Present:
1st - Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport
1st - Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai Motorsport
2nd - Sébastien Ogier, M-Sport World Rally Team
2nd - Julien Ingrassia, M-Sport World Rally Team
3rd - Dani Sordo, Hyundai Motorsport
3rd - Marc Martí, Hyundai Motorsport
Michel Nandan, Team Principal, Hyundai Motorsport

Q:
Thierry, congratulations on your first win of the 2017 season. After almost winning twice this year, how does it feel to finally be on the top step?
TN:
Like you say, we almost won twice but we didn’t win. The time was long since the beginning of the year, we knew the pace was there and we were able to set many fastest stage times and be in the lead for most of the time in the last rallies, but we were not able to score. This weekend I was expecting a lot because I knew on tarmac we were fast and I had a feeling the car was fast as well from testing. But the rally didn’t start at all like we were expecting because the feeling was good, I had the feeling I was driving well and we were going fast but the times were not right, not bad, but still not where we wanted. So we reacted to it because we work a bit on the car but as well because the roads were different on day two which gave us the opportunity to show the full potential of the car on different kind of roads and score the victory here. It’s an amazing feeling. I think it’s the first time I had tears in my eyes after crossing a finish line, because I’m not very emotional, but this time I knew it was an important result for us.   

Q:
You talk about Friday and not being quite on the pace there. The roads were different on Saturday but did you make any specific changes to the car to help you to maybe give you a bit more confidence with it?
TN:
We made a couple of changes in several areas but at the end the feeling was similar. The car felt great and I was still comfortable in the car. We improved slightly the grip level maybe, but in general it felt like the different characteristics of the road suited the car much better. They were not that long, much shorter and we were able to fly through the stages and we were really enjoying and then the times were better.

Q:
We joked at the “meet the crews” session last night about maybe being a bit nervous going into the stages yesterday because twice we’ve seen you lose rallies while you’ve been in the lead, and had a good lead as well. Were there any nerves this morning or were you just calm?
TN:
I was quite calm because I said to myself that it’s happened twice, it cannot happen three times in a row. It’s not possible. So I said to myself, all will work and finally we managed quite well and we drove with a good speed first thing in the morning. When we finished this stage with a good gap compared to Seb, we were going to cruise through the last stage as I didn’t want to take any single risk on this Power Stage.

Q:
You didn’t cruise through the opening stage this morning, you were fastest through. You were obviously comfortable with the pace you were at, you didn’t think it was too much?
TN:
At the end I had the feeling like nobody was really pushing like we were doing on the days before. Seb got a problem as well so that’s maybe why we made the fastest time. We were pretty close, maybe one tenth with Dani but we had a good rhythm, a good feeling. We didn’t lose concentration at the end. At the end of the stage we had a one minute gap so we knew we were pretty safe for the last stage.

Q:
Nicolas, is it a relief to finally be on the top step of the podium after almost being there, but not quite? 
NG:
Yes for sure, but we always trust in ourselves. Doing a mistake is part of the process when you want to be at the top at a high level. Now we learn it and catch the result so I’m very happy with today.

Q:
To take a win at the iconic Tour de Corse. Something special?
NG:
Yes, something special. It was also our first victory together with Thierry in 2011 in IRC. Everywhere, when you have won an event, it becomes special. So we have a great memory here and now much more. So it’s very good.

Q:
Seb, it feels like it might have been a little bit stressful for you out there today. Problems along the way but luckily, thankfully, you walk away with second position which is what you started the day with. But talk us through what happened then on that long stage this morning because that’s when the problem came in. What exactly went on?
SO:
It was definitely a roller coaster weekend. Up and down all the time. Luckily for us it finished on the high with really good points, better than I was hoping for. This morning was starting not so good, well for the first half of the long stage everything was fine. Obviously we had no chance to catch Thierry any more so we were just driving at a good pace but nothing extra. Suddenly mid-stage the car started to lose the boost and then it was a bit difficult, but mid stage it was still pretty fast with wide roads so I didn’t lose too much I think. But then when I took the narrow roads and found some hairpins I realised that this electronic problem we had was not only the boost, but also the central diff was locked and that means we had no handbrake for the hairpins so we struggled quite a lot. At the end of the stage we were behind Dani, but I was not really confident that it would work again for the last stage. The only thing we could do in this moment was change one of the ECU’s we had in the car, but the team was not really confident that would solve the problem. When we were resetting the car it was working a little bit but we never knew for how long. Luckily it worked for this last 10 kilometre Power Stage.

