving.
“I mean, other people had issues, yes, but he caught up what he had lost and going into the powerstage, he was the fastest driver of the rally. I’m sure he was confident he was going to win the rally, there was a strong chance he was going to win [Super] Sunday and the powerstage.
“Added to that, the driver sitting in second place was Adrien Fourmaux, not involved in the championship and he would have been reasonably sure Hyundai wouldn’t take that second place away from Fourmaux. Everything was working perfectly for him and the points gain against his main championship rivals could have been massive.
“I’m sure, in that moment, Séb would have been thinking: ‘This is my moment to take the lead in the championship.’ And then it didn’t happen. The rain came and everything changed. I would say, considering all of that, and the fact that this was one of those hot moments right at the end of the stage, I would say his reaction is kind of understandable.”
It’s hard to argue with that perspective. So we won’t.
And when it comes to the season-long side of things, four wins, two seconds, a third and that 100% podium record make a compelling case for this being the best of the best.
To watch an in-depth interview with Ogier about his motivation to strive for the 2025 title, why he’s always tried to stay humble and reflections on his time working with Loeb, sign up to Club DirtFish today
Words:David Evans
Tags: Seabstien Ogier, Tom Fowler, Toyota, WRC, WRC 2025
Publish Date September 9, 2025 DirtFish
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