"This morning was difficult and not easy to drive with all of the ice. For me the main thing is to stay on the road and try to stay in the points as well, so everything is going to plan at the minute. The grip is varying quite a lot and it's really tricky to keep going hard without some scares. Sometimes you get the feeling that everything is safe and going ok then we have a big slide."


Toni Gardemeister [Suzuki WRT]:

"Today has been a very tough day: typical Rally Great Britain. We've had quite a good run and managed to set some decent times, particularly on the first stage, but maybe I was a bit too cautious sometimes as well. On the final stage before service the engine stopped, but it was just a small problem that we fixed at service. Now we have to keep concentrated and make sure that we avoid making any mistakes on the final day tomorrow - but we need some bad conditions to help us as well."


Mikko Hirvonen [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:

"I'm trying to climb as high as I can but the aim is also to stay on the road so I'm not taking risks. There was a lot of ice this morning and it was hard to find a good rhythm. The cars ahead of me polished the ice and it was hard to tell where there was grip and where there wasn't. This afternoon was better with less ice, but the tricky part was knowing where it was. I think we all had plenty of luck in avoiding crashing because the ice was so patchy that I just didn't know if I was going to go off the road. I will keep pushing hard tomorrow and try to climb as high up the order as I can."


Matthew Wilson [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"We have had another difficult day and the conditions have remained tricky. It was very icy this morning but some patches had thawed this afternoon making it more inconsistent. We had a big scare where Ostberg crashed and were lucky that the marshals slowed us down. Hopefully the conditions will be better tomorrow as I'd like to push for points."


Barry Clark [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"The conditions were difficult again today but I'm pleased as we have put in a steady run. I slid wide this morning on a corner that tightened and we hit a big log; we were lucky to get away with minimal damage though. We had a couple of spins as well and it was just very hard to find where the grip was. But I'm happy we are up near the top-10 and I think my experience of rallying in Scotland on snow and ice has been helping me here today."


Valentino Rossi [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"Today started off well and I had a really great feeling in the first stage; there was some frost on the ground but not as much ice as yesterday. The stages got more rough on the second pass and there was a lot more gravel on the roads. I'm really enjoying this rally though and I have settled in more than the first day. The Focus feels very good now and my times are improving with every stage and that was my main aim for this rally."


Khalid Al Qassimi [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:

"Everywhere was icy and I couldn't drive on it comfortably. I have no experience on this type of surface and I'm struggling to build confidence. That said, I'm still in the rally and I'm in front of some far more experienced drivers than me. If I can keep that going and finish in the top 16, I will be happy."





Notable retirements:

Chris Atkinson [Subaru WRT]: [retired from event in SS7 - went off the road and sustained a hard blow to his crash helmet]

Chris was airlifted to hospital for observation and discharged on Friday night.


Sebastien Ogier [PH Sport-Citroen C4 WRC]: [retired from day 2 in SS9 - rolled]

No comment.


Mads Ostberg [Adapta WRT Subaru WRC]: [retired from day 2 in SS14 – went off the road]

No comment.





Team principals:

Malcolm Wilson [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - team director]:

"Jari-Matti has been confident, despite the pressure of Loeb breathing down his neck. It was difficult for him to be first on the road and it will be difficult again tomorrow. Mikko knows how important a third manufacturers' title would be for us and his enthusiasm to battle back shows how committed he is to the team. Temperatures are forecast to drop to -6ºC tonight so the roads will again be treacherous tomorrow."


Olivier Quesnel [Citroen Total WRT - team principal]:

"It was another complex day, but both our crews managed the situation superbly again. Seb and Daniel put in another masterful run and found a pace that kept the leaders under pressure without running the risk of throwing away their chances of scoring what promise to be valuable points for Citroën. Running sixth on the road, Dani and Marc made the most of the fact that the conditions were less slippery for them, while at the same underlining the progress they have made on the loose this season. Our two C4s have run like clockwork, too, and both cars are on the overnight podium, so our chances of clinching a second title this year are looking quite promising. Everyone Citroën Sport is extremely fired up but we still need to be very cautious. There are another four stages totalling 96.21km to come before we can be certain of the outcome."


David Richards [Subaru WRT - managing director]: