Present:
Sébastien Ogier, M-Sport World Rally Team
Jari-Matti Latvala, Toyota GAZOO Racing World Rally Team
Kris Meeke, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
Hayden Paddon, Hyundai Motorsport 

Q:
Seb, you are still leading the Championship and there are five rounds to go as we come to Finland; talk to me about this event because as fans and journalists we love to come here and see how incredible this is as a rally. Do you feel this is one of the most challenging rallies that we have on the calendar and yet enjoyable as well?
SO:
You have just said that the fans enjoy to come here to watch the rally but I think it’s exactly the same for the drivers. At least if I speak for myself I love to come here. Since the first time I stepped here I loved it! These are magic roads to drive especially with a World Rally Car and even more now with the 2017 version of it. It is going to be an amazing rally again with very high speed and big adrenaline, good fun!

Q:
Let’s talk about the testing and the feeling you got from the car. I know the test didn’t end the way you wanted, but before the accident how was the feeling with the car and how confident do you feel coming here?
SO:
At the end it was a very good test, even if of course I would have preferred to not destroy the car, but on this one I couldn’t do absolutely anything. It was just purely bad luck; on the exit of a normally easy corner there was a big rock on the line and no chance to avoid it so I drove over it and then it broke a steering arm or something and I just couldn’t control the car anymore and went straight into the forest. Of course it’s not a good feeling but at least it proved that the car is strong because I came out of it without any injury, which is the most important I would say. But before that I had a really good feeling so I am happy and confident ahead of the rally. I think that we are all obviously much faster than in the past with these cars so it’s always very hard to estimate but also this morning on the shakedown there are not many differences. It’s close so it promises a good battle for the win. I am sure many drivers are involved in it and of course I hope to be part of that. I hope the start position won’t be an issue for us. Let’s see.

Q:
I am sure the objective again is just to complete the rally ahead of your nearest rival in the Championship which is Thierry Neuville.
SO:
I mean that has been my strategy for years now. The main target on every event is to beat the second guy of the Championship so clearly the target number one is to beat Thierry this weekend, but I also hope to challenge on the top and to challenge for a good result. That would be fantastic and, like I said, with the feeling we had with the test I think it is possible and like I said tomorrow is a long day, a long day first on the road, so I hope that won’t play a role against me. The most important is for sure to beat Thierry and we will do our best for that.

Q:
Jari-Matti, home event and of course the Finnish-based Toyota team not far from here. It must be great to have family and friends around you. It’s really a home event for you now?
J-ML:
It has been home event in the past but there is an additional taste on top of that when we have the team based in Finland. Half of the mechanics are from Finland, half of them from foreign countries but you see a lot of other families and friends, you know there are a lot of Finns around. On the recce I already saw the people asking “how is the set-up, how is the Toyota, are you ready?” things like that, so of course people are excited. In this area especially and in Jyväskylä it’s almost a Mecca of rallying I would say and people really appreciate that the rally car is built in Finland, which I think some years ago nobody could even dream of that.

Q:
You have done this event for so many years now, surely you don’t feel any extra pressure or do you still in a little way?
J-ML:
There is always a bit more pressure in this event but this is also what the other Finnish drivers have said. I think it’s the same for Seb in Monte on his home event. I think there is always a bit more pressure and excitement in your home event. One day maybe if we are in New Zealand Hayden will feel it.

Q:
You know something we don’t?
J-ML:
No! Maybe one day. If you ask the other drivers we all hope to go back there. It’s one of the most fantastic stages of the World Championship so we’ll see. But it’s the same for everybody, for Kris in GB, you will always have this piece of extra element, excitement.

Q:
We saw great pace from you in Poland just a few weeks ago, you were right there battling for the lead when unfortunately technical issues hampered you. Do you think that you can more than replicate that pace here, the win is possible?
J-ML:
We had good pace in Poland, we managed to lead the rally in the beginning but then we dropped a little bit on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. We were still on the pace as we were 12 or 13 seconds behind Thierry at the time we got the problem, technical problems, so since then we have been focusing on the testing, and we are working hard with the car and I think the car is a little better than in Poland so I hope and expect we will be fighting with the other guys because we were close by in Poland and I think we shouldn’t drop that much coming to our home event. We will see when the rally starts where we are. At least I feel confident with the car. 

