Present:
Ott Tänak, M-Sport World Rally Team
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport 
Esapekka Lappi, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT
Craig Breen, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 

Q:
Ott, you took your first WRC win in Italy at the last event. How does that feel now that you’ve had time to digest it over the past two weeks? What was the reception like at home when you returned? Does it give you extra confidence coming here?
OT:
Definitely it was a nice moment. I was working for it for a long time now. A couple of times I was close and just missed it. I’m sure it makes us more hungry. Sardinia was a rough event. It looks like smart to be smart is the way.

Q:
Tell us about the greeting you had at the airport when you went home from Sardinia?
OT:
I was not so happy. My daughter start to cry a bit and she was a bit frightened. It was nice to have this kind of reception though. I am sure it is a big boost for motor sport in Estonia. It’s a long time since Markko (Martin) won and it’s nice to get back. 

Q:
Last year you were cruelly denied a win at this event. Do you feel you have a score to settle this time?
OT:
For sure, it’s a nice place with the atmosphere and quite like Estonia. It’s almost the closest WRC event for me. It definitely feels like a home event and the nature of the roads is similar. I always enjoy it here.

Q:
You are also in the title fight this year now…
OT:
Yes, it’s pretty interesting and we are still in touch with the guys in front. I am even with Jari-Matti (Latvala) and we still have half the season to go. A lot can happen. We need to stay smart and hopefully it stays interesting to the end of season.

Q:
Thierry, you achieved good points away from Italy and have edged a little closer to Ogier in the Championship standings, just 18 points adrift. What is your objective here? 
TN:
Similar like before. We have to catch a couple of points back. It went well in Sardinia and we could have been in the lead without a small brake failure. The margin to the guys behind is not so big as well and a couple of them are pushing hard. I have been five in a row on the podium. The speed is there for all the races. I am sure I have my bad luck so far. At one point in the season I hope to be in the leading position. Esapekka (Lappi) drove very well on the last rally. Power Stage points are important. Ogier took one more than me, but the main goal was to be ahead. The Power Stage has more importance than previous years. There are five points to catch. I am sure this is the fastest Power Stage of the year. 

Q:
What do these stages demand from a driver? How brave can you be to achieve ultimate speed? Are there areas that can catch you out?
TN:
I am born brave so it is a good rally for me! The most difficult thing is to manage the gap between brave and too brave and find the safe limit. There may be tricky conditions with the rain during the weekend and some fell last night. It will be more tricky and we will need to find the right balance.

Q:
Esapekka, with five stage wins and the Power Stage victory in Italy you were on fine form. You seem to be pushing yourself to achieve more on every stage. What can we expect from you here?
EP:
It’s difficult to say but it is not so easy. Obviously it is the fastest rally of the calendar and Sardinia was the slowest. You need a different driving style and more confidence. You need to be fully confident. The rain will mix it up, for sure.

Q:
What are your expectations for the rally?
EP:
For sure, I surprised myself as well last time. I want to improve all the time. It doesn’t matter what the situation is. That’s my motivation. All I want is to be better and better. It is getting tricky to find the last steps (of improvement). 

Q:
You have won this event before in the ERC and have knowledge of the stages here. Is aiming for the podium a possibility? What are your own personal targets for this event?
EP:
No numbers in my mind. If I make a mistake and we are running out of the road, I am not happy. I want to keep continuing the learning process. This is the third rally for me and I want to get maximum mileage and reach the finish. 

Q:
Craig, before we chat about this event you were competing at the weekend at home in a Mark II Escort with a good friend alongside you in the co-driving seat. Tell us a little bit about that experience. 
CB:
It was especially a great weekend. Paddy, my friend, is unique. It was my home rally, the Raven’s Rock, a tarmac event in Ireland that is close to my heart. Some of you may have met Paddy here before. We decided to do the rally together back home with Paddy as my co-driver. But he got stage fright and we had to put the pace notes in the bag. I cried at the end of the last stage as we had so much fun - his dream had come true. He’ll be pulling to get into the car beside me here as well. I guess 300km here is a bit different to 100km back home though! 

