Present:
1st - Sébastien Ogier, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
1st - Julien Ingrassia, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
2nd - Jari-Matti Latvala, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
2nd - Miikka Anttila, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
3rd - Esapekka Lappi, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
3rd - Janne Ferm, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Malcolm Wilson, Team Principal, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
 
Q:
Seb, what an incredible event – you take your fifth win here and become the first driver ever to do that on Rally GB. What a result!
SO:
You can guess how I feel. I feel very well! There was a lot of emotion for us this weekend. It didn’t start so well on Friday, we had trouble early on with the gearbox and I was finding myself already quite far from the lead. Of course at this moment I was not happy, but I thought: “Go forward and do what you can…” I did that and I found myself in a fight for the podium with Jari, Craig and Esapekka. After that, what was supposed to be a fight with Jari-Matti for second, turned out to be a fight for the win after Ott had his trouble. I had this strange feeling then. You know that Ott is a friend, I never want him to experience that; he was on another planet and nobody was able follow his speed this time. I guess in Turkey last time I gave him the win and he gave it back here.

Q:
Were you worried about the time you lost on the first loop of gravel stages this morning?
SO:
We had such a small lead over Jari going into today, it was going to be a tough day. We have seen how well the Toyota performs and we knew it would not be easy to stay ahead. And we have seen these highs of Jari-Matti when he is determined. Last night at the press conference, he explained this. That was no blah blah, he showed it this morning and, of course, I was hoping to do something on the Tarmac section this morning. I needed to be fast on the last forest stage and I gave everything I had. The plan was to at least match his pace. When I crossed the line, I said to Julien: “I cannot do more – that’s the best I can do.” The time followed my feeling and we were a little bit quicker than Jari. It was a long time since we had such fight with Jari and Miikka, of course we had many when team-mates but less recently. I enjoyed it.

Q:
How’s the feeling for the Championship now?
SO:
Definitely, this is a great step and we are back on track for the championship. I would not say we’re where I want to be, but we’re close. Considering the last couple of months where the performance has not always been there, it’s not so bad. I was feeling the luck was gone sometimes, and again I had this feeling on Friday, but finally it has turned to my way again. I am looking forward to the end of the year. I’m quite confident we will have the performance in Spain and then it comes down to Australia.

Q:
Julien what was that fight like today?
JI:
We never had easy fights, you need to go for it and that was how it was here. It was trees or trophies here. We knew the championship would have a lot of influence from here. There were some angry words on the left-hand side of the car, colleagues who said I was spending more time in the ditch than the road! That gives you an idea for the way the weekend was.

Q:
What do you think of the fight for the title?
JI:
We have never given up, on some rallies we have won and on some we have had to catch some points at the end. Even at the hard times, you have to think this way and grab everything you can. Of course it’s exciting and on the plane to Australia we will have some thoughts, but before that we have to think to Spain.

Q:
Jari-Matti you wanted this win…
J-ML:
I didn’t start so great, but it was improving step-by-step. I knew the fight with Seb would come on Tarmac and I managed to get enough lead before going to the first one (run around the Great Orme Llandudno stage). In the first stage this morning, it was really going well. I was pushing and trying, but then I go to the ditch, and I got a little bit scared. I needed to drive more carefully, but then I lost a couple of seconds. I came to the power stage and gave everything. It was a really great drive. We had one big moment, but we survived. I knew, on the Tarmac stage at Great Orme, if I had been able to match Seb’s time, things would have turned around. But Sebastien was faster, he found that spark of the five-time world champion and that gave him enough spark. I couldn’t do more. Maybe I made a small mistake taking three mediums and one used soft, I should have taken four mediums and that would have given a better balance and would have helped a little bit. But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t make that big difference. I shouldn’t have stalled last night. Seb and Julien have been setting an amazing time on the last [forest] stage. I went to the last stage [of the rally] and two kilometres in I went wide, hit the kerb and after that I could feel the wheel toeing out. After that, I said: “OK, let’s finish.”

Q:
But it was a great fight and great for you to be back in the fight?
J-ML:
Absolutely. I have had difficulties at the start of the year, I lost a little bit the feeling for the victories – here it came back. It’s there. I couldn’t make it happen (the win), but I hope this feeling stays on and we can fight for the win in the last two rallies. We still have the manufacturer points [to find] and it’s very important to get that.

Q:
Any news about next year?
J-ML:
I want to stay at Toyota, but once they can confirm it, then it’s good.

Q:
Miikka, what have you thought of the changes to the route for this year’s rally?
MA:
For sure, I have to say the stages this year have been interesting. There have been more technical stages, probably coming from the FIA request to have slower average speeds. But I enjoy them and they were a real challenge when they’re so slippery.

Q:
What was it like in the fight?
MA:
It was good fun. We have had this in the past, there’s always respect between us and Seb and Julien – we make jokes between the stages, but in the stages we are flat out.

Q:
Esapekka, happy with your performance?
EL:
Yeah, it was quite consistent. There was a small struggle on Friday morning, but then it went in a better direction and it was OK. Yesterday there were a few nice stage times, I tried to keep the fight, but there was no chance and then… they just left. The gap was too big. Today we had to protect third from Craig. Craig did a mistake and then it was a bit easier for us.