Q:
With the Power Stage being different in characteristic to some of the other stages we’ve seen, maybe you still could have got through that one without a bad time anyway?
SO:
That was the target when you push hard and try to save at least the podium. We’ve seen that at the end of the long stage, with the problem, we were losing around one second per kilometre compared to the others. So that was more or less the gap we had in front of Craig [Breen] and Jari [Latvala] so we knew we had to push hard to at least save the podium which I think was a minimum deserved for us this weekend. Luckily I was happy to see that the boost held until the end, even if I struggled a lot with understeer in this stage I pushed hard and it was enough to get back into second place. Twenty-two points, it’s a great result for us. We only lost four points to Thierry this weekend. We still increased the gap in the championship, that’s great for us.

Q:
It’s difficult to say what more work needs to be done to the car on Tarmac? 
SO:
I think this weekend we were happy with the pace that we had. I think that things are moving in the right direction for us. I said arriving here that I have a good feeling on tarmac, I think the car is not too bad. I think we have some performance in the tank and that was correct. We had the speed to fight with Thierry this weekend. We were more or less together, a few seconds behind him when he had the problem so we were in the fight for the victory, but a bit too many technical problems for us this weekend, not only on our car but also on both our team-mates’ cars so that’s definitely something the team has to work very hard on. We don’t want to feel this situation again and be in this stressful situation again.

Q:
Congratulations on second Julien. As Seb says, you didn’t quite expect to take this away today with all the problems, but it’s great points for your championship. You’ve had a tough day today though.
JI:
Everything has been said, I would say. Corsica is always a very difficult rally and you don’t need to have those kind of issues. Otherwise it was quite enjoyable, I think if you make a poll then everyone has enjoyed this event. It was quite well organised and it’s quite impressive to be in the car. We can be satisfied tonight.

Q:
Dani, congratulations on a podium finish here in Corsica. It’s been a bit of an up and down weekend for you hasn’t it. You found pace with the car and you’ve set some great times, but sometimes you were not feeling as if you were doing that. You’d get to the stage end and the time wasn’t great and you’d get to the next stage and it would be great. It’s been a bit inconsistent. But still, third - it’s a great result.
DS:
It was a difficult weekend for us, even if we finished third we need to be really happy because at the beginning of the weekend everything was in the wrong direction and the feeling with the car was a little bit strange, but after we work a bit more it was better in some stages and in others, not. It was a complicated weekend. After we take the third place we are on the podium but we are not happy at all. 

Q:
Was it a combination of factors? Were you changing the set-up during the weekend and which direction was best to go with the set-up?
DS:
It was a little bit difficult to manage the tyres and to know how you can push with tyres like these. We need to work a bit more on set-up for the next rallies on tarmac.

Q:
You did a good job out there today as you had Jari-Matti Latvala and Craig Breen who wanted your podium position and they were both pushing hard. Were you at your maximum out there today to stop them catching you?
DS:
The target today was the first stage as Jari-Matti and Craig were really close and after the first stage we were happy because we take a little bit of time after Sébastien give the gift of the second place. At the beginning we were all a bit motivated as he had a problem with the car. In the last stage he was really fast and he took his place.

Q:
What are your thoughts on Argentina when we head to gravel?
DS:
I’m really motivated with Argentina with the rally on gravel, the car looks really good and really easy to drive. I think we have more potential on gravel now than on tarmac, so I think we can do really well there.

