Photo: Stian Andersson

Rally Norway Leg 3

End of stage flashes from SS 17 Hamar 2

Bright, sunny, 0 ºC

1 Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroen C4)

There was a lot of snow on the road in the previous stage and I had to do a lot of cleaning.  But in this stage it was no problem.  I preferred to be first on the road on Friday, not on Sunday.

27 Tord Linnerud/Ragnar Engen (Peugeot 206 WRC)
It’s very hard trying to keep up with Seb.  He’s like the hare you have to chase.  I’ve not spoken to him before the stages because I’ve just been concentrating on my own job.  This stage is better for me today because the grip is more.

25 Juho Hänninen/Mikko Markkula (Mitsubishi Lancer WR05)

The grip was much better today but it’s still slippery.  I am still not happy because I hit a snow bank this morning.

17 Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (Ford Focus)

I stopped totally on the last corner because I spun.  I lost about eight seconds.  Maybe I have some problems with my left foot! (joke)

26 Rune Dalsjø/Jens Olav Løvhøiden (Subaru Impreza S9)

I want to drive more now as this has been such a good event.  I have to find and talk to some rich uncles to see if they can help me!  My time was good today so I’m happy.

20 Jan Kopecky/Filip Schovanek (Skoda Fabia WRC)

I stalled at the start and lost maybe eight seconds.  I don’t know why but once I started everything was okay.

6 Daniel Carlsson/Denis Giraudet (Citroen Xsara WRC)

There was no problems at all; everything was okay. Carlsson waited to check Pons’ time before leaving time control.

22 Xavier Pons/Xavier Amigo (Mitsubishi Lancer WR05)
I have a big battle with Carlsson so it is not easy to concentrate.  But that stage was fine and I have a good feeling with car.

19 Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini (Citroen Xsara WRC)
I only tried to get to the end.  Points are not my priority.  My priority is to learn the car and be consistent.  My car was difficult to trust yesterday so we have some work to do.

5 Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor (Citroen Xsara WRC)

It was hard to get a good time because I had such little grip.  They were the only tyres I had left.

9 Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Antilla (Ford Focus RS WRC 06)

I made a couple of mistakes and my time was only average.  Even in a short stage you can’t afford to lose too much time.

10 Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud (Ford Focus RS WRC 06)

I got sideways at the last corner and maybe I lost one second.  I’m not trying to think about the battle with my brother, I am just trying to push as hard as I can.

3 Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen (Ford Focus RS WRC 06)

You have to ask Malcom Wilson (if there are any team orders).  All I try and do is stay on the road.

4 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lethinen (Ford Focus RS WRC 06)

It’s difficult to follow Marcus’s splits.  The only thing that I have been asked to do is get the best result for the team and finish the rally. (Mikko was asked “Are you allowed to win?”) There is one stage to go so we will see.

8 Chris Atkinson/Glenn MacNeall (Subaru Impreza WRC 2006)

I had really bad understeer at one corner and lost a few seconds.  The road surface is getting a bit dirty now.

16 Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr (Ford Focus RS WRC 06)
There was no problem at all.  The only thing was that the surface is getting a bit dirty but it was not too bad.

23 Mads Østberg/Ole Kristian Unnerud (Subaru WRC S10)
It’s just good to be back on the road after yesterday.  I am using today to gain experience so I have to be careful.

64 Patrik Flodin/Maria Andersson (Subaru Impreza)
The stage was much easier to drive today because there was less snow and the car has been running fine.

45 P-G Andersson/Jonas Andersson (Suzuki Swift S1600)
I’m just trying to get to the finish now.  There is one stage to go and I have a big lead.

31 Patrik Sandell/Emil Axelsson (Renault Clio R3)
We have a lot of work to do with the setup to be able to compete with the Super 1600 cars.  But the car has been reliable and I’m nearly at the finish.

32 Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk (Suzuki Swift S1600)
The stage was not so tricky as yesterday and my time was fantastic. 

48 Kalle Pinomäki/Tuomo Nikkola (Renault Clio R3)
There was good grip but there was lots of gravel on the stage.

37 Aaron Burkart/Timo Gottschalk (Citroen C2 GT)
The worst thing about the gravel on the road is that it’s in the braking zones.  But I got through without any problems.

59 Trond Svenkerud/Kay Ødegård (Ford Fiesta St)
The Junior Championship is one of the best things I’ve experienced.  The whole thing has been genius for me.

39 Andrea Cortinovis/Flavio Zanella (Renault Clio)
It was okay, a bit difficult at times. 

47 Alessandro Bettega/Simone Scattolin (Ford Fiesta Super 1600)
(Spun in previous stage and broke gearbox so stuck in second gear)
 It was my mistake but we had to go very slowly in that stage.

42 Aigar Pärs/Ken Järveoja (Suzuki Swift S1600)
The grip was okay, I had no problem.

43 Vilius Rozukas/Audrius Shoshas (Suzuki Swift S1600)
It was very short and slippery but it was a good time.

46 Shaun Gallagher/Clive Jenkins (Citroen C2 R2)
The surface was cutting up and the clutch is beginning to worry me.  There won’t be time to change it in service but I think we’ll be okay.  The car is still not handling how I’d like it to.

62 Andreas Aigner/Klaus Wicha (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
These rallies (Uddeholm Swedish Rally and Rally Norway) have been such good experience for me and I’ve really adapted a good driving style.  The car has been perfect for me today.

105 Barry Clark/Alistair Scott Martin (Ford Fiesta ST)
The gravel on the braking points was a problem but on such a short stage you can’t worry about things like that.