Present:
Elfyn Evans, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
Craig Breen, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
Andreas Mikkelsen, Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
Esapekka Lappi, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT

Q:
Elfyn, we are pleased to see Dan Barritt returns alongside you this weekend. Talk about Dan first and how he is.
EE:
Yes, Dan is feeling a lot better, thank you. It’s great to have him back. He feels pretty much fine in himself now. As far as he was concerned, he was right to go to Corsica but always the medical said otherwise, we have to respect that. He’s back and feeling fit.

Q:
Last  year it was a great event for you. Do you come here bringing that same kind of confidence because it hasn’t been the best of the starts for you?
EE:
No, it’s been a terrible start, to be honest. We are looking at the event as an opportunity. If the rain stays away, then the roads would be good but at the minute it’s looking very mixed so we have to give it our all and see what happens. We can really do good results here.

Q:
You talk about the weather conditions and some of the stages are incredibly slippery, especially the Saturday ones. What do you think about the route this year? We see some changes, especially on Sunday, on El Condor – Mina Clavero. What are your thoughts on the whole route?
EE:
There are quite a few changes. I think Friday is particularly rough compared to those stages we have seen in the past, so that could throw up a few surprises as certain sections are pretty rough, and on Saturday it’s a tricky day. The longest stage is pretty narrow and very easy to hit something, to be honest, it’s not going to be an easy one.

Q:
What is it going to take to change the season around? Can you do anything to change it in terms of the way you are driving, or has it just been a run of bad luck?
EE:
No, you can’t blame it all on bad luck, for sure. Two punctures on the first two rounds and then obviously the accident in Mexico which then put us on the back foot for Corsica, so we had a solid result in Corsica, given the circumstances. I think now we just keep building on that.

Q:
Craig, we have missed you on two events on the WRC and you have returned here to Argentina. You must be really ready to go this weekend?
CB:
I can’t wait. It’s been a couple of weeks, months, since I was in the car. It’s probably the longest time out of competition since I was a kid. When I was age of eight or nine years of age I was lucky enough to be competing in karting or rallying, every fortnight or so, and then all of the sudden I had eight weeks sitting at home. It’s been difficult to watch it but at the same time it’s so nice to be finally back.

Q:
“Did you watch it” is the question. Did you sit and watch the coverage?
CB:
In Mexico I had no choice, I was there, but in Corsica I tried my best to turn my back on it and I couldn’t. I wasn’t able to be at that one, that’s my favourite of the year by a long long way. Eventually after a while I literally switch it on but a few seconds later Seb (Loeb) was off and that was not the most convenient time to watch, but I still have a big applause for the WRC All Live, it was absolutely amazing to watch it. But I hope that’s my last opportunity to watch it!

Q:
You’re obviously feeling happy with the car after the runs at shakedown. There’s been a change chassis-wise, can you talk us through that?
CB:
We don’t want to say it’s a great eureka moment until we’ve put a couple of rally days behind us but we think it’s something that’s been missing since the car’s creation really. There was always something, the confidence on the rear of the car, which all the drivers had at some point along the way; to struggle for confidence and to be 100% sure of the rear of the car and we think what we’ve done is good and they solved it because so many times before we’ve changed this and changed that, and we were already in the rally and that was not what we expected. For the moment there are still a lot of things we want and we just really hope this is what we have been looking forward to all along.

Q:
With two rallies off, does that give you a fire up to really go out there and push for a good result? What is the strategy?
CB:
I want to try to carry on the momentum from Sweden, I want to continue fighting at the front, I want to make that feel as normal as possible. If I want to be a champion I need to make these fights feel comfortable. That’s the plan, to get as close to the podium as we can and on Friday to have a good position, hopefully with dry weather. I’d really love to grab a podium and keep the momentum going.

Q:
Andreas, Corsica was tough for you a few weeks ago and we could sense the frustration at not being competitive. What has happened since the event to address the issues from Corsica?
AM:
Since the beginning and driving this car on tarmac and I have been struggling. This car feels very different compared to the Polo and the C3. Not so many changes have been made. For Corsica I knew it was going to be a tough rally but I didn’t expect it to be that tough. Basically the way I was driving in Corsica made me feel I had never been driving a rally car. I was clueless. I feel it is good now to be back on gravel.

Q:
It has not affected your confidence, has it?
AM:
No. I mean, driving on tarmac I have had good results. I have been on the podium on every tarmac rally there is. It is just something we have to work on; me and the whole team. We were all struggling in Corsica, me more than the others. For sure, changes need to be made if we want to keep up with the other manufacturers on tarmac. There is a lot of work being put into it.

Q:
We see an engine upgrade for all the i20’s here. How big is the change and how did the car feel on the shakedown stage?
AM:
It makes a lot of noise now! It is very loud but now it’s got more performance everywhere in the engine range. It is a noticeable difference in driving. I think it should help us a lot here in Argentina.

