"We were the only ones who succeeded in staying with Sébastien's pace. Once again, our car was awesomely quick on asphalt and I was also pleased with the way our tyres performed. That was one of the unknown factors before the start. Last but not least, I'm glad to have picked up a Manufacturers' point for Citroën."
Jari-Matti Latvala [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:
"I made two mistakes and it was a long and difficult weekend, but I found good speed today and I was happy with my times. It's unfortunate they came three days too late. I've learned much about cutting corners with the new tyres - I can't afford to do that if I want to finish rallies. Today I also learned I have to be aggressive in turning for the tyres to work to their best."
Khalid Al Qassimi [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:
"This has been a very good rally - incredibly difficult and technical but very good. It is extremely testing with the variety of conditions, many of which I haven't seen before - tarmac, ice, snow, damp and dirty roads. I was very happy to be in the top ten after the first day and was very encouraged by the pace, compared with the other drivers. My mistake obviously cost us time and ultimately, some positions but the main priority remains to gain experience and after the team did such a good job of repairing the car, I was able to continue doing that.
"I was able to re-build my confidence on the final day of the event and was again encouraged by the pace. Having Michael in the car again with me has definitely worked. We have made some small changes to my pace note system which seems to have had benefits already and we know that there are other improvements we can make. I am now looking forward to Sweden in two weeks time, to continue representing Abu Dhabi in the WRC."
"It was an incredibly difficult and technical rally but I compared my times to those of other drivers and was encouraged. I was delighted to be in the top 10 before I made my mistake and spent the rest of the event rebuilding my confidence. My relationship with my new co-driver was excellent and his WRC experience helped me with my pace notes."
Notable retirements:
Khalid Al Qassimi [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]: [retired from day 2 in SS6 - went off the road - restarted under the SupeRally on day 3]
"This afternoon we were trying some different tactics and we had ninth in front of us and were chasing that position. We were doing well in the stage, if you look at the split times and ninth place looked achievable. Then, as we approached the flying finish of the stage, the final corner had gravel across it and the car simply broke away from me. We hit a rock by the side of the road and it took the left front suspension corner off the car. It's a shame but any driver in that situation would push to gain a place. However, something like this can happen at any time and it's all part of the learning process. As long as the car is repairable, we will try some new techniques tomorrow, to try to get closer to the pace of the other drivers."
[Speaking in the mid-day service] "The roads were damp, which made it slippery. Drivers ahead of us are cutting the corners and that drags dirt onto the roads. I still need to learn how Pirelli's tyres work and where the grip is because the grip level changes with every corner."
Daniel Sordo [Citroen Total WRT]: [retired from day 3 in SS11 - engine restarted under the SupeRally on day 4]
"The day started well enough. I was very pleased with the way my Citroën C4 WRC was performing and I tried to push without driving excessively quickly. The first two stages enabled us to increase our advantage over the crew following in third place, but then we had a scare with the engine on SS11 (Lamastre). I stopped to see if it was possible to repair but after a few minutes the team took the decision not to try to continue. I am obviously very disappointed not to be able to score big points for Citroën here this weekend."
Jari-Matti Latvala [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]: [retired from day 3 in SS12 - suspension damage - restarted under the SupeRally on day 4]