Q:
What was the plan this morning, you didn’t like Gwydir, but you were fastest of everybody in the first stage in Elsi!
EL:
The grip was much lower on the power stage (Gwydir). I got surprised much more. In many corners, we were in the ditch – but we weren’t the first one, we followed the lines into the ditch! Maybe these guys were sleeping [on the first stage], but we had no trouble. Maybe the tyres worked better, I had the medium tyre – the edges were sharp. I don’t know, but it wasn’t a crazy push to be fastest.

Q:
Two events remaining with Toyota this season, what’s the plan?
EL:
Same as Jari-Matti, we need to fight for the manufacturers’ title. I have nothing to win on the personal point of view. Maybe we can support Ott, but maybe it’s quite tough for him.

Q:
And next year?
EL:
Silence. What can I say? This is always funny that you are asking every day, like you were asking Sebastien [Ogier] last year. Drivers are not announcing anything.

Q:
Janne, how do you feel after a challenging weekend?
JF:
Of course I’m happy with this third place. It was a tough fight and this is a different ball game compared to other rallies: the grip is changing so much. You are sideways more than in a straight line.

Q:
Is Esapekka sometimes too self-critical of himself?
JF:
I think we are the happiest team. He is just harsh on himself, then we have a road section and after a few hours, he’s back…

Q:
Malcolm, brilliant result for the drivers’ title…
MW:
You can imagine, on Friday it wasn’t looking too good. We came here on the back foot after Turkey and I said on Friday: “Gosh, what a difference 12 months makes!” But then yesterday I said: “Gosh, what a difference 24 hours makes!” This has been an incredible performance from Seb and Julien, it’s one that makes me so proud.

Q:
Did you have concerns Mr Latvala would spoil the party?
MW:
Yes I did! Especially after the first two gravel stages, I thought Seb would really have his work cut out. Seb did an amazing drive on the Orme, but I think Seb’s stage of the year came on the gravel (in the second run through Gwydir). It was an incredible performance. The only sad thing is that we’ve only got two more events to stand on the podium with him, let’s do the best on those events

Q:
What can you do to ensure everything’s at its best on the last two rallies?
MW:
We will do everything we’ve been doing for the last 20 months. My biggest fear is that we let them down with the reliability. We had something on Elfyn’s car which we have not had since we were running this car. It wasn’t an expensive item, but it makes you mindful of what can happen. We need to give Seb and Julien a reliable car for the rest of the events.

Q:
What’s it been like having Seb and Julien in the team?
MW:
I’d prefer to wait, otherwise I’m going to get emotional!
SO:
The story’s not over yet!

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st - Kalle Rovanperä, Škoda Motorsport II
1st - Jonne Halttunen, Škoda Motorsport II

Q:
Kalle what an event, last year you made your debut here – this year you have dominated the class!
KR:
Thank you. It was quite a nice present because Monday was my birthday. I feel really good. Last year it was not this good, but this year was good.

Q:
Your speed in Brenig was amazing, tell us about that…
KR:
Actually, I think the Friday was the most fun, you could have fun when you push. It was really nice and a good performance from us. We made no mistakes, we just had good pace.

Q:
Were there any hot moments?
KR:
No. There were no moments after that on Saturday and Sunday.

Q:
Did you enjoy the weekend stages?
KR:
They were really nice also, but it’s not so easy when you don’t push so hard, I’m really happy we can manage the pace so well.

Q:
When did you think you have enough that you don’t have to push?
KR:
When we got to one minute, it’s OK.

Q:
Confident you can take this pace forward?
KR:
Yeah, we led the last three rallies – it’s much more easy to go forward from here, from the win.

Q:
Jonne, we saw a couple of moments – one before the finish when you were both laughing. Tell us about that…
JH:
I don’t even call it a moment, it was a slide. We didn’t go that wide. In the first loop we hit a rock in the same place and he tried to avoid it, but it was a funny moment!

Q:
Are you surprised at the pace you could set against Pontus Tidemand, our reigning WRC 2 champion?
JH:
Actually, yes. I thought the others would be behind, but I thought Pontus would be closer. Kalle’s pace was good. He fought hard on Friday and then we were careful with steady pace.

FIA WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st - Tom Williams
1st - Phil Hall

Q:
Tom you hoped for the win, you must be happy?
TW:
Yeah, that was the aim and we’ve had a great event. We’ve had many family and friends out watching and I wanted to push on the home event. It’s been a great event.

Q:
What have you made of the changes to the itinerary?
TW:
These places were not so familiar, we didn’t know them so well. When the rain and fog came down we tried to take advantage and push. We took a minute and that gave us a good lead.

Q:
You have a strong link to Richard Burns (the 2003 FIA World Rally Champion was Williams’ god parent), he was very good in the fog!
TW:
Yeah, it’s a good advantage. We know that the weather and fog can be difficult on GB.

Q:
Confident for the next event in Spain?
TW:
This is a huge boost in confidence and pace, especially with the other British drivers around us. We know where I am and it’s a really good progression – we know we’ve had a good learning year. The next event will be Spain and we’ll keep on pushing there.

Q:
How was it reading the notes in the fog, Phil?
PH:
On Saturday’s stages, when the speed’s higher, the notes do flow more. I think we did have an advantage in the fog, I enjoy reading notes in the fog, it felt nice.

Q:
Any moments during the event?
PH:
To be fair to Tom has driven a really good rally. He has done what we discussed. There were a few hiccups with the puncture, but that didn’t drop us too far back. We had no major moments where we thought it might be all over.

Q:
Any pressure to get those notes out?
PH:
I’ve competed in fog before and [Tom] trusts me a lot. You just get on with it.