Present:
Sébastien Ogier, M-Sport World Rally Team 
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport
Kris Meeke, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 
Ott Tänak, M-Sport World Rally Team
Elfyn Evans, M-Sport World Rally Team
Esapekka Lappi, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT

Q:
Let’s start with our championship leader and the man who could clinch the title this weekend, Sébastien Ogier. Seb, it’s been an incredible season and two championships could be sealed on Welsh soil this weekend. You’ve learned how to tame the Welsh dragon over the past few years, how high is the confidence that you can seal the drivers’ title here?
SO:
We are ahead of an important weekend, but we shouldn’t get too distracted by what is the objective; the best way to do mistakes is to be thinking too much about what you want to achieve. Still the championship is on, yes we have a good gap, but we have to be at our best one more time and maybe also in Australia. I’m happy here, starting first with no issues and it should help us on the first loop to be first on the road. But this is a tricky rally and never one that’s easy to handle. I love to drive here and I hope this can carry on in this nice dynamic.

Q:
You’ve got such a strong record here, do you feel at home? Do you get used to the conditions?
SO:
I don’t think you can ever get used to the conditions. The experience helps, it helps to know the area and it makes it more easy to see the tricky places on the recce, but you can always expect some surprise: the visibility can get worse and this adds another challenge. There’s nothing you can do to control and score the points you want, you have to be committed and do it right, trying to do it half-way is not the right way.

Q:
Do you push for the win?
SO:
I’m not the man to start a rally and say I try to finish second. I always want to win and that’s the target again. On many events we have struggled with starting first on the road, but here we have an advantage and we have to use it tomorrow morning. I want to be involved in the fight at the front. We know Elfyn [Evans] will be strong this weekend, we have seen him struggle with the wrong tyres on some events, but now he has the right ones this weekend. If I don’t win, at least if it’s him it’s less of a problem.

Q:
Is there any update on what you might do next year?
SO:
I will not answer anything about my future this weekend. No update.

Q:
Thierry, Spain was a bitter blow to your championship chances. It is still mathematically possible to win, but a longer shot than at any point this season. What is the plan now? Is it a flat-out assault on this event? 
TN:
The championship fight depends less on me and more the race of Sebastien or Ott. I focus on my race. We’ve had a pretty good season with three wins and seven podiums, we’ve got a really good car and this has given us the opportunity to fight to win. There are two rounds left and I want more wins, so I will definitely go as fast as possible. From there on it’s not up to me to influence anything. I will do my best and for this I can be pleased. I definitely want to continue the fight in Australia and if not we will know latest on Sunday.

Q:
Have you been happy with your season?
TN:
I would be happy if we were leading the championship, so I am not 100 per cent happy. But I cannot complain, we know how tough it is, we know how difficult it is for all of the drivers. Now I have one goal and I will continue to push for this one goal until I retire.

Q:
How frustrating was your retirement in Spain?
TN:
The biggest disappointment came on Saturday when the car wouldn’t re-start before the stage. The disappointment was huge that night when I realised the chances were much lower after this. Now I want more pleasure and a lot of fun. If I am on the first step [of the podium] at the end of the rally then I will be happy.

Q:
Kris, you tested in the south of France, which has a slightly different climate to what we have here in Wales. Could you get a valid set-up and feeling from it or shakedown today?
KM:
When you don’t prepare so well it’s not so easy. We’ve plucked a set-up from the air and arrived at it, but what can we do? We tried to make some changes at shakedown, but with no service in Ruthin, we had to come all the way back to service to make those changes and by the time we got back up the road into the stage the surface was polished. When you don’t prepare correctly, that’s what happens.

Q:
Did you get a good run in the end?
KM:
It’s tricky, Clocaenog is always really slippery, it feels like ice in there. It’s tricky to look at a bit of paper and then go and do what we’re going to do. That’s how it is.

Q:
Does this make tomorrow morning a bit of a test for you?
KM:
Tomorrow might not necessarily be as slippery as shakedown was. This rally is all about reading the grip, there are places with more and less and that comes with experience. Let’s see what the rally and the weather does; we know the road changes with every passing car.

Q:
Ott, it was revealed last week that you will be a Toyota driver from next year after a highly successful season with M-Sport. Given that you’ve had the best year of your career was it a difficult decision to switch teams?
OT:
Never these kinds of situations are easy, especially for me when I have been all of my career in M-Sport. It’s not easy, but we have these two rallies and we still have something to fight for. I know we have the package we need, we will keep going, keep fighting and hope we have a nice ending

Q:
Does your championship position affect the way you run this rally?
OT:
There will be no difference about the situation. We need to do another good rally if we want to keep the championship alive and open. It’s the same as every other rally, we have to be fast and we have to be smart.

Q:
Is this season a surprise for you?
OT:
This is what we hoped for this season. At the start, when we realised Sebastien [Ogier] was coming to the team, it definitely made the family a lot stronger… he has a couple of championship titles! It was a big boost for everybody. But it’s not finished yet. OK, the manufacturers is not so much in our head and normally it’s done. But we need to do our normal job and fight for the win, we don’t need to worry, just get our job done as always.

