Drivers' quotes after SS16 "Sassari-Argentiera 2"

DATE: June 2 2024 FLASH N°: 16

DAY: 3

STAGE: SS16 “Sassari-Argentiera 2/Wolf Power Stage” STAGE LENGTH: 7,10 KM

WEATHER: Sunny

ROAD CONDITIONS: Dry

Car #46 R. Virves - A. Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2): “First of all I am really very happy that I got to be back finally. Very thankful to all the people who made it possible for me. I'd like to be much faster, but for the time it is good that we got through without any issues. For the beginning it is OK, I will make sure I will be back much stronger”

Car #28 K. Kajetanowicz - M. Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2): “Yes I tried. I think it is not enough on this Dakar stage. Martin can be fast here. I made some mistakes with the setup here. I need to do a good analysis and be quicker next rally”

Car #48 M. Prokop - M. Ernst (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2): “We made it! It is good, a crazy week. Nice holidays for me. I am really relaxed from my job, I am going to enjoy this weekend. The Sunday was just incredible. We tried our best. I am not old yet and I can still do something, it is great”

Car #31 J. Solans - R. Sanjuan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2): “I tried my best and I am happy with the rally I have done. Very intelligent. Staying in the road all the time and today we pushed like hell. Fighting with Yohan has been good and he is so fast.  Maybe we pushed a bit too hard in the previous one, and in this one rear puncture. Maybe it is not the best but at least we tried and I want to say thanks to the team for giving me the opportunity and it has been a really good weekend”

Car #20 Y. Rossel - B. Boulloud (Citroen C3 Rally2): “It is an incredible job. Thanks to all my team and my co-driver also. After the first day I said it was difficult to keep the smile. But I knew the car was very fast and the confidence has been there since the start of the season. The team deserved that because they did a very good job. What a rally! Incredible”

Car #25 S. Pajari - E. Mälkönen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2): “It was really nice. I was hoping for a nice result after the disappointment in Portugal. I know that the pace is there, we just needed to put it together. The team is doing a great job and the car is getting really really fast. It just needed a good drive to finish it!”

Car #11 T. Neuville - M.Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1): “We are gonna see how many points we get. Still a lot of cleaning. Not very proud of what happened yesterday. We felt very good in the car. There was no reason but I lost concentration for a tenth of a second and the mistake happened. Not a big one but enough to be stuck I am really sorry for the team because there is a lot of effort they put in. Such a small mistake can ruin everything. We did the job Friday, we did it today but yesterday it was not good”

Car #18 T. Katsuta - A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1): ”I was trying to push a lot, but went two times off the road so no chance. A shame for what happened yesterday. Rallying sometimes is very demanding for everything. I just accept this weekend and moving on to the next one”

Car #27 A. Fourmaux - A.Coria (Ford Puma Rally1): ”It has been a difficult rally for us but we can be happy about our pace on Friday and Saturday. We were struggling a bit today with the car. We need to improve. I wanted to do a good rally for our friend Iain who left us last week. It is quite frustrating but we will come back and get it from him”

Car #13 G. Munster - L. Louka (Ford Puma Rally1): "We finished with a decent result and some points yesterday. I hope we did not lose too much time. We did have a problem with the engine. We did not go over 70% of the throttle because we just wanted to make sure we keep it healthy for the coming events ”

Car #33 E. Evans - S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1): “It has been a tough weekend. Today it was better. It was not the weekend we wanted. It is a change of pace now in the championship and hopefully, we will find our form again” [tyre slightly off the rim]

Car #6 D. Sordo - C. Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1): “It was nice to see Elfyn was back in the rhythm today. In this stage I tried to survive the car. It was not completely destroyed but it is really very bad and hard for the car. [The future?] You will see me again, let's see. I will finish now with the podium and this makes me happy”.

