Sebastien Ogier of the M-Sport team scored his 5th consecutive title of the World Rally Championship at the Wales Rally GB. Ogier’s consistently excellent performance makes him the second most decorated driver in the history of the WRC. He is also the first driver from a private team to claim the title. Ogier’s challenges this season have been many – he was forced to change teams and he faced a daunting field – but he continued to score points even in this difficult situation. His persistence and his consistency have paid off.

Nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb, who is also a Richard Mille partner, said this of Ogier: “He deserves this title. Right now, he’s the one who best negotiated his championship. He was able to change teams and accept that he couldn’t always win, while continuing to rack up points in the championship.”

As for Ogier himself, he had this to say. “This year was complicated, but to achieve this result is simply unbelievable,” he said tearfully. “We worked really hard. It’s never easy to win a title, but this year was clearly much tighter than the last. I’m grateful to everyone at M-Sport. This may be the most emotional experience of my rally career. I find my sport as exhilarating as ever, and I’m extremely proud to be five times world champion.” It was a moving testament from the man who met difficult challenges and ever-changing situations to produce consistently solid results. The times may be a-changing, but Sebastien Ogier’s race times are stable, and indeed, his own time is now.