Present:
1st - Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Motorsport
1st - Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen Motorsport
2nd - Ott Tanak, DMACK World Rally Team
2nd - Raigo Molder, DMACK World Rally Team
3rd - Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport
3rd - Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai Motorsport
Sven Smeets, Volkswagen Motorsport Director

Q:
Sébastien, congratulations on your fourth win here at Wales Rally GB and your first gravel win of the season! It must be very satisfying that the team has also secured the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers here too?
SO:
There are plenty of things to be satisfied with, but I think the number one was the manufacturers’ title. We came here for that, this was the main target. We repeat it all the time, but this is a team sport – without the team we would not be the world champion for the fourth time with Julien. I always like to make it in style and I knew I was missing a gravel win – so this was what I wanted. I knew I would have the advantage on the road, unlike the other gravel rallies, but it didn't come easy because of this man [Tanak]. Ott had great speed: I had the road position, he had the tyres, but all-in-all it was not easy to stay in front. But we made it and we achieved all of our targets.

Q:
There was a rare phenomenon on Friday when both your team-mates experienced drive shaft failure. You were also worried about a noise in the transmission - how concerned were you throughout the weekend?
SO:
Let’s say after Friday I was not [concerned] anymore. After Friday I was happy it wouldn't happen again, but during Friday we finished right on the limit. It was working, but the transmission was really sick. One stage more and we would have suffered the same problem as our team-mates. Luckily our car survived and it was enough to be crowned manufacturer champions. But certainly on Friday, I had a lot of stress.

Q:
Were conditions tougher than expected after a largely dry recce?
SO:
The thing is we didn’t have any rain the whole week, but the fog brought drizzle and humidity and then the conditions were like always here. It was slippery. When it rains heavily, the mud clears, but that didn’t happen this time – it was pretty tricky in places. Also speaking again about what was good for us here: it was good to win this rally four times in a row. Now we are equal with Petter [Solberg] here for victories, that’s a good feeling and it’s good from this year. It was a tough event like always here. It’s funny to remember from a couple of years ago that this was one of my less favourite rallies, but now with Portugal it’s one of my most successful.

Q:
Good weekend Julien?
JI:
For sure. I was thinking during the recce, I properly love the landscape and stages and also the itinerary is really beautiful, I really like it. So yeah, this is a special rally; things like doing the day without service – it was a long day. Yesterday was also tough with just one set of tyres, this has become kind of the identity on this rally. As Seb said, we are really happy to achieve our season here with a good run. Now it’s time to think to 2017 and I wonder what it will look like? If I was not there in the car in Monte Carlo then it would be really cool to be there to watch. I wonder will Hyundai find a fourth level on their service park? We can wonder… And also this weekend, the new co-driver for Stephane Lefebvre – Gilles De Turckheim – he is one of my best friends and I met him 20 years ago. It was him who offered me my first season as a co-driver in 1998, so it’s funny to see we reach this point on Rally GB. Just a smile for him, it’s good to see we are part of a big family. Like Sebastien said, I want to thank the 200 and more people who work hard all year long. We have the rally, the test and the new car coming for next year and everybody is really tired. But this is not the time to release the pressure: come on guys, let’s get ready for Monte Carlo!

Q:
Ott, another strong performance from you this weekend where you scored the most stage wins with a total of 12. Safe to say it was a good weekend for you here in Wales?
OT:
For sure there were some happy days. The last couple of rallies we have struggled a bit, but I enjoyed to be back in the battle. I felt the excitement in myself. Friday we had some tricky conditions and some small issues, like everybody – it was really challenging for everybody. After the puncture we tried to keep the pressure on Seb, but I don’t know if we really gave him pressure. 

Q:
Let’s ask him… Seb?
SO:
A lot of people think we managed the gap, but we pushed the whole way. OK, maybe the last three stages I backed off a little – but we finished only with 10 seconds. It was definitely big pressure from Ott.

OT:
Obviously it was not enough… For me, second place, I’m happy with this one. Most importantly we enjoyed and we take a lot of positives from here.

Q:
It didn’t seem as if you let up the pace at all from the times on the board, was it flat out all the way or did you ease off at some point?
OT:
I was going fast today, but no stupid mistakes today – I wanted second place. This was important for DMACK to finalise the result. I felt comfortable in the car. At the beginning of the rally, Seb had the benefit from his starting position and we had some from the tyres. All together I felt we had a strong package and to be competitive, that gave me a big boost. I felt confident.

