Notes of the day
Armin Schwarz (former WRC driver and winner of the first Rally Catalunya race that qualified for the World Championship): “I’m really enjoying this RallyRACC. I’m still involved in the motor sports world, I’m currently working for a German TV channel and I also manage Red Bull’s Junior team. Besides, I participate in off-road races in the US. They’re very different from what I used to do, but I find them extremely interesting”.
Drivers’ comments
1 – Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroën C4 WRC), provisional leader
“There were amazing amounts of gravel on Stage 9, but we finished first and that’s what’s important. Have we won the rally? Not at all, there’s still one leg to go and we must stay focused and attentive to Marcus’ reaction. I tried to be conservative in the second part of the leg, but it was not easy at all, the pace is hectic. I feel confident of the C4, and that shows. I think the Citroën’s performance is really strong. The team with Sordo couldn’t work better!”.
2 – Daniel Sordo/Marc Martí (Citroën C4 WRC), provisional 2nd
“It was a really good day, we finished second. Marcus made up 8 secs, so that means he’s really strong, but I think we are still keeping things under control. It wasn’t an easy leg, actually some of the stages were extremely tricky. We now have a 30 sec lead over Grönholm, and we’ll try to hold on to the second place and dedicate this podium to the all fans”. “We all had a strong pace, maybe we could have been faster, but we had no problems and that’s what counts”, co-driver Marc Martí added.
3 – Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen (Ford Focus RS WR 2007), provisional 3rd
“After a disappointing first leg, I hoped I would be able to pick up some time today, especially with the good weather. We claimed some scratch times, but the Citroëns remain ahead”.
4 – Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (BP-Ford WRT), provisional 4th
“I lost some time in the last two stages because there was something wrong in the front left part of the car. I hope we’ll be able to fix it for tomorrow”.
6 – François Duval (OMV Kronos Total WRT), 5th overall
“Today, in stage 3, my co-driver was unable to read the notes for 3-4 kms and I had to drive without help. I then decided it was better to secure a 5th and to preserve the car for the Tour de Corse. My plan for tomorrow is going to be the same as today’s”.
7 – Petter Solberg (Subaru WRT), 6th overall
“Nothing special”, he said while he catered for a Japanese radio channel and read a commercial for the Rally Japan: “Don't miss all the action of Rally Japan”.
9 – Jari-Matti Latvala (Stobart VK M-Sport), 7th overall
“We all agree that yesterday was better, but I can’t complain about the tyre choice”.
8 - Chis Atkinson (Subaru WRT), 8th overall
“We managed a better tyre choice and that’s why we performed so much better”.
14 – Xevi Pons (Subaru WRT), 9th overall
“I’m happier than yesterday, we changed a few settings in the car and we had no problems today. Well, except for an off-road excursion because of the gravel. I prefer the sections that are in poor condition, like these roads. In spite of everything, the times have improved. In some SSs we were ahead of our team mates. The second place in the Serra d’Almos stage is a good boost for our motivation for tomorrow and for the coming races”.
10 – Henning Solberg (Stobart VK M-Sport), 10th overall
“I thoroughly enjoyed the drive, although in fact everything went better yesterday”.
16 – Matthew Wilson (Stobart VK M-Sport), 11th overall
“We started without difficulties, but we all agree that dirty roads make things difficult if you want more speed. Besides that, everything is fine”.
21 – Thomas Schic (Ford Focus), 12th overall
“Today was much more pleasant than yesterday. Perfect stages but the wrong tyre choice: our tyres were too soft”.
12 – Federico Villagra (Munchi’s Ford WRT), 13th overall
“Everything is extremely nice, very interesting to drive. No problems with the car. We managed to finish the stage well”.
15 – Khalid Al-Qassami (BP-Ford WRT), 14th overall
“I am enjoying the rally and I’ve learned a lot about driving on asphalt. I felt at ease in the stages, but in some areas there was gravel and the whole thing was trickier. We made a good tyre choice, but if we had had more accurate weather information, it would have been even better”.
45 – Per-Gunnar Andersson (Suzuki Swift S1600), Junior series leader
“It’s a good thing to finish on top, even if it’s because of Aava’s problems! I hope we’ll be able to claim a new victory in the series tomorrow”.
35 – Martin Prokop (Citroën C2 S1600), 2nd in the Junior series
“I did my best in all the stages. Although I took advantage of Urmo’s puncture, I think we had a strong performance”.
32 – Urmo Aava (Suzuki Swift S1600), 3rd in the Junior series
“Overall good, but with some little details… especially the puncture, which ruined our race. Anyway, the gravel on the Margalef stage was the worst of all”.
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