Photo: Marius Torgersrud/Rally Norway

Drivers’ Comments from SS10 Mountain 1

Feb. 14, 2009

Weather forecast: temperature –12°C, bright sky. Stage conditions is ice, big snow banks and good visibility.

1. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroën C4)

“The road position makes no difference on this stage, it’s a really good fight, I am going flat out but the time is about the same as Mikko. There was ice from the beginning to the end of the stage and these are great driving conditions.”

3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Focus RS WRC 08)

“It’s really a good fun stage: I think Jari-Matti will be quicker than me because it wasn’t a clear stage for me. We had no specific problems but I think the braking was not correct for me.”

4. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Antilla (Ford Focus RS WRC 08)

“There was a lot of grip but I didn’t have the right feeling with the car. I think I was a little bit too cautious because I was braking too early but this is a really nice stage, a perfect stage for a winter rally.”

2. Dani Sordo/Marc Marti (Citroën C4)

“I don’t know why but I didn’t have so much confidence. There was a lot of grip but I couldn’t place the car where I wanted on the road.”

11. Petter Solberg/Phill Mills (Citroën Xsara)

“This was a very fast and very narrow stage. We saw yesterday that on fast stages it is not perfect for our car but it’s still good fun to drive. I am going to keep on fighting so let’s see what we can do.”

19. P-G Andersson/Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia WRC)

“I think we can do better although I am pleased we are passed Petter. I am not so happy with my driving on that stage but there is a long day ahead.”

6. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud (Ford Focus RS WRC 08)

“Because of the snow of the cars in front it is not always easy to see on the stage but we are on the right way.”

16. Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin (Ford Focus RS WRC 08)

“That was really a fantastic stage! The problem for us was that we lost some time in the narrow parts of the stage in the beginning. When the stage became wider it was better for us. We are really enjoying this rally and I hope the conditions stay like this.”

12. Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Citroën C4)’

“We have no power. We have to try and fix it but I don’t know what the problem is.”

5. Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk (Ford Focus RS WRC 08)

“I found the road very slippery. I think conditions are getting worse for those further down. But also maybe my driving is also the problem. I am not really happy with our performance there.”

8. Conrad Rautenbach/Daniel Barrit (Citroën C4)

“There was lots of grip especially at the beginning of the stage but it took us some time to realize who much grip there was. We could have pushed harder at the start but towards the end we had found a better pace and we were able to use all the grip available.”

18. Mads Østberg/Ole Kristian Unnerud (Subaru Impreza WRC 2008)

“We had the same problem as yesterday with the wind screen fogging on the stage. We had to open our windows to get some air in the car and try to solve the problem. It’s a nice stage but it is frustrating when you can’t make full use off it.”

7. Evgeny Novikov/Dale Moscatt (Citroën C4)

Arrived late at the stage. “A good stage, we were late out of service because the team had to change the starter motor. After then we had no problems.”

20. Anders Grøndal/Maria Andersson  (Subaru Impreza WRC)

 “It was an excellent stage. We just keep on learning. This is a very different car to what I am used to so we just have to be patient.”

46. Patrick Sandell/Emil Axelsson (Skoda Fabia Super 2000)

“I think we are lifting off a bit too much. We should maybe try and be a little bit quicker but of course there is no point in taking any stupid risk. We have a nice lead in group N so I just have to stay concentrated.”

47. Armindo Araujo/Miguel Ramalho (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

“There is a gap of only one minute between the group N cars. This makes it quite difficult because there quite a lot of snow from the cars in front. It would be better if we had a gap of 2 minutes like the World Rally Cars.”

Published: 2009-02-14 09:39