Q:
You have already said you will be back next year, are you confident that we could see you challenging for wins across all events - do you feel you are at that level?
OT:
That’s the plan. Yeah, my second season is coming to an end and experience really counts in this sport. I start to be more consistent with less mistakes and keeping the speed up – this looks good for the future. The main thing is to have a strong car for next year, I’m sure we can be competitive.

Q:
Great times from you this weekend, how does it feel to be second?
RM:
Today was really nice to see the times and listen to the radio for Seb’s times. It’s always nice to be fast and competitive – that’s why we do it.

Q:
How much does this result maybe make up for Poland?
RM:
Nothing makes up for that, except a win – but that win’s not far away.

Q:
Third position for you here in Wales Thierry, how would you rate the weekend in terms of performance? 
TN:
I was happy with everything, the weekend was really good for us. We saw it would be tough from shakedown if it got wet and slippery. From then on I was focused on the battle with Andreas [Mikkelsen], Hayden [Paddon] and Dani [Sordo]. We focused on that and that’s what we did. All three cars were fully reliable this weekend, that was great and thanks to the team we could go at our speed. This shows another improvement for us, on some events we had some small problems.

Q:
There were some changes to the route this year, what did you think of those reversed stages?
TN:
I think I would have been closer to second [position] if the stages were run in the same direction. I had not such a nice feeling in the first one and I dropped 22 seconds to Seb – that’s enormous. If we had been in the other direction in the fog, I think I would have had more confidence and I would have done better. I admit this was not a good stage for me, there were two [stages] like this. Otherwise the stages were nice, sometimes too slippery! The conditions were much different from last year, even though it was not raining I felt it was tough.

Q:
Nicolas, was this a busy one for you?
NG:
Yes, but luckily the stages are not so long and the road sections are longer and this gives us more time to work and clean the notes on the recce. We had to work to prepare the notes to be well prepared for the fog and to find the right rhythm. This was difficult when it started to rain, then the drizzle and the fog all together. It was really challenging. 

Q:
What’s the objective in Australia?
NG:
For sure it’s very good to be second in the championship, but it’s a bad gift because we’ll be second on the road and that means a lot of road cleaning in Australia. That’s part of the game and we are happy to fight for it.

Q:
Congratulations on the event win and sealing the manufacturers crown. A successful trip to Wales! Satisfied with the result?
SS:
I have to say Friday started with a little bit of a scare: after four stages we had two cars with a problem. On stage three, Seb said he had a really bad noise from the transmission. We ask him to be gentle with the car, which he was and then he had a problem at the finish on the last [Friday] stage. This meant we were on the edge of our seats all the way through Saturday and Sunday… right up until we checked into Llandudno. 

Q:
What can you tell us about the problem with the driveshafts?
SS:
The parts are already on the way to Hannover. We have an idea, but we’re not sure yet. We have to go to the bottom of this before Australia. We are sorry for Andreas [Mikkelsen] that he was not able to defend his second place in championship. For sure we prefer not to go to Australia with him 14 points behind – that’s our big target this week.

Q:
It’s been a good year, this fourth title has become your legacy…
SS:
I said it before, it’s not been easy this year. We had six different winners and Andreas only won Poland after Ott had problems. After that, we started to doubt ourselves. Germany came as a big relief and Seb has given us an amazing performance here again. I have to thank him, without him we would not be the manufacturer champion again. This went away for a while, but now we are very, very happy. 

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st - Esapekka Lappi, Škoda Motorsport
1st - Janne Ferm, Škoda Motorsport

Q:
What an incredible win here in Wales which keeps your WRC2 title hopes alive… 
EL:
For sure I am very pleased. This was the target for the rally and I’m happy for us and for the team. It’s a good result for Škoda Motorsport. I cannot be happier at the moment. 

Q:
This is your first time competing in Wales and after stage three you told us that you ‘understood how to drive on these roads’ - what’s the secret? 
EL:
Sideways!

Q:
After hitting a tree on the opening stage did you think you could go on to win by such a margin?
EL:
Yeah for sure, when I felt the car was fine it was only cosmetic with the trunk and rear wing, it was not a problem. Immediately after this touch, after the tree, I felt everything was fine and I continued like normal.

