As he weighs up his options for 2017, Sébastien Ogier carried out two crucial tests this week; driving Toyota’s Yaris WRC on Wednesday and taking the wheel of M-Sport’s 2017-spec Ford Fiesta RS earlier today.
Following the decision of his Volkswagen team to withdraw from the WRC, the reigning world champion is looking for a car and team to take him to a fifth consecutive title in 2017.
And on returning from last weekend’s Kennards Hire Rally Australia, Ogier got to experience two options - heading first to Spain to drive Toyota’s all new world rally car.
YouTube footage uploaded by E-RaceVideos [below] claims to show Ogier at the wheel of the Yaris - although the mirrored windows make it impossible to see who is inside. Team boss Tommi Makinen has since confirmed that Ogier did indeed drive the car on both gravel and asphalt roads.
Next, Ogier headed to the UK to meet with the M-Sport team. Earlier today Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia took the Fiesta RS for a spin on gravel at the Walters Arena rally complex in Wales.
Team boss Malcolm Wilson was at the test and left together with Ogier and Ingrassia when Ott Tänak took over the driving in the afternoon.
In Australia, Ogier revealed that he was talking to two teams about drives iin 2017 and with Rallye Monte-Carlo just 50 days away, he acknowledged he needed to make up his mind quickly.
"I like to judge before I sign with anyone - so that’s my next step. Also try the car. It’s important to have some feelings about which car I could drive next year," he said.
"Obviously we are already a little bit late now to be in optimal condition for next season but I hope that very soon I’ll be able to take my decision."