Car 1, Ogier/Ingrassia
“I’m still happy with my loop. I did the best I could do. No mistake. This morning was some dampness, but the ones after were dry. We have to fight.”
Car 2, Tanak/Molder
“More happy than before. We made a small change to the car, a small improvement. I’m much more happy.”
Car 3, Evans/Barritt
(completes with offside rear puncture) “We just saw an alarm on the dash near then then shortly after that I knew about it. I drove a really clean line. Didn’t notice hitting anything.”
Car 4, Paddon/Marshall
“In stage three we lost power from an electrical problem. Not ideal. In here, we just struggled with the car. It’s a difficult stage. But we’re not too worried at this point, we’ll get a better setup for the afternoon. I’ll be much more comfortable then.”
Car 5, Neuville/Gilsoul
“It’s difficult to know what rhythm to take. Many slow corners where you can’t push. But yes, I had a smooth stage. The road is much wider, you have to be sliding all the time. It’s not what I enjoy the most, but now our times are better.”
Car 6, Sordo/Marti
“We had problems with the rear of car, it’s sliding a lot. It’s hard in the corners. I did a really good pace, but it’s not normal to lose this time. It was very difficult. I tried to do well.”
Car 7, Meeke/Nagle
“I’m happy to be honest. A good run. But there’s no cleaning effect, the ruts just get deeper. Sometimes you want to commit to ruts, but you can’t as the tyres come out. There’s no cleaning effect at all.”
Car 8, Breen/Martin
“I enjoyed that. I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s so much fun. It’s exactly what I expected. I can really feel the car, it does exactly what I want it to do.”
Car 9, Lefebvre/Moreau
“I rolled only one time, but the car got big damage. Now there is a slow puncture on this stage. I lost a lot of time.”
Car 10, Latvala/Anttila
“It wasn’t the best for me. I knew this stage wouldn’t be easy for me. Since the recce I made a lot of changes to my notes for this.”
Car 11, Hanninen/Lindstrom
“We’re a bit disappointed. I tried to keep it on the clean line, but there’s a lot of the car going sideways. That’s why the time is running, that’s where we’re losing it.”
Car 12, Lappi/Ferm
“It wasn’t good. Not cleaning. A lot of dust, I couldn’t see anything in front of me. The dust is really heavy.”
Car 14, Ostberg/Floene
“It didn’t feel so good to be honest. It’s a difficult feeling with the car, I felt it was everywhere. It’s combination of everything. It’s my first rally on these tyres. It was a bit of learning stage. I think we’ll need to do something to the setup to cope with the tyres and I’ll have to change my driving to work with the car.”
Car 15, Al Qassimi/Patterson
“We have some feedback to give the engineers, hopefully make the car better for me this afternoon.”
Car 21, Prokop/Tománek
“It was a nice stage. They’re all nice, the changed layout is much more fun than other year. I’m just trying to keep the car clean.”
Car 23, Raoux/Escartefigue
“The end of the last stage we lost the power steering.”
Car 31, Mikkelsen/Synnevaag
“It’s been a good loop. The first stage was good, but I was too careful on the second stage. Here I was back on a good pace again. It’s been a good clean pace.”
Car 32, Tidemund/Andersson
“It’s good so far. No problem. The guys are pushing very hard. It’s bit loose, a bit of a struggle in some places but it’s a long rally.”
Car 33, Camili/Veillas
“It was very rough. We are not really ready with the setup for these conditions. We need to make the car higher for this afternoon. It’s softer and sandier than we thought.”
Car 34, Suninen/Markkula
“The first two stages were pretty okay, bit this one was hard. We have managed the loop. We were struggling with the softness on the corners.”
Car 38, Guerra/Cue
“The stage was okay, The time was not so good. I don’t feel confident because we had a problem with the gas pedal. I’m taking it not so hard. I need to concentrate on the stage. But it’s hard, because I’m worried that it will break and I’ll crash. Hopefully the boys back at service can fix it.”
Car 39, Tempestini/Bernacchini
“It was really nice. The design of the stage is really beautiful. It’s a bit rough. We are quite okay with the rhythm, we didn’t take any risks. We’re learning the car. The time is okay.”
Car 40, Heller/Olmos
“It was really good. Nice but tricky stage. We lost the handbrake so we had some trouble. It’s going to be rough this afternoon. We’re trying to have good pace notes that respect the corners and are good to the tyres.”
Car 41, Gilbert/Jamoul
“I need to do more stages to find a good rhythm with the car. It’s been a good start to the rally. I just need a bit more confidence in the car.”
Car 42, Greensmith/Parry
“The rear differential just exploded. It went about a kilometer into the stage. I’ve managed to get it to the end, so I hope to do something now so I can get it to service.”
Car 43, Loubet/Landais
“It was a good stage for us. We’re learning the car. There’s big pressure. The stages have big ruts. The time isn’t good when you look at other drivers. It’s too much.”
Car 44, Arai/MacNeall
“We lost engine power on the stage. We had the feeling like no anti-lag. It wasn’t working. Let’s see if on the service they can fix. Then we can have a push this afternoon.”
Car 46, Pieniazek/Mazur
“The stage was really difficult. Last year we ended the rally on this stage, so this year we’re trying to be really careful. First time in R5 so we’re trying to our best. 100% commitment. I feel good with the driving.”
Car 47, Campos/Costa
“It was very long and very hard, but it’s okay. I like the stage though. After some cars we have a lot of stones, it’s a problem and it’s going to get worse this afternoon. For this rally I want to be the first of the Portuguese drivers but also do well in WRC2.”
Car 48, Vatanen/Renucci
“It was the longest stage of the loop. I’m just now getting grip. I’m enjoying it, but there’s a lot to do. We’ll have to keep it steady and learn as much as we can. We’re here to learn. But one thing I can tell you is that I don’t want to go back into the R2!”
Car 50, Andolfi/Fenoli
“It was okay. I’m happy. This was my first time in the R5 on the gravel. I enjoyed it.”
Car 51, Ptaszek/Szczepaniak
“I had some trouble with the car. The setup is not working in the sandy conditions. It’s killing a lot of time, that’s why I’m not happy. The car isn’t turning in the sand, I’m sliding too much. It’s not responding.”