Alexey Lukyanuk, Jari Huttunen and Łukasz Habaj attended the post-event press conference at PZM 76th Rally Poland, round four of the FIA European Rally Championship. A transcript follows.

PZM 76th Rally Poland, FIA European Rally Championship Round 4 of 8
Main Square, Mikołajki, 16h30 CET, Sunday 30 June

In attendance:
Alexey Lukyanuk, Saintéloc Junior Team, first position
Jari Huttunen, Hyundai Motorsport N, second position
Łukasz Habaj, Sports Racing Technologies, third position

Q:
It's your first time winning in Poland, so it seems you are extremely happy, because your sequence of bad luck has finished?

AL:
Yes! I can kiss you, eh? I'm so happy! This is very satisfying, a long-awaited result. It should come straight away from Azores but some bad luck. Now it's like a revenge against fate. We still had some moments, some close from the car and from the road also but we survived them. I am happy we did it in style.

Q:
It was not an easy win as you had a lot of issues during the rally. Can you explain what happened?

AL:
Ah, who cares now? We're on the podium, on the first place, it's the most important thing. We have a lot of stories behind, but it doesn't matter now. I think the result is good, the speed is very good, so we are really happy.

Q:
After the accident you had here last year, it must be even more satisfying to win?

AL:
Yes, we expected to not be so fast here because we don't have experience with these roads and regular drivers have started here before. I thought it would be a tough mission to beat Huttunen in the beginning for example but it was a different story.

Q:
How important is this win for yourself and for your championship?

AL:
It's most important that I had a lot of fun in the car, actually. It's the most I enjoy in this sport actually. Points is good but the excitement comes when you post good times and when you go on the limit and control things and enjoy it. So, I felt this here and enjoyed the whole event so it's important for me.

Q:
Jari, second place is your beloved place! Last year you were second and it's the same again this year. It's a great result but what cost you the win?

JH:
Lukyanuk was much faster this time. Maybe next time I can win but to be honest I'm really happy about the result. I did not make any mistakes and didn't have any big problems, so I need to be happy.

Q:
What did you think when Alexey had that puncture this morning? Was there any idea of winning in your head?

JH:
Not really because I could see the car was OK, only with some cosmetic damage. We were doing an OK speed but Alexey was more so, so there wasn't any reason to take any risk.

Q:
You mentioned earlier that you had a broken anti-roll bar on the final stage. What was the problem, what happened?

JH:
Yes, that's true. On the second last stage it went and broke but it's not a big issue. Just without anti-roll bar is more moving [on the rear] pretty much but it's not a big issue.

Q:
Do you have a further programme in the European Rally Championship now or do you just love Rally Poland so much that you just come here?

JH:
No, I don't have any plans. OK, next rally I hope I can be in Finland but I'm not sure yet.

Q:
Would you come back to ERC if you had the chance?

JH:
Well, if you are asking for me, why not? But I don't know with this.

Q:
Lukasz, it's the best result you've had at home. Tell us your story of this rally?

ŁH:
It was very difficult after my Friday mistake on the Qualifying Stage. We were fourth on the road [on Saturday] so it was very difficult and demanding. But we managed somehow and today the stages were completely different. We knew the stages were much more tricky, much more difficult and we knew we could gain some time and make a difference today. We attacked in the morning on the first loop. Of course, Miko [Marczyk] and Filip [Mareš], who we were competing directly with, had some bad luck. The second loop, we were more defending our position and was just controlling the advantage we'd gained during the first loop.

Q:
After the first three rounds your advantage was only one point. Now you have more, so it's a great prospect for the future?

ŁH:
That's true but our advantage before was over Chris. Now the advantage is actually bigger over Chris Ingram but smaller against Alexey Lukyanuk, whose speed is indisputable. If he doesn't have any problems then we're having a huge problem keeping up with his pace. It's good and bad news but for sure today I'm not going to be worried about that. We will celebrate this special moment, this is our home rally and we are so happy to be on the podium. I'm going to be celebrating tonight for sure!

Q:
When is your next rally in the ERC?

ŁH:
The next rally is Rally di Roma Capitale, which is held in Italy obviously in three weeks. So only a two week break and then we're heading to Italy to do some test sessions. This is going to be the fifth ERC round.

ENDS