Car 1, Ogier/Ingrassia
“I did the best - I really pushed and I think I can be really pleased with this morning. To be honest, I have no more to give and I hope the conditions will not be too bad for me and fair for everyone. Maybe it is enough to make a difference. I just need to push and see what I can do. Maybe strategy is not easy this afternoon. We all have different choice and different packages left. I think I am OK. I know I have little bit better tyres left than them. I need to use them at the right moment. I have six soft – five new and one almost new.”
Car 2, Latvala/Anttila
“Meeke is getting closer for sure. I made some mistakes this morning – I overshot a junction and lost five seconds. The second stage went really well but the last stage, I hit a rock and I had a feeling if there was a puncture and I backed off too much for the last seven Km. Anyway, he [Meeke] did a good time. The driving was good and if I get rid of small mistakes, I think it will be better. I think the tyres were working well. I am not maximum at the moment. I didn't have time to watch these stages on video last night, so I had to just trust the notes. We can push harder this afternoon.”
Car 3, Meeke/Nagle
“Got to be happy with two fastest times. The first one didn't look so good and I had a good stage but had no answer to their time [Ogier and Mikkelsen]. I settled into my own rhythm and credit to the team – we had a plan on tyres and it seemed to work. This afternoon, I think the tier choice is a bit more simple. We saw yesterday how the roads cut up. I don't need to win – the moment you open the gate [to win] is when things start to go wrong.”
Car 4, Ostberg/Andersson
“The stages are in the same country but different stages! I struggled to get the rhythm but I did a good stage. I don’t know exactly why but it’s not too bad. We will check everything on the car, make some changes and I will go into a dark room and reset. I think I had the right tyre choice this morning. I hope we can make it correct this afternoon.”
Car 6, Tanak/Molder
“The morning was quite tricky. The first one was OK but the second one, we went full hard and because of this, lost a lot of time. It was very soft and dusty – we had no grip. We were mixed for the last one and back on the pace. The plan is to have some softs for tomorrow but we will see. In some places, it still looks really sandy and not very aggressive so we have to think on it.”
Car 9, Mikkelsen/ Floene
“The feeling is really good. The first two were good but I lost time on the last one. I had six new softs and I only used four of them. I have more than enough softs now for the rest of the rally. I have to look at the temperature to see what is the best choice. Maybe it is hard this afternoon. The surface is a bit different. It will be a tough tier choice in the afternoon. The driving is really nice and I am always up for a fight. Hopefully we can get the tyre choice right this afternoon.”
Car 20, Paddon/Kennard
“I think we're keeping a similar pace to yesterday. It was a bit of a gamble on the tyres this morning – ours worked well for the first two but not so much for the last one. I don't have much experience of crossed tyres. It feels very strange for the first few corners. As the stage goes on, the softs go off and the hards come on and the car behaves differently in left and right corners. At this stage of the rally, we're focussing stage-by-stage and trying to improve. It is only 8s to Dani and Mads so we will try to go out this afternoon and enjoy the driving. Hards for this afternoon for sure.”
Car 36, Kruuda/ Järveoja
“We made a small mistake on the last stage which probably cost us the win. But I’m glad to make it this far. I hit something inside the corner. I had second gear in the notes and I put my wheel inside like everyone else and I heard a bang. Two corners later, we had a puncture so I had to stop and change.”
Car 42, Al-Attiyah/Baumel
“I think the others had a good choice – we went with hard and they were soft. This afternoon, everyone will go with hards and at least we have softs for tomorrow. I think it's a wake-up call for us – we try to do our best but I enjoy my driving. It’s a nice rally, a lot of people and we need to change our pace. We will try to push. It was like driving on ice – very slippery but maybe this afternoon, it will be cleaner and the hards will work.”
Car 43, Tidemand/Axelsson
“We had a good run this morning – a bit too good to be true! We had a mix of hard and soft this morning. We have six new softs if we want. It is important for us to finish the rally. You never know what we can do this afternoon.”
Car 70, Lappi/Ferm
“The surface is different today. The second one the first part was uphill and really soft so it felt like there was no power and lots of wheelspin but I think it was the same for everyone. We have full hard all morning. It was a bit slippy on the last one but nothing too bad. Second pass through the stages is not good with R5 – they can go faster with RRC cars so it is a big advantage for them. But tomorrow is a new day.”