Present:
1st - Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Motorsport
1st - Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen Motorsport
2nd - Kris Meeke, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
2nd - Paul Nagle, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
3rd - Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Motorsport II
3rd - Ola Floene, Volkswagen Motorsport II
Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport

Q:
Seb, a challenging weekend. How do you feel about the win?
SO:
I feel strange I will say. It starts to be difficult to repeat it all the time – nobody likes to speak about that, but when you have that in mind, the atrocities in Paris, it’s difficult to get it out of your mind. I will try to speak more about the race. It’s been a very challenging weekend, a proper Rally GB with a lot of rain and mud, but it’s been a great race. I’m really happy sportingly. I might not show so much happiness now, but of course I’m happy to end the season like this. Eight wins and my third win in a row here, the statistics are pretty good. I want to thank the Volkswagen team who made it possible for us to achieve all of this. I said I wanted the perfect season and I almost did it except for one a mistake in Spain. But my co-driver did make the perfect season without any mistakes, so well done Julien.

Q:
Was this the most challenging Rally GB for you?
SO:
I don’t think so, no. I have been through worse, especially here – remember my first time in 2008? That was really terrible, much worse than this year. There was ice and snow and we were driving on gravel tyres. It was very difficult to stay on the road at the time and I didn’t stay on the road! Here we had a lot of rain, but when it rains like that, somehow the grip is better – it washes away the mud. But at the same time there are more water splashes and more grip changes. When it is not raining, it’s slippery all the time, but this time it was good grip, then mud, then no grip. It was quite challenging. I’m very happy to make no mistakes, and make a fantastic season. It’s going to be difficult to beat this in the future.

Q:
What’s been the highlight for you?
SO:
I would say the highlight of the season always the title – that’s target number one. To achieve that you need some wins and, of course, they are all enjoyable and it means you have done better than the others. The big one was Germany, I really wanted that for me but also for the team – all I have is thanks to them. I was really taking a lot of satisfaction, more for them than for me. Then Monte Carlo, it’s always cool to win there because it’s my home event and it is the most challenging of the season. It’s my target always to try to win and it will be the case in two months.

Q:
Julien, the perfect year…
JI:
To be honest, I was close to a perfect season, but not quite there. Remember Seb, in Argentina, during the recce, there was that junction to the left… I have to be honest and say I have a done a mistake this year. The target is zero mistakes, so I have to try again next year.

Q:
You must be happy with the win?
JI:
Very happy. It was a difficult GB this year. As Seb said, we had many emotions here since 2008. There were a lot of people in the stages. It was not too cold. Even in the terrible conditions, we saw guys in shorts and t-shirts… maybe these are normal conditions here. If I make one request, it’s to increase the value of stages to the road section. It was 15 or 20 per cent yesterday and we need it to be 25 per cent – maybe work on that for next year.

Q:
What about next season, how do you feel about that? And how are your preparations?
JI:
We don't have too much time. We are all here for many years and we enjoy the sport. And we should be really proud of what we are doing in the WRC, but it needs to be higher in the highlights and promotion – we do something really great. To answer your question: it’s a very short time. We celebrate and we work on the next season, for me I take 15 days off. I come back with a nice tan.

Q:
Kris congratulations. Been a good weekend?
KM:
It has been a good weekend. The objectives were set before for Citroën to hold second place in the Manufacturers’ Championship. We knew we had to do a good job to do that. Mads is really strong on this event and we knew he would be this year, but when he made his mistake, that put more pressure on us. I really enjoyed it. I didn't actually feel pressure. As it stands, this is my last rally until I know more about my future. Then again, my whole career has been: last rally, last rally, last rally, so you tend to forget about it. I love these stages and feel comfortable on them. I did my first rally here years ago in these stages. The car felt comfortable from shakedown and I carried that through the rally.

Q:
You were close to Seb on day one…
KM:
I was concentrating on my own feeling. I set one good time in Hafren, but in these conditions Hafren is not full wet and we had some of the slippery conditions. In there, it’s nearly more slippery in the dry. It’s so inconsistent, if you feel confident, maybe you can make a few seconds in one stage. I don’t think we were ever a serious threat to Seb, he had plenty in the pocket. But it’s nice for me to finish second. I enjoyed the event and I feel confident we ticked all the boxes in doing the job for Citroën and scoring my first ever second place.
SO:
He is a bit too modest, he has done a strong performance and nobody can say I have more in my pocket - I try to go fast! But he was fast all weekend. Sometimes [some drivers] have done one or two scratch times and then ended with a bigger scratch.

Q:
Talking to Yves Matton, you might know about the future soon?
KM:
I’m happy he’s talking to you… at least he’s talking to somebody!