Q:
Kris, welcome back to the Championship. You were quickest through the shakedown stage this morning. How are you feeling on being back and how are you feeling with the car?
KM:
It’s nice to be back in Finland for sure, some good memories here from last year. As we have seen, 2017 has proven to be a bit more challenging shall we say. I’m a competitor, I want to compete all the time. Poland wasn’t my decision but that’s the way it went, but finally some things start to change and people start to listen and we start to arrive with some parts that I’ve been asking for, for years. The feeling changes quite quickly. Our test here was compromised quite a lot by the weather, some really heavy rain on a soft road which made it very muddy and it was difficult to get any consistent running, to get any proper tests when you have some new things to try. We were basically starting in the unknown this morning on shakedown. We changed a lot on every run and finally we arrived with a good rhythm, but everyone knows this stage so well, it doesn’t count towards the rally for sure. The best way to arrive to Finland is having a perfect pre-event test, getting out of that car feeling completely confident and I wasn’t at that stage here, so shakedown was good but let’s see. When you explore the stages for the first time, that’s when you have to make it count and we’ll see how we’re feeling tomorrow morning. 
 
Q:
As a competitor you give 100%, I can never imagine you not doing that, but I suppose as you mention without confidence it is a bit difficult. So what, you give the first group of stages a go and see how you feel there?
KM:
I want to try to do my best, I always try to give my best and sometimes when you are giving your best when the environment around you is not maybe 100%, that’s what I’ve been guilty of this year. I’ve made a few mistakes, we’ve had a few technical problems this year, I’ve had a few reliability issues, a car that’s been inconsistent in a few conditions - not even between rallies but between stages. There are times we’ve felt good in the car, for sure you can’t win a rally with a bad car. We know the potential is there, the car is fast but we need certain things to make it more constant over a full championship, it’s so varied in all the conditions. Let’s see if we can make some steps. For sure, I’m here to do my job and that’s try my best and I’ll continue to do that.

Q:
There have been some changes to the route, not a huge amount. What do you think of the route here at Rally Finland 2017?
KM:
Day one is quite interesting with two loops of stages in the first loop. Normally you can change a little bit the car for a second pass as the road gets a bit softer and deeper. We have to look at that because we don’t get back to service to change, but some of the old stages are back, which I don’t have any experience of, Urria, Jukojärvi - stages I’m sure Jari knows very, very well from the past but like I say, the route other than that is quite similar. Saturday is quite similar, albeit one of them is in reverse and we haven’t done it in that direction, but I think the biggest change this year will be the weather. Last year it was dry and a hard packed base nearly everywhere. I don’t think they’ve had much of a summer in Finland and the roads seem quite soft. If it rains during the rally, with all the cars passing through the second pass, it can be quite a challenge. Let’s see how the weather plays out over the weekend.
 
Q:
Is it going to rain Jari-Matti?
J-ML:
I think tomorrow will be fine, there is rain coming on Saturday but if it’s going to hit the stages is the question. In the beginning of the week, the weather forecast was saying the hot weather is coming but it came to Lapland so we still have a chance!
 
Q: 
Hayden, it’s been an emotional rally so far even if it has not started yet. It was the official retirement point of John Kennard, your co-driver, at this event. We saw a presentation last night and he did the final run of shakedown with you today. How was that?  
HP:
Obviously we have been working towards that for a while with the change of plans. Seb [Marshall] obviously got in the car a little bit earlier but I must admit that this last run of shakedown was a bit of emotional. Obviously after we went over the finish line you sort of realise that 12 years sort of come to an end just like that. It was a hard pill to swallow and even if John is going to be with us on rallies it’s not quite the same when he is not in the car.

Q:
Great thing is that the relationship is working well with Seb Marshall and we have seen good performances from you. What do you think you can achieve here in Finland?
HP:
Obviously it’s going to be a very competitive rally. There are probably upwards of 10 drivers that can be competing to be up on the podium and we want to be in that mix as well. We will certainly be pushing hard. The shoulders are a bit lower now after Poland. We enjoy the stages, the car is feeling really good, so we look forward to the rally. 

