FRENCHMAN Sèbastien Ogier will bid to wrap up his third straight FIA World Rally Championship in the Nambucca Valley after boosting his advantage with a flawless win in ADAC Rallye Germany on Sunday.
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The Coates Hire Rally Australia on the Coffs Coast on September 10-13 - with two of the three days being in the Nambucca Valley - is the next destination on the WRC calendar and a fresh chance for Ogier to clinch the title.
Ogier will win the championship in Australia if he finishes ahead of his closest rival and teammate Jari-Matti Latvala.
Latvala would have had to finish no better than eighth on Sunday for Ogier to have a mathematical shot at the crown, but instead the Finn came home second and with the third Volkswagen driver Andreas Mikkelsen on the final podium step.
The result was a dream for Volkswagen on its all-important home event, the only one on the 13-round WRC calendar it had not conquered and where it had failed bitterly on the past two occasions.
"The pressure was on all weekend. Everyone expected us to succeed here finally and we made it with a one-two-three," Ogier said at the finish near Trier, in the Mosel region.
"I'm so close to my third title now, so I'm really happy. It's been a great rally, really enjoyable."
