Thierry Neuville – Hyundai i20 N Rally1

“It is always a huge challenge, a very demanding rally for the cars and obviously for the tyres, as we have seen. We had a very clean morning loop and I am quite happy with the job we did. For sure, we could have been faster in some sectors, but I think the approach was good. The new stage was challenging, very technical and demanding also in terms of pace notes, but I had a good stage.”

Adrien Fourmaux – Hyundai i20 N Rally1

“It is always a balance between pushing more and risking a puncture. We know that in the afternoon there are more rocks than on the first pass, so overall we need to be quite smart, but we are going to try everything to at least get back on the podium.”

Oliver Solberg – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

“I’m very happy. The first stage was brand new for me, while the others have done it many more times. I was a bit nervous about this one because it is a tricky stage. I think it was clean. After that, the other stages were a little newer for everyone and I didn’t try to do more; I just tried to do the same, and the times were better than expected. I still don’t want to risk my chance: one hit, one puncture and it’s over. I am pushing, so there is always a risk here in Sardinia; we know it’s tricky. There is no point in doing more or less because I have one chance. The turn at the end of the tarmac on the last stage was something I decided to do exactly like that last night. On the second run this afternoon, I’ll see what the conditions are like; if it’s clean, I’ll drive the same way.”

Sébastien Ogier – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

“The new stage was challenging and technical, with a lot of it in the forest, so there were trees everywhere and it wasn’t easy to read where to go. We were afraid of the dust in there, but it was OK and hopefully it will be the same this afternoon. It is always nice to have new stages; this is what rallying is about.”

Roberto Daprà – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2

“The goal for this afternoon is to carry on like this. I’m very happy with the last stage, a little less with the second one. I tried to change a few things and it worked, so I’m really happy. I hope to do well in this afternoon’s stages too, trying to improve even more, especially on the second stage, where I lost the most time. I’m pleased we managed to win the last stage of the morning, and now we’re focusing on this afternoon. The conditions on today’s stages are different from yesterday. The first two stages today are similar to yesterday’s, while Coiluna and Solorché are very soft and sandy. The softer tyres should work better today. We don’t know how many rocks might come loose; I hope fewer than yesterday.”

Giovanni Trentin – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2

“The stages were tricky right from the start. We came across a car in front of us, which cost us several seconds. We tried to push harder but made a few mistakes. The second stage went a bit better, but once again we came across another car and lost a few more seconds. We really struggled on the last one and I wasn’t as confident, but at least we finished the first loop without any damage or punctures. We’ll try to improve this afternoon.”