The 2008 Junior World Rally Champion has so far scored 5 points in the overall classification, being the highest placed Citroen Junior Team driver in the WRC point standings (9th place). It was actually his impressive 7th place in Argentina that got him an additional round (Greece) to his 2009 programme, but only sponsorship could keep his 2009 campaign alive from that point onwards.
“After a strong performance in Argentina, which satisfied the entire team, Sebastien Ogier will also be entered for Greece. He has already shown great potential during the six-event programme that was agreed at the start of the year. We would love to see him in Poland but we still need to find some budget. We are working on that on a rally-by-rally basis,” said Citroen Junior team boss Benoit Nogier.
Nogier also revealed that Ogier's situation is not singular within the Citroen Junior outfit, as Russian teenager Evgeny Novikov is also set to run only two more rounds in the WRC (still Sardinia and Acropolis). The rest of his programme is also dependent of finding the proper sponsorship for the remaining rounds.
Conrad Rautenbach, in turn, is the only driver who has managed to secure his seat for the entire duration of the 2009 WRC season. Under the conditions, a potential comeback from former Subaru driver Chris Atkinson would be possible, as the Australian driver made quite an impression on his first outing with Citroen's satellite team – 5th place in Rally Ireland.
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