Car 1, Ogier/Ingrassia
“It was hard. But I’m happy with my day. I made no mistakes, But this one was hard. Tomorrow we can have a push. We’ll see what’s in front of us.”
Car 2, Tanak/Molder
“It was not our problem. We had some damage from the previous stage, so it was difficult to drive.”
Car 3, Evans/Barritt
“It could have been a lot worse. This loop has been okay. Not so much the car, just our rhythm. Not so bad, but it could have been better. The tyres had a lot of movement. I was missing a lot of mechanical grip in the sandy sections.”
Car 4, Paddon/Marshall
“The car just stopped and we couldn’t tart it again. We lost the throttle. We moved every wire, tried everything. Just couldn’t get it working. I tell you, after all this we better get some good luck. Today is a complete waste. One moment the confidence is there, but the next it’s not.”
Car 5, Neuville/Gilsoul
“I was stuck behind Jari, He was so slow. I cannot understand why he continued to be honest. I’ve lost a lot of time for sure.”
Car 6, Sordo/Marti
“It was a bit scary in the stage on the tyres. I tried to do my best, be clean and do the lines. But it was difficult to monitor. This day is very important, but no, not happy.”
Car 8, Breen/Martin
“I broke a damper about 3 or 4km into the stage. It’s a shame, we had a really good package here. But the damper is completely broken on the front right. We’re staying positive for tomorrow.”
Car 9, Lefebvre/Moreau
“It was really rough, really difficult. I just try to finish the day. Now I just focus on tomorrow.”
Car 10, Latvala/Anttila
“At the beginning of the stage the car was not stopping. It was skipping on the ground. It felt very strange. I hit the bank and the car rolled. I had to drive in road mode.”
Car 11, Hanninen/Lindstrom
“It was okay. A bit rough. The tyres took a lot to bed in. I saw Paddon and Meeke on the stage, but that’s all I can tell you. It was a better loop this afternoon.”
Car 12, Lappi/Ferm
“I was okay. I was just trying to drive through. I think some people had bigger than problems than us. It’s been full of ups and downs. I was surprised by the speed, and how hard the guys are pushing. I need to get used to this car.”
Car 14, Ostberg/Floene
“It was okay. Like I said on the previous stage it’s not enjoyable when you’re not competing. The stage was quite clean. Not fun though.”
Car 15, Al Qassimi/Patterson
“There were a lot of ruts. It was difficult to keep the car on the track. I’m not happy. Driving is one thing, but most important is to try and get somewhere as a team. So it’s hard to see other cars stopped.”
Car 21, Prokop/Tománek
“The morning was nice, but the afternoon was terrible. We were scared of punctures on the last stage. It was impossible to enjoy. These rough stages are worse than the Dakar! It’s really rough on the car.”
Car 22, Gorban/Larens
“It was hard work. Everything is okay.”
Car 23, Raoux/Escartefigue
“Hard work. We have no power steering, but I’m still happy to be here. I enjoyed it.”
Car 31, Mikkelsen/Synnevaag
“It was very rough, very tricky. The tyres are starting to move around more. I felt the rear wanted to go out more, but perhaps it was just my driving. I just tried to avoid the rocks, to do a clean stage.”
Car 32, Tidemund/Andersson
“I found it hard to find a good rhythm, but we’re here now. We just need to avoid the big rocks. I’m happy we’re here, it’s a long day tomorrow and also Sunday.”
Car 33, Camili/Veillas
“I broke the power steering on the first stage of this afternoon. It’s a catastrophe this afternoon. I like the rally, but I don’t think it likes me.”
Car 34, Suninen/Markkula
“The stage was really rough, so it’s hard to know how fast to go. I can find a rhythm though.”
Car 35, Bergkvist/Sjoberg
“We had a puncture about 3km into this stage. It wasn’t good for us.”
Car 38, Guerra/Cue
“The puncture was about 3km from the finish line, so not so bad. But the stage was so rough, it’s not hard to get a puncture. I still have one spare. We had two in the afternoon, because we knew the stage would be rough. We just need to change it now.”
Car 39, Tempestini/Bernacchini
“It was a very rough stage. We decided to be a bit more careful. It wouldn’t be good to finish the day in a bad. We can go faster, but for now it’s better to start to know the limits of the car step by step.”
Car 40, Heller/Olmos
“Tough. Very, very tough. We had a puncture earlier and lost two minutes. But we’re here now, so we can head to Braga and do some sliding for the crowd. It will be good there.”
Car 41, Gilbert/Jamoul
“It was a difficult loop. We are here, no problem. We’ll look at the car in service.”
Car 51, Ptaszek/Szczepaniak
“It was not so easy for us, and still a lot of kms to do. We can’t find a good rhythm. It’s not easy to drive in these conditions. The roads look so dangerous let’s say. You drive like a snake, because you don’t want to hit anything.”
Comments:
Jari Matti Latvala stopped on the stage. Reported be to be damaged and did start moving again. Car suffered a roll. Moderate damage to car.
Meeke reported to have stopped in stage - puncture 12km into stage. Got underway again after a lengthy stop, let Ostberg past but has not yet resumed the stage. Team report it to be broken suspension.
Paddon reported to have stopped in stage. Mechanical issue. Car won't start. Car has rejoined the stage.