Car 1, Ogier/Ingrassia
“It’s close and I am happy with this loop. I think we did everything we could. We have to carry on this way. In Argentina we did a good job on the first day but we didn't manage to use the good road position we had on the next day. So the job is to pick up a good road position for tomorrow and use that. I don't think this afternoon will be easy for anyone. It's getting rough and I think there will be some difficult sections to survive. I think tyre choice will be hard. We are still thinking about it.”
Car 2, Tanak/Molder
“I am feeling quite OK. The battle is very tight. It is quite surprising that everyone is going quite fast. It is still very difficult to win a stage. I think it is not yet time to take maximum risks. The first two stages I was not to happy - I had understeer and lost the front tyres. The last stage – the balance was OK and I had good flow. We are in the fight – everyone is still in the fight. I guess there will be many [tyre] options. It is a bit of a gamble. It will be a long time since we went through the first time so hopefully we will get some good information to make the right choice.”
Car 3, Evans/Barritt
“A mixed morning. The first was OK but I struggled to get a rhythm. The second, we struggled in a few places but the time was good. In the long one, everything was OK but a puncture 6Km from the end dented our morning. I don't know what happened.”
Car 4, Paddon/Marshall
“This morning felt really good. We lost some time in the middle and expected to lose more in the last one but I’m happy in the car. This afternoon I think will be key on tyre choice. The road will be rougher and I’m sure we can get some time back. We have made a step in the car – I have it more as I want it. Sometimes you have a car that works well in some places and not so well in others. We had a bit of a compromise this morning.”
Car 5, Neuville/Gilsoul
“We can be pleased we are still close to the leaders – only 10s away. It will be rough this afternoon. The conditions will be difficult for the cars and for us – miss the rocks and not get punctures. Tyre choice will be crucial. I think temperatures will be high in some stages so tyre choice will be hard. We need to be safe this afternoon and maybe push hard.”
Car 7, Meeke/Nagle
“I’m happy. I have a good feeling. The test allowed me to get my confidence back and we improved the area we had problems with in Argentina. I think we can improve more this year but everything is working as we expect. It allows me to do my job. It's quite difficult being this far back – there is some cleaning but ruts are appearing. So you have to commit to the ruts but sometimes, they collapse. Everything will be tier choice for the second loop. It's difficult because after us, there are 90 or so cars more. So the road is probably quite destroyed so the ground conditions, the temperature, all have an effect.”
Car 8, Breen/Martin
“It’s been a really good morning. We had a really good feeling and everything clicked. I feel really confidence and not that I’m near the limit. The second pass will be a completely different ball game. But I’m loving it. The powers-that-be will tell me what to do [with tyres] and I’ll drive it.”
Car 9, Lefebvre/Moreau
“It was a good morning and the speed was correct. The start of the second one was the same but I touched a small bank and the car went in the opposite direction and we rolled once or twice. There was a lot of damage and we are lucky to be here. The feeling was good this morning and the confidence was good. ”
Car 10, Latvala/Anttila
“I am really happy with the car. It's a bit of a choice for this afternoon – do you go safe with hards or soft for speed. I haven’t decided yet. You don't necessarily need to go safe. This afternoon will be important – how you get it going and how the times will settle.”
Car 11, Hanninen/Lindstrom
“The first two stages were good but in the third, perhaps we got a bit carried away so maybe a bit more clean and tidy would have been better. We had some bad luck and a few technical issues, so let's hope it will be better. Tyres this afternoon is an issue and set-up too – if you look at the car, we are already missing some parts.”
Car 12, Lappi/Ferm
“I was really surprised about the times. I had a benefit from the road position. On the last one, I think it didn't matter where you start. I think maybe it was worse. But I am pleased after six months, the confidence is there for the pace notes. I think we will go a bit higher with the car – it is working perfectly but I need to et used to it. It's going to be interesting for the tyres. There are only two options… For the first stage, you need hard on the front but the rest I think you can go with the soft. Maybe we use soft and manage the tyres. I don't know yet. We will see.”
Car 15, Al Qassimi/Patterson
“We’re enjoying the new car. We had a small issue this morning just before we were due to come out. We were a little late but that’s how it is. We are enjoying th stages. For us, we have made a choice and we will stick with it. You put the best tyres on for the next stage and that’s it!”
Car 21, Prokop/Tománek
“It's nice to be back [in the WRC]. I am happy with the rally – the stages are wonderful and I am enjoying every metre. I had a test in the 2017 car and I can see it works. The times are much better when we compared with last year.”
Car 31, Mikkelsen/Synnevaag
“The feeling is good. We had a good morning and managed to get a good gap in WRC2 straight away. The third was rough and it was easy to get a puncture, so we were a bit cautious. We have a good gap and will continue like this. I will drive as comfortable this afternoon. It is really easy to get a puncture, so I would like to build a lead in case I get one. I will do Sardinia but after that, nothing is planned. I would love to be back in a World Rally Car but we will see. ”
Car 32, Tidemund/Andersson
“We are quite happy. We had some understeer in the entry of some corners. We will make some small changes for this afternoon and try to wake up after Argentina. It's not to easy when you do one rally in safe mode and the next one, you have to start with a big push. But we will get into and try to get some progress.”
Car 34, Suninen/Markkula
“It is quite OK. The first two I went well but we were struggling a bit in the third, long one. But we will try to improve for the next loop. We will make some small changes to the car, as the stages will have ruts. ”
Car 38, Guerra/Cue
“It is all OK. We had a difficult morning, The first stage, the accelerator was broken. The pedal went to the metal, full throttle and we almost crashed. I saw the problem and used the brake bleed hose to get the pedal back and I got one of the seat belt elastics to use and the car goes well. But I was thinking if it didn't work, I will crash. So I wasn’t braking at the right time, as I wasn’t very confident. We lost more than 5m30s in the first stage – I had my helmet off to repair the car. It's better to lose 5m30s rather than losing all the day. So now we need to fix the car and push this afternoon. We will see for the tyres – I think it will be difficult for the soft tyres. I think hard will be safe but soft will be good for the times.”