World Rally Champion Risks Title To Avoid Dog On Course [Video]

Lori Ennis
by Lori Ennis
Five-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier is a sportsman of the best kind: the dog-loving kind! At Rally Mexico, Ogier avoided hitting a dog, risking his opportunity to beat the nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb!


There are some guys you just can’t help but root for, even if you couldn’t care less about the sport in which they are competing. That’s the case for me with Sebastien Ogier–a five-time World Rally Champion, and apparently, super fast guy.


Related: Race Officials Refuse to Award Medal to Dog Running for a Good Cause


But more? He’s a doggo fan, even if it means risking a loss to his biggest competitor. At Rally Mexico, Ogier risked his finish time (and opportunity to win) because he avoided a dog that was in the middle of the course.


It’s sad, really–as Ogier’s retelling described two dogs as part of the story. Ogier believes one dog was hit by a competitor in front of him, and the other was hanging around his departed buddy.


Ogier said that his wife is a huge animal lover and that if he’d not tried to save the dog that he could, it might have cost him more than the race–it could have cost him his marriage! He said that he had to brake sharply in order to avoid them, and he ended up halfway in the ditch to do so.


Believe it or not, Ogier has already had to dodge a dog in a near-miss earlier in the race in Monte Carlo!

Related: Drag Race Winner Sasha Velour’s Dog Sports Fierce Looks on Instagram


Despite his harrowing heroism, he won the Mexico Rally and retains his lead in the Championship by several points. We’re not sure what happened to the dog, but we’re pretty sure that he’s very thankful that Ogier is a friend to animals as well as fast cars!

Lori Ennis
Lori Ennis

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