Driver/co-driver: Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena (Citroën Total World Rally Team), Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen (BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team), Dani Sordo and Marc Marti (Citroën Total World Rally Team)

Team principal: Olivier Quesnel (Citroën Total World Rally Team)


Q:
Sebastien, congratulations on your fourth win in a row. You were first on the road today, how was it?

SL::
Okay today we had a good lead. Yesterday evening I decided to try and keep the speed with being first on the road. We didn't lose too much time. It was tough for the drivers behind as well.

Q:
We have seen some changes to the event for the 2009 edition; what did you think of the stages?

SL::
They were really difficult. They were tricky with a lot of corners behind the crest. You never see where is the right place to brake and it's hard to know where to put the car in the corner. It's very precise; you need to be right with the notes. I really like it.

Q:
The rally has finished well for you but it didn't get off to the best of starts; what happened on the opening stage?

SL::
In the first stage, I was first on the road and had to push hard. I was just a bit too late in the first big brake so I decide not to turn because it was narrow on to a bridge. If I turn we are off the road. So, I go straight, reverse and stop because there is a lot of dust and I can't see the road. I lost maybe 15 seconds and then I tried all of the day to catch this gap, but I couldn't make it. Then I had a good day on Saturday, pushing hard from start to the finish.

Q:
Day two was where you made up the time lost to the mistake on Friday – and more. How much were you pushing yesterday?

SL::
I was on my limit nearly all of the rally and finally we were here. It was a nice weekend with lots of fans, nice to see a lot of people out and enjoying the rally.

Q:
There's a lot of talk of you winning all 12 rallies. It's still looking good…

SL::
Yes, it's looking good. We have four at the moment and 12 is a lot. I prefer to think about each rally. Now I work on Argentina and prepare as well as possible. We do our best there. The most important thing for me is to try and win both Championships.

Q:
There was a big battle between you and Mikko, but we also saw Marcus Grönholm back again. Would you like to see him on more rallies?

SL::
Yes for sure. It's good to see him back for the sport. His name is good for the rally. He had good speed here straight away. Okay, he made a mistake on Saturday. I hope to see him back, but you need to ask him.

Q:
There seemed to be a mix-up with the split times in SS17. Were you concerned?

Daniel Elena:
Yes. I have this information, I spoke with Sébastien after 6km. It's not possible, Sébastien, he is a good driver. We think that maybe Mikko has rolled down the hill and taken a shortcut. But for us, it's impossible, we think to open the radio and ask the team: “What is the problem?” It's more for Mikko and Jarmo this problem, they think we have the puncture and they push more.

Q:
What about the number 51? It's on a lot of the bottles at Citroën today…

DE: