“I’ve got nothing to lose – I’m throwing everything at it.” Sébastien Ogier went into the season-ending Rally at Monza on Sunday lagging 14 points behind Welshman Elfyn Evans. The Frenchman knew he would be battling not only his fellow competitors but also the elements if he wanted to clinch the World Rally Championship for a seventh time in eight years. The circuit itself put up a fight, veering at times from swimming pool to skating rink, but proved no match for his Toyota Yaris as it powered through the blistering snow way up in the Italian mountains.
“We’ve just pulled off something quite momentous.” Sébastien Ogier, together with faithful copilot Julien Ingrassia, has every reason to be triumphant after what was a difficult season, ranging from technical difficulties in the Turkish Rallye to a game-changing pandemic. “We can now say we did a good job this season. The Yaris has been fantastic, pure driving pleasure!” Monza marks Sébastien Ogier’s 49th victory in WRC, all a few days before his 37th birthday. He wears an RM 67-02 Automatic Extra Flat on all competitions.
The Richard Mille colours could also be seen glinting in a very different arena, the searing heat of Bahrain. 21-year-old Mick Schumacher spent his Sunday winning another trophy – the Formula 2 championship of 2020. In what was to be a dramatic season finale in a reverse-grid Sprint Race around the shortened Sakhir circuit in Bahrain, Schumacher pipped fellow Ferrari Driver Academy member Callum Ilott to the title.
This concludes a truly remarkable year, the young German notching up 2 race wins and 10 podium finishes to bring the most famous name in motor racing back into the spotlight. Above all, Sunday’s success propels him towards achieving his dream of graduating to F1 next year. At his tender age, Schumacher is however not quite as used to success as Ogier: “To be honest, I’m a bit overwhelmed, I don’t yet feel like a champion. It will take a few days to settle in, but one thing I know is that it’s fantastic teamwork.” Mick has been with the RM family since 2019.
Tim Malachard, Marketing Director at Richard Mille, in a state of euphoria, made the following comments: “Both drivers excelled this year in what has been a very complex calendar of racing with many changes and conditions that required solid nerves to adapt to and often at the last minute. Congratulations to both in two very different automotive competitions and they can celebrate knowing that they are well positioned to perform again next year.”
More information can be hound on the Richard Mille Website.