Foto: Benjamin A. Ward/Rally Norway

Drivers’ Comments from SS9 Kirkenær 2

1. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroën C4)

“It’s been a very good battle today, and I like it when it is like this. I pushed very hard and even in that stage I took some big risks. I am in a good position for tomorrow and I am feeling confident.”

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

Right at the finish of the stage he slowed down slightly but he said it was not intentional: “the rear tyres have completely gone and it was very difficult to get to the finish.”

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

“We had some problem with the gear box so changing gears has been hard. Now I look for tomorrow, I will try my hardest to get a podium.”

2. Dani Sordo/Marc Marti (Citroën C4)

“Everything is fine, I am quite happy with the way the day has gone. In that stage there is no problem for me.”

11. Petter Solberg/Phill Mills (Citroën Xsara)

“We only had one spare tyre so I wasn’t able to swop the tyre around as much as I would like. That meant it was very slippery in that stage.”

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

”Everything was OK in that stage. It has not been a very easy day for me because I couldn’t get the confidence in the car.”

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

“I was quite surprised that I was so quick at the start of the stage because I really didn’t do anything special but I lost some time before the end and I don’t know why. I now have to keep the pressure on Seb and Mikko but I have improved a lot this afternoon so I don’t see I can’t continue doing that tomorrow.”

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

Came to the stage with some smoke coming out from the front and the rear of the car: “I am really not sure what the problem is. I lost one minute and it has just been a disaster.”

45. Patrick Flodin/Göran Bergsten (Subaru Impreza WRX Sti)

“It’s been a bad way to start the season. I’ve got to push tomorrow to get as many points as I can but I have to get my confident back first.”

49. Eyvind Brynildsen/Denis Giraudet (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

“I drove into a snow bank and when I reversed I couldn’t see there was an other snow bank behind me so I lost a few seconds. The heating has stopped working.”

8. Conrad Rautenbach/Daniel Barrit (Citroën C4)

“We had a problem every time we got on the power, the engine would backfire. Tomorrow stages are more open and flowing and I think I can go well.”

12. Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Citroën C4)

”On stage 8, I made some stupid mistakes so on that stage I was a little more careful.”

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

“It has not been an easy day today. Hopefully stages tomorrow will be better for me.”

22. Peter jr. Van Merksteijn/Eddy Chevaillier (Ford Focus RS WRC 06)

“I think the central diff has broken. Every time I turned into a corner, the car was jumping onto its nose.”

23. Peter Van Merksteijn/Erwan Mombaerts (Ford Focus RS WRC 07)

“Today has not been so easy with the temperatures and we’ve had problems with the engine losing power.”

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

“I felt there was not much grip at the rear so I was trying to keep it as tidy as I could. At the end of the stage I was really struggling but I am happy with my time.”

21. Eammon Boland/MJ Morrissey (Subaru WRX STi)

“I was stuck on a snow bank for a short time in that stage so I was quite careful after that because I have sold my car and I don’t want to cause any damage to it.”

7. Evgeny Novikov/Dale Moscatt (Citroën C4)

“We had a small problem with the gear box because when I change gear, there was a slight delay. So to be second fastest was very good.”

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

“I have had two fastest times today which is something I have never done before. The car is being fantastic but I don’t know how much I can improve tomorrow.”

59. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (Subaru WRX Sti)

”On that stage I was just trying to get the car to the finish because I lost so much time in the previous stage.”

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

“It has been absolutely perfect, I have had a clear run, driven in the middle of the road and made no mistakes. We made the suspension harder in the service and that helped the car even more.”

44. Jaromir Tarabus/Daniel Trunkat (Fiat Grande Punto S2000)

“The only problem this afternoon was when we hit a snow bank on stage 7. I meant the engine lost some power.”

35. Martin Semerad/Bohuslav Ceplecha (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

Damaged the front right suspension in the previous stage.

“On the stage 9, I had to drive quite slowly but it was quite hard to turn.”

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

“I had one small spin at a left turn. Apart from that the stage was ok although my speed was not perfect.”

34. Gianluca Linari/Andrea Gecchi (Subaru Impreza WRX Sti)

“On stage 8 I was stopped for 25 minutes, I have a big problem with my steering, the car is not right.”

40. Andis Neiksans/Peteris Dzirkals (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

“For that stage, we put our two spare wheels at the front so the rear wheels were very used. That meant I had lots of over steer but it was fun for the spectators.”

60. Bernt Kollevold/Veronica Engan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

“I think we had a problem with the fuel pump because when I put the throttle down coming out of corners, the engine cut.”

31. Martin Prokop/Jan Tomanek (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

“I have no studs in my rear tyres so the back of the car has been sliding very much.”

Published: 2009-02-13 22:06