Q:
Tell us about your thoughts and what you can achieve here?
AM:
I really like this rally. I have always enjoyed it. I think it suits my driving style quite a lot with the grip being a little sandy. I can really attack the corners and that’s how I like to drive. I’m very positive for this weekend. We have to get a lot of points from the front runners if we want to get back to the championship fight. I know we will have to go flat out and do our best.

Q:
Jari-Matti (Latvala) told us earlier today that El Cóndor uphill will be easier. Do you agree?
AM:
Yes and no. For sure it’s easier going uphill but we have done the downhill many times and we know the tricky parts. It will be new going up. I think it is possible to make a time difference there. And it should be safer.

Q:
Esapekka, this is another event in which we haven’t seen you in the WRC car before, but it doesn’t really matter whether you have been to an event or not, you are showing your pace is exceptionally good. What is your hope? Do you think you will be able to fight at the front?
EL:
For sure not. I am realistic. I have never been here. It’s the same kind of feeling I had in Mexico.  We were struggling quite a bit, though most of it was my bad driving. This is my first time here and the others have done it many, many times, the same stages and they know the conditions and these things. It is very difficult to match the times.

Q:
You have seen the stages in recce; have you been surprised by the roughness or the nature of the stages?
EL:
Yes, especially SS2, the longest, there are rocks that are already visible and quite high. I was surprised by those, but tomorrow it will also be soft in other parts. There will be a lot of surprises, I guess. Otherwise, it was quite okay. Sunday is very technical and narrow and on Saturday you can push a bit more. But as Elfyn (Evans) said, it is easy to go wide and make mistakes. If you go wide here, you can hit something.

Q:
I think in Corsica it was the first time we saw you happy at a stage end with your results. How do you assess what you have done so far this season?
EL:
Well, let’s say I have done mistakes in every rally and if I could take those away, the results could have been much better. So I would really like to have a weekend without a mistake. Though to be honest, my mistakes have been small ones and in Mexico it looked much worse than it really was. We need to avoid these things and we will be much happier.

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
Gustavo Saba
Diego Dominguez

Q:
Gustavo, you have a huge amount of experience in the sport and you have multiple titles in Paraguay, South American Championships and now, you come here to Rally Argentina to compete against some great drivers in WRC 2. Are you feeling confident of success this weekend?
GS:
Yes, I think it will be a great rally. There are so many good drivers. It will be difficult, but we have worked a lot, we have tested the car many times and I think we can make a good race.

Q:
Historically the Skoda R5 is an incredibly strong car. You tested on Monday this week, how did that go? 
GS:
Yes, we tested. We made 20 stage kilometres and the car was good. I felt the suspension very good, so we tested very well and we think we have a good car for the rally.

Q:
What else have you been doing to get prepared for this event?
GS:
Nothing. We were here many times, we were in Argentina like five times so I know the rally, not all the stages, but I know some stages and I think that we have a good notes for this rally.

Q:
Talk to me about your thoughts on the route because we have seen some changes this year to what we have seen before, especially on Sunday when El Condor is in reverse and Mina Clavero in reverse.
GS:
It will be rough. The cars in the front of us will take a lot of sand so it will be difficult.

Q:
Is there a stage that is particularly tough for you?
GS:
I think the long stage on the second day will be. Also the third day, the complete day, the two stages are too rough for the car.

Q:
What is the hope for this weekend? You mentioned strong drivers in WRC 2. Do you think that you can fight for the win?
GS:
We will work for that and I am sure that it will be difficult but we have to try and let’s see what happens at the weekend.

Q:
Diego, we have seen you compete with the Hyundai R5 at home. Tell me about the car. What is it like?
DD:
It is a new car. We are very happy with it. We are still getting to know the car with the setup and with the nature of the car. It is different from what I have been driving. I’m still not driving it flat out.

Q:
Will it be full flat out this weekend? Many drivers said that you have to be clever here in Argentina and flat out is not always the way.
DD:
It’s only my third time and it’s a very difficult rally, especially for us, in Paraguay we don’t have any mountains. These kind of stages are like lunar excursions for us. It is completely different from what we run during the year. Even though we are neighbours to Argentina, the rally itself is completely different and unknown to us. Having said that, it is not a rally to go flat out. We need to go as fast as possible, pushing everything in the car. That’s the idea.

Q:
Gustavo picked out the 40 kilometre stage as the toughest. Would you agree? Is it the toughest stage here or is it something else?
DD:
It is the trickiest stage here in the rally, I have no doubt. It will be very difficult. It’s very tricky and it will be very easy to make mistakes. Cuchilla Nevada is very difficult. 

Q:
So, what are your hopes for a result?
DD:
The first objective is to finish and if we finish the idea is to be as fast as possible. The European drivers in WRC 2, only Gustavo managed to get close to them in the Shakedown and in the rally it will be very difficult for me in the Hyundai, but we will be close enough. We will try to be as close as possible.