Q:
All focus now on the result in Australia, which could seal you the WRC 2 title. Confident?
EL:
I think we have to finish second, it’s quite complicated. I think second is enough. OK there are six WRC 2 cars [in Australia], so it should be possible to finish second, but this is motorsport and anything can happen. It’s a long rally, let’s wait and see.

Q:
But you enjoyed Wales?
EL:
Yes. It was much more nice than what I was expecting. I thought it might be more difficult with the mud, but in the end it might be a bit easier than I thought. 

Q:
Janne, how was the weekend from the co-drivers’ seat?
JF:
For sure it was fast. In a way those roads are fast like in Finland and Poland but the grip level is changing and much more unpredictable. You go sideways even though the pace notes don’t show this and then you wonder what goes on. The landscape over here was fantastic, even though I’ve seen it in films, I didn't think it was like that!

Q:
What was the biggest challenge?
JF:
Probably the road sections, some of them are quite tight. To keep up with the driving and get to the controls on time, there was not so much time for the tyre change and to scrape off the mud.

FIA JUNIOR WRC/WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP (event winner)

Present:
1st - Martin Koci, Styllex Slovak National Team
1st - Lukas Kostka, Styllex Slovak National Team

Q:
Martin, an impressive display from you this weekend, you built a strong lead from the start and no one could catch you. You seal second in the Junior WRC, good way to end your season?
MK:
It was a very nice event for us, we were leading from the first stage – this was nice. On the other hand it was not so easy to handle the situation on the second day and the same today: we had six stages and they weren’t without stress!

Q:
How important is that runners-up spot in the Junior WRC?
MK:
Of course before the season we wanted to fight for the title, but after we crashed in Poland the championship was over. To be second is also a very nice feeling.

Q:
What is the plan for next season?
MK:
It’s hard to say, we would like to go to WRC 2 and show the speed there if we’re able. It’s hard with the budget, but we will try hard to make the budget and show the speed.

Q:
Lukas, what was the best thing about the weekend?
LK:
The whole weekend. This was the best rally with really nice stages. The weather was changeable, but this was the perfect rally for me.

Q:
What was it like calling the notes?
LK:
I enjoyed it a lot. It’s not so fast as Poland and Finland and the rhythm changes are nice, it’s very difficult for the co-driver, but I enjoy.

FIA WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP (Championship winner*)

Present:
1st - Simone Tempestini
1st - Giovanni Bernacchini

Q:
After taking the Junior WRC title in Corsica you've now sealed the WRC 3 crown. A double championship winner, you must be delighted?
ST:
It was a nice weekend for us, nearly perfect. We had some problems on the second loop on Saturday when we lost the front brakes and could only use the handbrake in two stages. Until then we tried to keep Martin’s rhythm, but he was really quick on this rally, we tried to overtake him but at that moment we realised we could not win the rally. The target was second for us here and with that result we know we win WRC 3. We tried to manage it but to to be second was really hard because of the conditions. The stages were really tricky with not much grip. I am happy with this result, it’s really good for us – we can’t wait for next year to see how we go in the R5 car. I love the four-wheel drive and I can’t wait for next year.

Q:
When did you know you were not going to catch Martin?
ST:
Sometimes he was really good and it was hard to keep his rhythm and we know it was 30 or 35 seconds behind when we are trying to catch him. Then we lost the brakes in the front and we lost one minute and we can do nothing. Then we try to come to the end of the rally with second place.

Q:
Giovanni, how do you feel?
GB:
Very happy. We made a brilliant season. It was great. We won two championships, it was our target, but it’s easy to say, but not to do. I am happy for Simone, he drove a good season with good speed at every rally. It’s very important for us, now I won WRC 2 and WRC 3 I am only missing WRC1!

Q:
You step up to WRC 2 next season, what can you do?
GB:
Who knows? We can do a good job in WRC 2 and I’m pretty sure any future for Simone can be really good.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Marco Giordo
Autosprint, Italy

Q:
Giovanni, can you win in the main WRC?
GB:
Who knows? Never say never. It’s a dream for everybody, but I’m getting old now – for the moment it’s enough like this.

* Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA