Ogier drove a consistent rally, unlike his rivals, to not make any mistakes in the Peugeot 207 S2000 over the three day event. He only found out last week that he would be contesting the rally and only drove the car at a test for just over a day last weekend.
"It's very, very good - a perfect feeling. I drove very carefully and now it's finished. I think I had a good strategy this weekend, because I also drove carefully and I made no mistakes. All the others wanted to push a lot and did a lot of mistakes and went off," Ogier said.
Freddy Loix grabbed second and Stephane Sarrazin came third to make it a clean sweep of the podium for Peugeot who haven't won the event since 1985. Jan Kopecky was fourth to give Skoda a solid result on their IRC debut after showing great potential on the rally and marking themselves out for certain future success. Basso took fifth and Alen sixth for Abarth after an indifferent rally but the Turin squad were at least content to get some points on the board.
Toni Gardemeister was the only major casualty on the final night retiring his Astra Racing Punto from second place with a broken alternator.
Rallye Monte Carlo 2009 Final Results:
1. Sebastien Ogier BF Goodrich Peugeot 207 S2000 4hours 40mins 45.7secs N4
2. Freddy Loix Peugeot Team Belux 207 S2000 +01mins 43.6secs N4
3. Stephane Sarrazin Team Peugeot Total 207 S2000 +02mins 21.6secs N4
4. Jan Kopecky Skoda Motorsport Fabia S2000 +03mins 17.3secs N4
5. Giandomenico Basso Abarth Grande Punto S2000 +04mins 28.0secs N4
6. Anton Alen Abarth Grande Punto S2000 +10mins 49.7secs N4
7. Frederic Romeyer Fiat Grande Punto S2000 +20mins 30.3secs N4
8. Olivier Burri Abarth Grande Punto S2000 +21mins 23.0secs N4
9. Luca Betti Renault Clio +24mins 04.8secs A7
10. Patrik Artru Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +25mins 50.7secs N4
Notable retirements:
SS1. Luca Rossetti Abarth Grande Punto S2000 Accident. N4
SS1. Didier Auriol Peugeot 207 S2000 Lost wheel. N4
SS5. Andrej Jereb Peugeot 207 S2000 Mechanical. N4
SS6/7. Nicolas Vouilloz Peugeot Team Belux 207 S2000 Suspension. N4
SS10. Juho Hanninen Skoda Motorsport Fabia S2000 Accident. N4
SS10. Kris Meeke Peugeot UK 207 S2000 Accident. N4
SS11. Franz Wittmann Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Mechanical. N4
SS12. Toni Gardemeister Astra Fiat Grande Punto S2000 Retired. N4
SS12. Julien Maurin Fiat Grande Punto S2000 Mechanical. N4
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