Q:
As Kris said, it’s so important to have that good pre-event test, get that confidence. Did it all go well for you?
HP:
We did our test in early June, that’s quite a long time ago, it was snowing and I think it was two or three degrees but maybe it won’t be much different to the rally! Now we have made some good small developments on the car which are good. I am feeling confident for the rally.

Q:
Tomorrow is a full-on day, 12 stages and a big day also on Saturday. Is there a particular section of stages or a day which sticks out as being more challenging here?
HP:
I think Friday and Saturday are the biggest days here. We know in Finland the gaps are very small and we can’t afford to drop any time anywhere so it’s a lot of processes to go through tomorrow. 12 stages so a lot of pre-stage rituals to get yourself mentally amp’d up 12 times and this will all add up as the rally progresses.

Q:
We haven’t seen the current Hyundai team on the podium at all in Rally Finland. Can that be changed this weekend?
HP:
Let’s hope so. Thierry is in a strong position as well and Dani is very competitive. I think all three of us have a good chance to put one, maybe two Hyundais on the podium.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Martin Holmes, Martin Holmes Rallying
UK

Q:
To all the drivers, your thoughts on the chicanes here?
J-ML:
I think the rally organisers are a little afraid after what happened at Rally Sweden when one of the stages was cancelled because the average speed was getting too high. There are some similar characteristics between Sweden and Finland with the roads. But also Poland was fast, in Poland we had chicanes and at the end nobody really complained or had any problems. This is the first time in Finland when we really have the chicanes. Back in 1987 they used smaller roads to try to get the average speed down, now we use the big roads as it’s better for everybody. These cars are faster than last year’s cars so the chicanes are there to keep the average speed down. Some of the chicanes are OK but then there are places which are not good. You come at 200 kph over a couple of crests and it’s not on the straight. I think the placing of the chicanes can be better in the future.
SO:
I would say I agree with Jari. Some of the chicanes can be useful as there is a very long straight and it can improve a little the safety. Generally, it’s faster than before and I think we all accept it and it’s not necessarily more dangerous. It’s a couple of kph higher than before, but the cars are a bit safer. To put a chicane in there, yes of course, maybe it gives a good feeling to have an average speed number a bit lower but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really change the risk level for me or the rally in general. Some of them are very tight I would say this year. Maybe a little too tight. 
KM:
Personally I don’t agree with them at all. We’ve seen more incidents on shakedown this morning than we’ve seen on other shakedowns and it was all at this stupid chicane. What happens when it gets knocked down? The next car, do they cut it and when they go on ahead is one of the obstacles still in the road? Are marshals still going to be in the middle of the road fixing it? It adds too many unknowns and we just have to accept that these cars are a little bit faster and we have to accept with the aero we have now they actually feel safer and more constant at high speed. The cars also have a little bit more safety so personally I don’t agree with them at all. I think it’s a stupid idea, I don’t think this Rally Finland is any safer than before, I think it’s more dangerous with these chicanes. I think it’s the wrong approach.
HP:
I just agree with Kris, I think it adds more danger rather than making it safer. Rather than the obstacles being on the side of the road, we are now putting them in the middle of the road. For me it makes no sense.  
 

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP
 
Present:
Jari Huttunen, Printsport
Tom Cave, Adapta AS World Rally Team

Q:
Jari, tell us how things are going with the Skoda Fabia R5.
JH:
Quite well I think, but of course I don’t have so much experience with this car so I’m sure this will be more difficult for me. I hope we can drive a clean rally and I think it’s OK. 

Q:
Did you have a test at the start of the week with the car?
JH:
Yes we had a test on Monday and two weeks ago.

Q:
How did it feel? Do you feel that you are adapting?
JH:
The feeling is quite OK but of course not so much driving for this car but it was OK, we will see.

Q:
We see you competing in the ERC with Opel and some fantastic battles there. How do you feel you are going to compete against the other WRC 2 drivers here?
JH:
I don’t know, we will see. But I think quite well as I know the Finnish roads. This is of course a very difficult rally.