Q:
Elfyn, it is very much the home event for you and after some great performances this season many are looking at you to be fighting for the win here. Are the stars in alignment for a Welsh win?
EE:
I’m trying not to feel any pressure. This is my home rally and I want to enjoy it. We will focus on ourselves and do the best possible job we can. This is a long, tough rally and we need to get through it stage-by-stage. We want to do the best job we can.

Q:
Tell us about Elfyn’s Corner in Myherin?
EE:
I’m very grateful to everybody for making this happen. I guess this has come off the back of Irish Corner [in Dyfnant], so thanks to Kris [Meeke]. We’re grateful for all the support to make this happen.

Q:
As you are our local resident, you can tell us what is happening with the weather this weekend?
EE:
We had a lot of rain on Tuesday and, for sure, there will be sections on stages which are very, very slippery. We might see some of the stages drying out on the long loop on Saturday… who knows what they’ll look like.

Q:
Can you fight at the front?
EE:
Yeah, we’re here to aim for the win, but we’re not taking anything for granted.

Q:
Esapekka you won WRC 2 here last year, but now you’re in a factory World Rally Car this time around. How do you feel?
EL:
It’s nice to come back. I saw the challenges last year, but it will not be easy in the bigger machine and with the grip level so unpredictable, it’s not going to be easy.

Q:
You’re a man who likes to fight at the front, is this the objective this time?
EL:
Because of this objective, I’ve retired twice in a row, maybe we need to do something different now.

Q:
A change of strategy?
EL:
I think it would be wise.

Q:
We have more than 100 kilometres without service or a tyre change on Saturday, how much of a challenge will that be?
EL:
To be honest, Friday is already quite a challenge when we have no service. Saturday is a really long day overall. I got a suggestion from Juho [Hanninen] for this event, that maybe we should do the whole rally without service. This was not my idea! It’s going to be really challenging, maybe it shouldn’t be like this, but this is my feeling. 

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
Kalle Rovanperä
Matt Edwards

Q:
Kalle, welcome to the WRC. Your debut in the WRC 2 category has been highly anticipated given your success in the Finnish Championship and elsewhere. Are you feeling pressure to perform or are you just keen to enjoy the experience?
KR:
I think it has been a long time waiting for this. Now I’m here the feeling is very good. I don’t know about pressure. I know I can drive, but I come just for the experience for this race.

Q:
How did the test go? Do you have a good feeling with the R5 Fiesta? 
KR:
We had a really good test in Sweet Lamb, but in the shakedown, the road is totally different. We have to make a lot of changes. The feeling is not quite there. We have work to do.

Q:
How was your driving test – you took it at the start of the month?
KR:
This was quite easy, not bad for me.

Q:
What can you achieve here?
KR:
I’m not sure. This is the toughest WRC 2 race in the calendar with a lot of fast drivers. We need to drive without mistakes and show some good times, that’s OK for me.

Q:
What can you tell us about next year?
KR:
I’m not sure yet, but quite many WRC races hopefully.

Q:
Is it true that you never ask your father Harri Rovanperä for advice?
KR:
Usually I don’t, but in some races like this I might ask something, but usually no.

Q:
Matt, you’ve taken part in Wales Rally GB a few times in the past few years, but you’ve been behind the wheel of the zero car. This time however you come here as part of the WRC 2 category after a successful campaign in the British Rally Championship this season. A good result ahead to top off the season?
ME:
I haven’t had too long to think about this or to get excited about this. It’s only been a few weeks since the end of the BRC season and then I found out I was doing Rally GB. There’s not been too long to think about it too much, but I’m excited. In those weeks, I’ve just been thinking about my preparations. 

Q:
Tell us about your preparations…
ME:
I don’t know if it’s going to be any good, we’ll have to see. I’ve tried to prepare in the same way I always do, getting ready for every eventuality, keeping the fitness up, sleep well and all of those things. But with two crying kids at home, sleeping well’s not the easiest thing to do! Obviously I’ve done the usual watching the onboard videos and things like that.

Q:
How was shakedown?
ME:
I had no test, this was the first time in the car, so we were straight in to it. This was the first time on the new development DMACK tyre – I’ve spent all week worrying what it would be like, but two corners in and it was perfect. On my third run I was able to set a good competitive time, I’m happy with that.

Q:
There’s a lot of talk about how changeable the grip is here, what do you think?
ME:
I’ve grown up on this, so it’s fairly normal for me. What we’ve got here on this event is what I’ve always had and what I’ve developed [as a driver] on. Clocaenog this morning is fairly representative of the rest of the rally – there are a few hard-packed corners, but we have come to expect this. Three days in the car is what I’m really looking forward to.

Q:
We’ve seen you in the zero car here for the last few years, happy to get out of that?
ME:
Yeah, the Volvos are great, but it’s not necessarily handling as well as the R5 car! 

Q:
What are your plans for next year?
ME:
As far as I know it’s full focus on the British Rally Championship. Who knows what else people have got up their sleeve, but I hope to build on this good platform for next year.