Car 1, Ogier/Ingrassia
“Not too bad, we didn’t lose too much time. The guys behind are going quite fast. We’re going to do the best possible.”
Car 2, Latvala/Anttila
“It was a good pace. There was more grip, and when there’s more grip I can drive, I was happy with that to be honest. My feeling has not been the best, there’s a bit of flu coming on, I have to push myself to drive.”
Car 3, Meeke/Nagle
“My notes, I nearly stopped looking at them at one point. I couldn’t really expect it to be good. It feels horrible when you’re on and off the throttle and unbalancing the car. It’ll be next year before I can do something with the notes.”
Car 4, Ostberg/Anderson
“I’m not happy, driving on the high speed was not good. We have a soft suspension for the mud and it’s reaction on the mud was too slow.”
Car 5, Hirvonen/Lehtinen
“It’s very good. We found some really good pace on that one. On some corners the grip level is changing.”
Car 7, Neuville/Gilsoul
“No, I can’t win one in here. I’m not feeling very comfortable. The stage is getting a lot rougher. I don’t want to damage the car.”
Car 9, Mikkelsen/ Markkula
“Everything is fine, we just have no confidence on these roads so we lose so much time. Just trying to keep it neat and tidy.”
Car 11, Tanak/Molder
“Nothing at this pace, no confidence in the notes. Notes and rhythm. Basically in some places I was too late.”
Car 12, Al Qassimi/ Patterson
“It was blocking a narrow section with trees and big drops. It was in a tricky area where couple of drivers from different cars had to walk the blind section to give warning.”
Car 16, Solberg/Minor
“I had a puncture on the last one so I went carefully through here. I only have one spare tyre.”
Car 20, Sordo/Marti
“We need a little more power and traction. Now it’s a little more normal, but I’m happy with that time.”
Car 21, Prokop/Tománek
“It was really tricky. Some muddy places were not nice. Needs plenty of different driving styles, but we need to try more and more.”
Car 36, Barrable/Loudon
“There’s a lot of standing water still in the stage, it’s very muddy. It’s probably going rut a lot more this afternoon.”
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Elfyn Evans off track
Kubica stopped in stage, blocking the road. His car hit a rock and lost a wheel. This brought the drivers behind to a halt for approximately fifteen minutes.
Hyundai Motorsport has today announced Finnish driver Juho Hänninen as one of the team’s test drivers for 2013, ending weeks of speculation over the mystery man behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 WRC in May.
Hyundai Motorsport has been building up its new operation from scratch since the start of the year, establishing the team at a dedicated facility in Alzenau, Germany and recruiting specialists at every level of its organisation.
Test drivers are an integral part of the team’s development programme, requiring the necessary skills and experience to develop a competitive and reliable rally car in a short space of time.
Six months ahead of the debut at Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 2014, Hyundai Motorsport is in the process of carrying out an intensive test programme to evaluate and develop the i20 WRC on all terrains and conditions.
Hänninen won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2010 followed by the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship and the FIA European Rally Championship titles in 2011 and 2012 respectively. He will be a valuable asset for the team to prepare the assault to the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship.
Hyundai Motorsport will soon be in a position to announce a second test driver for the remainder of the 2013 test phase. 2014 drivers will be announced at the end of the year.
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: “We’re very pleased to welcome Juho on board for our 2013 test programme. I’m sure his experience and background will contribute to the project and I’m happy with the job he’s done so far.
We have decided to work with different drivers with unique skills and capabilities this year, which will provide us with valuable feedback for 2014.
Hänninen said: “I’m delighted to be part of the Hyundai Motorsport testing programme for this year. It’s a fantastic opportunity to work closely to a manufacturer and to give my contribution to this great challenge.
The first run with the i20 WRC was quite positive for me; I’m very impressed with the work the team has done so far in such an incredibly short space of time. I feel comfortable with everyone in the team and I look forward to carry on working with them in the next six months.”