Q:
What do you think of the route this year for Rally Finland? A big day tomorrow, a huge day on Saturday. What do you think of the stages that we’ve got lined up?
JH:
I don’t know, I think we need to be clever and then it’s OK.

Q:
Tom, the Hyundai R5 is what we see you compete in here. It’s fantastic to see it within WRC 2. You have of course competed with it in the British Rally Championship so how are you getting on with the car this year?
TC:
Yes we started in the British championship. The pace in the British Championship has been really good for us, I think we won every stage which we competed on gravel in the car. It gives me a lot of confidence heading here to Finland that we can certainly be competitive. The car is relatively new with these big stages so we are sort of developing it as we go along but I feel confident, yes.

Q:
The British Rally Championship is very different to the World Championship. You are coming into Rally Finland, one of the toughest challenges that we have and the bravery and confidence that you need to compete here, do you feel you have that?
TC:
I certainly do. We were fast here when we did the D-MACK, we won that in 2015 in the two-wheel drive category. The Brits always seem to go well in Finland so I can definitely feel that, especially in shakedown today. It’s difficult to gauge the pace on the shakedown but it’s only very short so come tomorrow I think we’re going to be in good stead.

Q:
On Friday, it’s relentless. It’s stage after stage. I suppose that is going to require a lot of focus and concentration throughout today?
TC:
It’s not too bad. The stages are not that long so it isn’t so physically demanding on the driver and co-driver. I prefer it like that as there aren’t so many long road sections between the stages but it’s going to be a difficult day. It’s a challenge but a challenge we enjoy in Finland.

Q:
Is this a one-off in WRC 2? Are we going to see you on more events?
TC:
I don’t know, we’ll have to see! We’ll see on Sunday what happens. 

FIA JUNIOR WRC / WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
Emil Lindholm
Dennis Rådström

Q: 
Emil, looking back to Rally Poland a few weeks ago, we saw brilliant pace and now we come to your home event here in Finland. How are you feeling confidence-wise?
EL:
Quite good. Poland was my first WRC rally and first rally in the Junior WRC so it was a good event to get some experience with the car and generally get experience of what a WRC event really is. I’m definitely better off than before Poland but I know this will still be a tough and long rally so it’s better to be cautious, but definitely more confident than before Poland.

Q:
In terms of preparation and getting ready for this event, what have you been doing?
EL:
We did a test rally two weeks ago, fairly close to this event. Good preparation, obviously Poland was also a preparing rally for this event. Otherwise I don’t think there is much else I’ve been able to do now.

Q:
So you are the “Star of the Future” for this season. What does that all mean? Tell us a little bit about that.
EL:
That’s what they call me! I think it’s a great opportunity to get the style. I think the guys who got it before me have all been going forward in their career very well. Of course it is a lot of work, nothing is given by this title by itself. There is a lot of hard work involved but I hope I will able to do it.

Q:
Being on home soil and with the experience that you had in Poland, is the objective the top step of the podium?
EL:
The objective is always to win. I don’t think I should be here if it was not. Anyhow, I feel I need to be realistic and go into this rally again slightly cautious, as in Poland our objective was to finish the rally. OK we finished but with Rally 2 regulations because of a small accident. So I hope to manage without any issues. I hope to be at least on the podium, yes.

Q:
Dennis, you told us at the start of the season that this would be a learning year for you. We’ve seen great pace coming through from you as well though. Have you been surprised with your performance?
DR: 
Of course, we showed some really good pace in Poland and it was a big surprise yes. 

Q:
So what is the plan here? Do you think you can replicate what you did in Poland?
DR:
Yes, everybody knows that Finland is a really big challenge for us drivers, especially on Saturday’s stages. You need to be awake and prepare respect for these roads. 

Q:
Saturday is a huge day and we have the classic Ouninpohja but tomorrow you have 12 stages. It’s relentless, just back to back to back. How do you think that’s going to feel for you as a driver, just going from stage to stage?
DR:
Yes we have extra good fun of course! Now it’s a long day, you need to keep calm and try to have a good low level.