Q:
You are seventh in the Championship as we head into Rally Poland. Italy didn’t quite go to plan but what can we see from you here? Back to the ‘sweet spot’ of fifth overall?
CB
I think if I can maintain the same speed, there seems to be a sweet spot for me in the top five. Can we do it again? Why not? It’s a rally we have done before. It’s my second time with a WRC car on some familiar stages so a top five would be nice. 

Q:
How was pre-event testing? I understand we are seeing a change to the C3 WRC here but only to Mikkelsen’s car in terms of the mechanical homologation joker? Do you feel things are things moving in the right direction?
CB:
Our test went well. There were some changes that we had been thinking about since the start of the year. Kris, me and Stéphane had discussed them and they were implemented and Andreas said it was a good start. Me and Stéphane will not have the upgrade here. We don’t know until we see a rally environment how good they are. We need fresh roads before we will see how it works, but it’s an exciting time. I did a couple of runs with the upgrade. It’s definitely the step we expected but it’s never night and day on a test road. These rallies don’t show the true potential. I guess on slow twisty rallies it will be better. 

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP
 
Present:
Osian Pryce, Drive DMACK Team
Hubert Ptaszek, ORLEN Team

Q:
Osian, it has been a busy time for you lately competing at Ypres and now leading the British Rally Championship. Does that give you a bit more confidence coming here to compete at Rally Poland?
OP:
Yes, we had a good start to the year and the BRC has helped to get used to the R5 car. Still it is my first WRC event with the R5. Ypres was a bit different to this but we have brought the Welsh weather with us. I think it’s going to be a bit of a lottery for everyone to be honest if it rains, but I look forward to it. It was a nightmare trying to get through in a two-wheel drive car last year. On gravel we had a couple of events and we have been close to winning BRC events back home. The shakedown times were good. Ypres was the first time on tarmac and we got the hang of it. 

Q:
What do you think of the stages and what is your target for the weekend?
OP:
The new stage, SS12, is not quite the same as the other stages but we have to be careful. The speeds are high and it is easy to be caught out. I don’t have a target. I want to do the best I can for the team and for my supporters.

Q:
Hubert, home event for you and I’m sure one you are looking forward to! Push for the podium on the cards?
HP:
For sure, we are getting faster and faster. I guess there is some pressure competing at home. We will see how it works and see what is the weather forecast that will come. Weather conditions will be tricky and fast times will not come easy. It was good for us to run the shakedown in wet conditions to see how it works. Everything was working good. We will see what happens. Dry conditions are easier because in fast sections it is hard to keep the line. On wet, slippery roads you can go out of the line and it is not so easy to come back to the road. I try to focus on the driving. The pace notes are ready so we try to push. If we make everything good the times will come. I am not calculating after the stages. 

FIA JUNIOR WRC / WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
Dillon Van Way
Sebastian Careaga

Q:
Dillon, 2017 was always going to be a steep learning curve each event for the first time. How do you feel it has been so far?
DVW:
It’s been really fun and just a great experience of being here. It is incredible coming from the States (USA) and a lot of fun and we are getting better with each rally. 

Q:
What areas have you found most difficult and what has surprised you about the Championship? What has been the biggest thing you have learnt so far?
DVW:
In general, the notes here. We struggle because we don’t have the same recce in the US – I guess it’s pretty much the same in the rest of the world. My navigator (Dai Roberts) is doing a great job. We are doing pretty well for our fourth WRC event. 

Q:
This will be the fastest event you have competed on this year, what do you think of the stages here?
DVW:
I think it’s going to be fun. It’s definitely fast. But, in an R2, the car is light and can stop pretty quick if it goes wrong. We would like to finish every rally. That’s the goal and I really want to keep improving. I was off the pace in Corsica and much better in Sardinia. 

Q:
Sebastian, you come from South America, is this a learning experience for you too? 
SC:
For me, the WRC is incredible and to get to the finish line and gain more experience and improve the pace is my target. 

Q:
What are the toughest challenges?
SC:
For me, I believe to go as fast as the road goes. It is really tricky to go so fast with so many crests. It’s just hard. We did shakedown today. It went pretty good. We were trying to learn to enjoy the rally.