Car 1. OGIER/INGRASSIA
“You have to do the job and drive the day. After all those years in the sport it is not fun to
race for nothing. It is nice to have some line compared with yesterday. I struggle a little
with the grip still. The only target I have for the weekend is the Power Stage.”
Car 2. EVANS/BARRITT
“I think the first two stages are good for us. It’s a pity we lost so much in the long one. I
knew I was struggling in some parts of the stage. We will look at those areas now and try
to be better the next time around. I doubt it will be quite as rough this afternoon (as
yesterday). The surface is loose with a harder base.”
Car 3. SUNINEN/MARKKULA
“Esapelka (Lappi) was my mechanic in 2007 in the karting. Now we are racing against
each other. He had three years more experience than me and he was teaching me! Not
any more! I need a clean run and flat out on the limit. If we are lifting a bit we are losing
some seconds.”
Car 4. MIKKELSEN/JAEGER-SYNNEVAAG
“Basically we had some engine problems yesterday. To cope with that, so that I survive
the rally, we made some alterations. Getting the Manufacturers’ points is important.”
Car 5. NEUVILLE/GILSOUL
“I think we had to go in Amarante. I knew it as a bit more sandy and tried to push hard. If
you keep the same rhythm all the time in a long stage you can make a gap. We feel quite
comfortable. You can get a problem. We need to keep concentration high and not hit the
stones when it is rougher.”
Nicolas Gilsoul: “I am very happy. I was yesterday evening. The road position today is
more comfortable for us. We pushed in the first stage, but there were some tricky sections
on the second one and the time was not so nice so we pushed to the limit in the long
one.”
Car 9. LAPPI/FERM
“I’m satisfied and I am surprised we could do such good times. The middle one was not so
good. We were sweeping a little. It has been a positive morning. Teemu and I used to
compete in karting and I used to be his mechanic once. We were also fighting in WRC 2. I
would like to be in front. I’m fired up.”
Car 11. BREEN/MARTIN
Martin: “It’s tough first on the road. Now we know what the guys suffer when they are
leading the championship. We have enjoyed it. We could have had more grip. We
struggled a bit. We could have gone a bit more towards the traction.”
Car 12. ØSTBERG/ERIKSEN
“It was tough out there this morning. Unfortunately something happened with him on the
long one. The car is behaving well. I have increased the speed but it doesn’t tell because
of the road cleaning. The road is a little bit harder and there is more cleaning. That is not
so nice for those at the front. The drivers further back say it is getting rough already. It
could be a hard afternoon.”
Car 16. SORDO/DEL BARRIO
“20km for only one second! I lost it in the two first stages and then I got it. I was impressed
by the time of Thierry. He was flying. I think it will be less rough than yesterday. The tyres
now are better than yesterday.”
Pierre Budar (Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team) – Meeke crash
“They seem okay. We are not 100% sure but we request a medical guy to see that they
have no problems. We have few details for the time being. He was happy with the car. I
do not know if he made a mistake or not. As you can imagine all the team is quite
disappointed not to have a good result. Based on the speed we can have that. Drivers are
happy with the car. We still have to fight for it. We still believe in the driver and the car.”