Q:
It should be a quick decision though?
KM:
I don’t know what the deadlines are for registration and things like that. Like I said before, my garden’s a bit overgrown, maybe I have time to work on that. For me, in my own way, this was my strongest performance in the WRC to date. Yes, Argentina was good, but we won when Volkswagen had many problems – here we were in second place from start to finish and we did some really good stage times. The first time I was nervous in Argentina and not comfortable all the time. But here it felt solid and calm, I need more weekends like that, but I need to sort out the future first.

Q:
Paul, a good weekend for you?
PN:
Fantastic weekend from the start of the rally. We’ve had a strong pace, there were no moments. Kris drove consistently with second and third fastest times all the time. For me, it was a very solid performance.

Q:
Do you feel you’ve done enough for next year?
PN:
That’s a loaded question. I would think we should be in a car in Monte Carlo. We’ve done enough all season and a good second half – we’ve shown we’re the only ones fit to race these two here and Jari-Matti.

Q:
What’s been your highlight of the year?
PN:
Oh, it has to be Argentina, there’s something special about the maiden win. But we’ve had some fantastic stage times and some fantastic battles with Andreas. I have to thank all the marshals and officials for standing out there in the weather on the stages and on the road sections as well. And, for Colin [Clark, WRC Live] as well. I don’t usually feel sorry for him, but the dedication he showed in standing out there last night was incredible.
KM:
The sheep in Wales are smarter – they don’t stand out in those conditions!

Q:
Andreas, difficult start for you missing the shakedown and having no test, but a great rally…
AM:
Yes, it was not too bad. Of course, I was very unsure coming into the rally. I did not test or go to shakedown, so I went straight from the tarmac of Spain into Hafren in terrible conditions. It was a big challenge and I was lucky to find the rhythm so quickly. I had a great rally. Third place, but Kris and Seb were quite far ahead, I needed to keep the pressure on in case something happened. I was happy with the performance. It’s hard to do much more, also I had a double puncture on Saturday morning with only one spare tyre, so I had to be a bit on the safe side. There’s big respect for Kris and Paul and Seb and Julien. I’m a bit disappointed Seb didn’t try on the Power Stage again…
SO:
But this time you could not win!

Q:
You wanted a win this year, you’ve got one…
AM:
Yes, I’ve ticked a lot of boxes with the first win in the bag. Next year I need to be a bit faster and keep the consistency.

Q:
What’s possible next year?
AM:
We can bring the experience we gained this year into next year. Seb’s in strong form, but we can challenge at the front on most rallies.

Q:
Ola, good weekend?
OF:
Fantastic. I’m happy to be here. It was a long day yesterday, I feel at home here and to see the crowd, it feels like they know us. It’s nice to see a new name and Andreas told me he knows this and did that. A great weekend.

Q:
Has your Spain win sunk in yet? You were quite emotional last time we saw you.
OF:
You are trying to say I was crying? No. I was sweating! The best pictures were on the TV and you need to be in this position. Petter Solberg came to me in regroup here, he had seen it on TV. He said: “I understand!” It was like my body gave up and I was crying.

Q:
Jost, a sensational season for Volkswagen – how do you summarise it?
JC:
It has been a fantastic season for Volkswagen. It was the third season and third championship win in row. And we have our most success this year, it has got better from 13 to 14 to 15. But it’s not just the success, it’s the experience and how the team is growing and glueing together. This was as good as the victories.

Q:
What pleased you this year?
JC:
The start of the season with all three cars and six guys on the podium – it can’t get any better and then the big highlight was Germany. We couldn't win at home for two years then we got the full podium, that was really emotional for the whole team.

Q:
This time last year you talked about wanting to win in Germany and for Andreas to take his first win. They’ve both happened – what next?
JC:
We want to win them again and get a win in Argentina, that could be great.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Marco Giordo
Autosprint, Italy

Q:
Kris, when do you know about your future?
KM:
Honestly I have no idea. It’s strange to say you haven’t spoken to your team boss at this stage of the year, but that’s the situation. I hope it becomes clear, but at this stage I have no idea. Maybe I’ll go and ride some enduro bikes with Jost…

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st – Teemu Suninen, TGS Worldwide
1st – Mikko Markkula, TGS Worldwide

Q:
Teemu how do you feel about the win?
TS:
I feel really good. The season has been really good.

Q:
How was this event for you?
TS:
It has been really good all weekend. Only in some stages I made some mistakes. But it’s been good.

Q:
Did you enjoy the conditions?
TS:
I really enjoyed them. It’s really challenging and totally new for me.

Q:
Will we see you more next year?
TS:
We don’t have a plan yet, but I hope WRC 2. Let’s see.

