Car 1, Ogier/Ingrassia
“All okay, we did what we could. Not too bad today. We are here at the end of the day and we’re going to see tomorrow.”
Car 4, Ostberg/Anderson
“We are pushing harder at least, it’s going quite well. It’s tricky conditions and a lot wetter than I expected. I think the wrong tyre choice this afternoon, but we did what we could. We’ll have to see what we can do tomorrow.”
Car 5, Hirvonen/Lehtinen
“It’s not good, it’s not pretty. We made the fastest time, but I didn’t know about the tyres. It’s been fantastic, I’ve really enjoyed it, a good fight. We’ve had a good time, but there’s tomorrow.”
Car 7, Neuville/Gilsoul
“It was okay, but I started to lose the tyres at the end so I took it a bit more carefully, but I enjoyed it. We can do some small improvements, but I feel a bit more confident. It’s been a great day. I’m more happy, we’ll have to see what we can do tomorrow, still a lot of things can happen.”
Car 8, Hänninen/Tuominen
“I’m not happy with the times. It was very hard, but we had a nice pace. Cannot be happy, it wasn’t fast enough.”
Car 9, Mikkelsen/ Markkula
“The confidence is getting better, the time is getting closer and closer. I think we have had a clever day, we didn’t push or make a really big mistake. That’s the way to do it. Not the fastest day, but that will come.”
Car 11, Tanak/Molder
“It’s been a nice day for M Sport I would say. It was tough because we missed the noses, it was hard Tomorrow we can do much better. I think today it’s been strange that VWs have been behind. I’m sure it will be difficult to fight with him.”
Car 12, Al Qassimi/ Patterson
“It’s difficult. I think the best answer is that if you don’t find the balance, don’t take chances. I wanted to push more and more. Hopefully we can get it set up better for tomorrow.”
Car 16, Solberg/Minor
“It’s a tough day, but a good day so I’m happy.”
Car 20, Sordo/Marti
“I’m really, really happy. I lost the sump guard in the stage before. But now the car is really, really good. I’m happy. My time was not so bad.”
Car 21, Prokop/Tománek
“Crazy conditions really, sometimes you are confident and you think nothing can happen. Then it can. We changed the driving style to try and get used to the tyres.”
Car 32, Protasov/Cherepin
“It’s a small crash with a stone, broke a small part on the suspension arm. Now driving is very slow.”
Car 35, Ketomaa/Lindstrom
“We lost quite a bit of time there, we had 2km behind him [Protasov].”
Car 36, Barrable/Loudon
“Really enjoyed it, shame Meeke went off. We tried a different combination on the suspension and tryes to see if we could improve things. It was good. It’s nice to be different. The corner [where Meeke went off] is a 60 and it happens so fast and it’s blind, you can see how you could go off.”
Car 38, Ahlin/Abrahamsen
“It’s been a very tough day, it’s not ideal. We made it through with no mistakes, it’s good considering the sickness we have too.”
Car 41, Fuchs/ Mussano
“It’s a new car for me, tried to save it a little. No flat out. It’s very rough, a lot of stones, but it’s nice, very fast.”
Car 70, Kruuda/Jäveoja
“I have to be happy, I’m still on the road. The conditions are very difficult. The end was very tricky, I almost hit a tree. There was a jump I didn’t know was there. We have to learn.”
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Kris Meeke came off the stage at the same point as Elfyn Evans, driver and co-driver reported to be okay.
Hyundai Motorsport has today announced Finnish driver Juho Hänninen as one of the team’s test drivers for 2013, ending weeks of speculation over the mystery man behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 WRC in May.
Hyundai Motorsport has been building up its new operation from scratch since the start of the year, establishing the team at a dedicated facility in Alzenau, Germany and recruiting specialists at every level of its organisation.
Test drivers are an integral part of the team’s development programme, requiring the necessary skills and experience to develop a competitive and reliable rally car in a short space of time.
Six months ahead of the debut at Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 2014, Hyundai Motorsport is in the process of carrying out an intensive test programme to evaluate and develop the i20 WRC on all terrains and conditions.
Hänninen won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2010 followed by the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship and the FIA European Rally Championship titles in 2011 and 2012 respectively. He will be a valuable asset for the team to prepare the assault to the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship.
Hyundai Motorsport will soon be in a position to announce a second test driver for the remainder of the 2013 test phase. 2014 drivers will be announced at the end of the year.
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: “We’re very pleased to welcome Juho on board for our 2013 test programme. I’m sure his experience and background will contribute to the project and I’m happy with the job he’s done so far.
We have decided to work with different drivers with unique skills and capabilities this year, which will provide us with valuable feedback for 2014.
Hänninen said: “I’m delighted to be part of the Hyundai Motorsport testing programme for this year. It’s a fantastic opportunity to work closely to a manufacturer and to give my contribution to this great challenge.
The first run with the i20 WRC was quite positive for me; I’m very impressed with the work the team has done so far in such an incredibly short space of time. I feel comfortable with everyone in the team and I look forward to carry on working with them in the next six months.”