Car #8 O. Tänak - M. Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1): “Tough weekend, in this stage there was no road anymore and some huge stones. It was difficult to do much more. Today it was better. I want to congratulate my daughter Miia, she got the first podium, congratulations. Tomorrow we will celebrate our podiums  together”

Car #17 S. Ogier - V. Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1): ""Puncture, not much I can do. This is not rallying, it is like cross-country. The last 2-3km on the puncture. That's life. I think we deserved more than that, but at least Ott did a good rally, well done to him”

Drivers' quotes after SS14 "Sassari-Argentiera 1"

DATE: June 2 2024 FLASH N°: 14

DAY: 3

STAGE: SS14 “Sassari-Argentiera 1” STAGE LENGTH: 7,10 KM

WEATHER: Sunny

ROAD CONDITIONS: Dry

Car #11 T. Neuville - M.Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1): “I do not know. A bit too much cleaning in there, more than I expected but we had a good run. The car is working fine as well. Let's see for the second loop, we have to carry on. I feel well in the car. There is no reason it should not work, but we are gonna find out”

Car #18 T. Katsuta - A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1): ”It is quite difficult to match anyone else. I tried to push as much as I can but it is not so easy. There is a good feeling and it is a good sign for the team. I will try to do my best”

Car #27 A. Fourmaux - A.Coria (Ford Puma Rally1): ”It is a quite tricky stage. It is very narrow and has a lot of sand. I do not know why, I am so lost on the pace today. I am struggling, I have no grip everywhere... Nothing I can really do”

Car #13 G. Munster - L. Louka (Ford Puma Rally1): "It is very difficult, it is so narrow and it is our first time and I do not know where to put the wheels. It is all blind, you have bushes with rocks underneath where you cannot go, but in some bushes you can and you see the others go. Over the crests, I do not have the confidence to know exactly where to put the wheels. I watched Thierry, who was the fastest in 2022, at least 20 times”

Car #33 E. Evans - S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1): “Better than yesterday, but we did not have the cleanest run in here. I am trying. It was quite OK, just a bit messy in a few places and compromised a few exits. It is a fine line between pushing and being clean here”

Car #6 D. Sordo - C. Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1): “It is nice, Evans pushed a bit this morning, we took a bit of dust and we lost a bit of time. We need to try and keep our place and finish on the podium. These are two difficult stages. We will see”

Car #8 O. Tänak - M. Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1): “The stage itself is tricky, there is not much to like about it. It is hard work and driving on the rough. The stages are turning into [Kenya's] fesh-fesh. Very inconsistent grip, but it is OK we need to drive. We have been giving it a go already this morning”

Car #17 S. Ogier - V. Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1): "This one is not so enjoyable to drive. We do what we can. It is very rough and I struggled a bit in there but all good”

Car #25 S. Pajari - E. Mälkönen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2): It is a tricky stage. I saw the times of Ott and Ogier, they are really fighting. We had quite a nice easy flowing run so it is fine”

Car #20 Y. Rossel - B. Boulloud (Citroen C3 Rally2): “I slept a bit in the first stage today. I do not know if it is my confidence or not in the dust it is not easy. I do not want to make a mistake and it is not easy to keep the concentration. Clean run for me and there are two stages before the finish”

Car #31 J. Solans - R. Sanjuan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2): “We are trying to push, you never know. We are trying to do our best driving this amazing car as fast as we can. I will always be grateful to Carlos for what he has done for me in the past and see if we can get a good result to show him it was worth it”

Car #28 K. Kajetanowicz - M. Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2): “I was too careful. There are a lot of stones in the line and I was trying to not make a mistake and take a puncture. Maybe I was too careful”

Car #48 M. Prokop - M. Ernst (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2): “I tried to change something with the driving style and maybe it helps a bit. It is getting tight for the afternoon. I did not expect such a speed. It is just an incredible weekend”

Car #46 R. Virves - A. Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2):  “To be fair it feels too bad at the moment. There is no rhythm at all and if I try to drive faster everything goes the wrong way. Not a car issue. It is a combination of pace notes and driving. It is hard when you are so far from the fastest ones”

Car #26 L. Joona - J. Hussi (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2): “It is a very narrow stage, there were so many rocks on the road. It was an enjoyable stage, it will be quite rough in the next loop but we are enjoying”.

Car #47 J. McErlean - J. Fulton (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2): “It is quite unique stage in itself. There are a lot of corners and the surface changes a lot. It is good to be through and another two to go”