Q:
Marc, congratulations on being on the podium here in Corsica. We’ve seen it change very much over the years in WRC, what have you thought of the event this time around in 2017?
MM:
This year was quite similar to last year as it was a very short time to organise another rally. the organisers did a very good job again because they don’t have so many people, but they need to be concentrating and not make mistakes, have the right people everywhere. The time controls were perfect, I’m quite happy. Then you have your job. As I said before we have a lot of corners we have to say to the drivers, but I am happy that the team was doing a very good job. We know we still have a tough job to do with the cars but this is a new car and I think all the teams must do a good job to prepare their cars for Germany.

Q:
An enjoyable event from a co-driving perspective? 
MM:
With these new cars it’s quite difficult sometimes because on the slow sections you can stay on the pace very easily but when it comes to the fast corners you need to concentrate and change the rhythm to the correct pace. But I’m quite happy with good pace notes. I’m happy with what we have been changing from last year and I am satisfied.

Q:
Michel, before this event you were the only manufacturer not to have taken a win this year. Four manufacturers, four drivers taking wins on the first four rounds of this year. That is an exciting WRC we have right now.
MN:
Yes of course I think it will be a very interesting championship. We can see that the cars are quite close since the beginning in Monte Carlo and they are all very good drivers, so of course it will be really competitive. It has shown that with these four events and four different winners. I think it will be really exciting and it will be a really nice championship.

Q:
What did you think of Thierry’s performance this weekend? Was there some tension today watching him through the final stages, hoping and fingers crossed that nothing would go wrong?
MN:
I think one step was done yesterday evening, we knew the difference in time was good enough to carry into these Sunday stages so we were not too anxious, and then we know that we are always behind Thierry even after his two small mistakes in the first events. We knew anyway that he will do it. 

Q:
What about the performance of the car on Tarmac? How satisfied are you with the Hyundai?
MN:
I think it needs to be a little bit better, I think we are a bit behind. The Citroën has showed that it’s a fantastic car on tarmac and for sure we have to work on that, especially for the next tarmac events but I’m quite sure the engineers will find a good solution to improve the car.  

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st - Andreas Mikkelsen, Škoda Motorsport
1st - Anders Jæger, Škoda Motorsport

Q:
Andreas, it’s another win in the WRC 2 category on the iconic island of Corsica. How was your weekend?
AM:
My weekend was pretty good. I have to say that we are very satisfied with the result and happy for Škoda to get another win. It started off very well having a nice fight with Eric Camilli. He was doing a very good job. Sadly on stage 3 he made a mistake and then we managed to get a good gap and after that it was more or less to try to maintain that gap over the weekend.

Q:
I know he was not registered in the WRC 2, but you were also battling with Stéphane Sarrazin who was in the same category of car, so that gave you some competition?
AM:
Of course it’s always interesting to be in a fight. Obviously it was very important to concentrate about the WRC 2 and the points but when he did a mistake yesterday - our gap was more or less one minute - so … Anyway it was a difficult weekend because driving without a gravel crew was a new experience for me, well not new but it was a long time ago since I didn’t have it so.. it was quite a different way of driving because you have to go into every corner with some safety margin in case there is some gravel, so in the end the stage time is not so good but it’s the way to drive if you want to drive fast and clever. So that was a little bit different to what I was used to.

Q:
Would you say that was the biggest challenge of the weekend you faced in the difference between WRC 2 and WRC?
AM:
Yes, normally I am used to knowing exactly how the conditions are on the corners and you can push to the maximum. But not pushing to the maximum around the corners and driving on the safe side is a bit frustrating but it was the correct way to do it.

Q:
You are racking up the points in terms of WRC 2. What is the plan now? Are there going to be more WRC 2 events, or is the focus still looking for a WRC drive this year?  
AM:
I am just happy to get all the opportunities I can. Of course I would like to be back into a World Rally Car as soon as possible. But until that happens the more I can drive the happier I am. I have no intention of doing the all WRC 2 Championship. I hope to be back in a WRC car before that.