Q:
Your co-driver had a sore throat for most of the event. Did that make it difficult?
TS:
It was, in some places, hard to hear the notes. I had to focus really hard and sometimes I lost some corners and I had to brake.

Q:
Mikko, congratulations – that wasn’t the best time to lose your voice…
MM:
It felt like a very long weekend. It happened after shakedown and then I tried to speak on Friday morning, but I was not so hopeful.

Q:
Did you feel ill?
MM:
No I felt perfect, but the voice just disappeared with the weather.

Q:
How do you think Teemu has driven?
MM:
Really well. Remember he drove his first rally outside Finland in May and his first time in a four-wheel drive car in February… it’s been really fast development. And to win in an older generation car is really fantastic.

Q:
Were these the most challenging conditions for you?
MM:
It was tough. When the water comes into the car and on the screen and there’s a lot of humidity which you can’t take out, it’s tough. But the grip was actually OK. I’ve seen worse: snow and ice. It was challenging, but not the worst.

Q:
But a great challenge?
MM:
Yes, I enjoy the long stages.

FIA JUNIOR WRC / WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP (event winner)

Present:
1st - Ole Christian Veiby, Printsport
1st - Anders Jaeger, Printsport

Q:
Ole Christian, this is a nice way to finish a very good 2015 season?
OCV:
It’s been a great season, starting in Monte with a podium and I’m really happy about that. We had our ups and downs, but to finish the season with a win is an amazing feeling.

Q:
It’s been such a tough event – these were special conditions…
OCV:
It’s been really, really challenging. ln the heavy rain and wind, in our little car, you could feel in the straights the rear is moving, so we go off throttle. It’s been really challenging.

Q:
Any problems?
OCV:
No. None actually. It’s been good. Do you remember any?

Q:
If you are asking your co-driver, I don’t think you had any!
OCV:
No, not any big moments. We had fun.

Q:
Were you cautious today?
OCV:
There have been really big gaps. Today we were really cautious. The Power Stage was really rough and there was a lot of standing water. I took it really carefully. It was a great feeling to be at the finish.

Q:
Now you’ve won, the ‘Baby Veiby’ nickname has to go…
OCV:
It was OK. Now I have to find a new one!

Q:
More Juniors next year?
OCV:
We don’t know yet. We will do some more, but ‘Baby Veiby’ is moving out from mom and dad!

Q:
Anders how was the event for you?
AJ:
Now I feel very good. We have been really concentrating on keeping the car on the road and not making any mistakes. On Friday we started with the good speed with [Quentin] Gilbert. Unfortunately for him he had some problems and then we had some good distance between the cars. For the end of the rally our job was to secure our place and take it steady.

Q:
What’s the challenge like for the co-driver?
AJ:
The biggest challenge is to stay dry, it’s almost impossible. I told him to stay dry, water is heavy. It’s a special feeling and a good feeling finishing first on our last event of the year – this gives us a confidence boost for next year.

FIA WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP (Championship winner*)

Present:
1st - Quentin Gilbert
1st - Renaud Jamoul

Q:
Quentin, congratulations on the title. How do you feel?
QG:
I feel quite good. It has been a really good season, better than last year – we took five victories in JWRC and WRC 3. It’s been an incredible season.

Q:
You wanted a win here – that didn’t quite go to plan…
QG:
On Friday we lose our water pump in SS6. We had to stop and start Rally 2 on Saturday. It happens like that sometimes.

Q:
What was the rest of event like?
QG:
After that, it was another rally, it was not possible to win, just enjoy. We like this rally. That was difficult in the conditions, but it’s Wales Rally GB conditions. We did a lot of best times and took good experience for the future.

Q:
You’ll be driving in WRC 2 next year – do you know when you start?
QG:
I don’t know yet. We will know during the winter with the team, next week or something. But for WRC 2, I’m really looking forward to that.

Q:
Renaud, congratulations on a special year…
RJ:
As soon as we are in the press conference on Sunday, it’s been a great day, rally and season – we made no mistakes, we had just two technical issues, one in Poland and here. What can we say?

Q:
Have you enjoyed the event?
RJ:
I have really enjoyed it. We like this condition and this rally. Yesterday in the dark, it was really special. For me, it’s special to drive in the rain, mud, fog – it’s really fun. It’s perfect.

Q:
What do you do before the new season?
RJ:
We will have a lot of meetings and then we have to decide when we start the season. For sure, we have to start in Monte Carlo, it’s the French start and it’s a really tricky event. We have to get used to the R5 again – it’s different from the R3.

*
Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA.

Results also subject to the result of a complete engine inspection for Car No.1 on Wales Rally GB.