Three-minute intervals for WRC cars. Four soft tyres with one hard spare was the option chosen by the top drivers, with a further four soft compound tyres retained for Sunday’s sandier and slippery stages. The stage record is held by Dani Sordo (8min 59sec).
Car 1. OGIER/INGRASSIA
“At the beginning the softs were moving a lot. I struggled to find the rhythm. I was
pushing a bit harder towards the end.”
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“I was surprised the car did work quite well. I wasn’t so happy after shakedown. I was not
sure how it was going to behave. I felt at the end that the traction was quite good.”
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
“There is something there (lines to follow). It’s all okay. I had to be careful in a few
places.”
Car 8. TÄNAK/JÄRVEOJA
“We had a stall in the stage and a spin. The engine blocked again so….”
Car 18. KATSUTA/BARRITT
“Some sections were quite slippy. It is very inconsistent. Some places I was too carefully.
Some places were quite tricky.”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/JAMOUL
“It is amazing. Brilliant. So nice you can slide and keep the speed. It was not the perfect
drive for me but I was enjoying so much, We need to improve our pace.”
Car 44. GREENSMITH/PATTERSON
“The work we did on the test seems to have brought this car alive for me. Let’s just keep
going..”
Car 6. SORDO/ROZADA
Stall on the stage and second fastest. “I stalled the engine in the hairpin. It was not easy.
A little understeer. It’s okay.”
Car 7. LOUBET/LANDAIS
“I lose too much time. It is only the first stage. It is moving a lot in the car.”
Car 21. BULACIA/OHANNESIAN
“I did a clean stage. I don’t like the car. We need to work a bit and solve it. We took it
carefully. I need to build my pace.”
Car 22. LAPPI/FERM
“It feels a bit drier than I expected. I felt I was losing the tyres and I tried to back off a bit.
You could not really push.”
Car 23. ØSTBERG/ERIKSEN
“I feel so uncomfortable to be back on gravel. I feel like I don’t understand what I am
doing. But it seems to be okay what I am doing. I am trying to be sensible in my driving.”
Car 27. VEIBY/ANDERSSON
Cruel news for the Norwegian, who failed a Covid-19 test on Thursday and was forced to
isolate and miss the start of the rally. Co-driver Jonas Andersson delivered a negative test
but is also isolating.