Q:
So when do we see you next behind the wheel?
AM:
It’s not sure, I will do the recce in Argentina and we will see when we will back behind the steering wheel. I hope it is soon.

Q:
Anders, tell us about your weekend. Tough job for co-drivers on this event, lots of info to get out. Did you enjoy it?
AJ:
Yes for sure I have been talking a lot this weekend! It’s been a good rally, nice weather, good to be in Corsica with the sun on Friday, Saturday and even Sunday so that’s a nice feeling. Other than that we have a good thing going on with Škoda. They give us a drive and we can provide them with yet another win so we are all very happy with that.

Q:
Always great to take a win especially here. Corsica is iconic so it’s nice to say you have won a rally here?
AJ:
Yes for sure. It’s a special addition in the calendar, few stages, long stages, it’s very demanding and one mistake would cost you a lot of time. So it’s all about getting a good rhythm, being safe and fast at the same time of course as always. It’s a fun rally and it’s very good to be on top for sure.

FIA WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st – Raphaël Astier
1st – Frederic Vauclare

Q:
Raphael, congratulations on your second win in WRC 3 this season. Great result, congratulations! How are you feeling after a long weekend?
RA:
It’s quite wonderful of course to be the winner twice in a row. Everything went pretty smoothly so we are very happy.

Q:
What did you find was the most challenging aspect of the weekend for you?
RA:
Definitely the 48 kilometre stage because it was dirty. We had to avoid all mistakes and gravel and we didn’t make any mistake so that was cool.

Q:
Did you make any mistake at all during the weekend? And how is the car? How did you find it?
RA:
Basically we didn’t make any mistakes. The car was handling a bit funny on the first day but we changed some set-ups and it went well for the two following days.

Q:
Two wins in a row in WRC 3 now, where can we see you next? What event will be next for you?
RA:
It’s going to be Portugal, it will be my first time on gravel, which is a bit scary, but I am looking forward to it.

Q:
Frédéric, it is a busy weekend for co-drivers in Corsica. How was this event for you?
FV:
We have to be constantly checking our notes and because we don’t have a gravel crew, it makes it even more difficult. We have to adapt our notes constantly.

Q:
How special is it for you as a co-driver to take a win at such iconic events as Monte-Carlo and the Tour de Corse?
FV:
It’s quite incredible and we were talking about it on the liaison section because two iconic rallies surrounded by those great drivers, it’s really incredible.

 
FIA JUNIOR WRC CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st - Nil Solans
1st - Miguel Ibanez

Q:
Nil, you are our first winner of the FIA Junior WRC Championship this season, congratulations. You led right from the start on Friday and now you take the win. How are you feeling, you must be very happy?
NS:
For sure we are very happy. We know that the rally is very difficult, you have long stages and you want to push right from the beginning. We took a very gap from the second driver and we used that gap all over Saturday and Sunday to be more careful and not make mistakes.

Q:
Did you make any mistakes at all or has it been a mistake-free weekend?
NS:
No, no mistakes, we did a very good rally, we have been intelligent when we had to think and we ran when we had to, so it was good.

Q:
How have you been adapting to the Fiesta R2? Tell me what was that like?
NS:
It was a very good car. DMack did a very good job with the tyres, they made a big step, and M-Sport as well, the car was working perfect through this rally. We drove it last year in Catalunya and we made a very good rally and the feeling was really really good in the car, it’s perfect.

Q:
This result, this win and specially such a dominant win as you led from the first stage, must give you a lot of confidence?
NS:
Yes, the championship is really really long, this one being the first event. Next one is Sardinia, it’s very complicated and we never ran it. 

Q:
Miguel, how are you feeling after a busy weekend?
MI:
The feeling is very good. The Shakedown was fast and we could push in the stages. We could maintain the rhythm.

Q:
Nils has mentioned he has made no mistakes all weekend. Is that right? 
MI:
No big moments!