Ogier wins Autosport’s International Rally Driver Award

World Rally Championship legend Sebastien Ogier has won Autosport’s International Rally Driver following his performances during the 2024 season.

The eight-time world rally champion topped an online poll voted for by Autosport readers. It is the eighth time Ogier has picked up the coveted award following triumphs from 2013-2018 and 2021.

Autosport’s International Rally Driver award dates back to 1982, with that year’s WRC title runner-up Michele Mouton becoming the inaugural winner.

Fans voted for Ogier following an impressive 2024 campaign that began with the Frenchman originally due to contest only half a season as part of a partial programme driving for Toyota.

However, a strong run of performances put Ogier firmly in pursuit of a record equalling ninth WRC title as the Toyota driver became the team’s best hope for the drivers’ title. As a result, Toyota asked Ogier to extend his programme to drive 10 of the 13 rounds.

Ogier kicked off his campaign by finishing second behind eventual 2024 world champion Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville in Monte Carlo. Victories soon followed in Croatia and Portugal, the latter witnessed Ogier become the event’s most successful driver with six wins, eclipsing the record previously held by Markku Alen.

The 41-year-old narrowly missed out on victory in Sardinia, losing out by 0.2s to Ott Tanak in what was the joint-closest winning margin in WRC history. Victory in Finland, after Kalle Rovanpera crashed from the lead on the penultimate stage, elevated Ogier as Neuville’s closest rival to ignite an unlikely title battle.

But Ogier’s season tailed off toward the end of the campaign after a combination of accidents and misfortune in Greece, Chile and the Central European Rally.

Ogier ended 2024 in style by helping Toyota snatch its eighth WRC manufacturers’ title from Hyundai in dramatic fashion, winning the final stage of the season at Rally Japan.

“It is a great honour to receive the International Rally Driver Award one more time. I want to thank all of you for voting for me and it is always a pleasure to get this. I think it is has probably came out of my full attack mode last year,” said Ogier.

“I really gave everything even if my programme initially was only a partial one and I ended up in a situation fighting for the championship.

“It was enjoyable for me to be able to show that I still have some speed and get some wins and good points for my team. We still managed our main target of winning the manufacturers title for the team, so it has been a very positive season.”

Back for another partial campaign with Toyota in 2025, Ogier claimed a record-extending 10th Monte Carlo Rally win last weekend.

To find out who our other Award winners are, go to autosport.com/awards