Mikko Hirvonen [BP Ford WRT]:

"I couldn't see more than a handful of metres on the final stage - it was the worst I can remember. It was like having a white wall in front of the car and in some sections it was easier to drive with no lights at all. Driving in the dark, the fog and the rain was scary. I tried to drive through the conditions. My pace notes were perfect all day and I trusted them 100 per cent. I've not taken split times for the other drivers because there was enough work to do keeping the car on the road.

"I guess I took more risks than the others and I felt confident with the car and tyres. That allowed me to keep pushing and build my lead. Tomorrow I will try to maintain it, but I've not driven those stages for a few years so it won't be easy.”


Marcus Gronholm [BP Ford WRT]:

"I was too cautious at the start of the first stage this morning because it was uncomfortable in the fog and I couldn't see much. I don't have to take risks and I didn't drive flat out. I didn't try to catch Mikko, I was just trying to control my pace, but my confidence wasn't so good because the weather this afternoon was some of the worst I can remember in my career. There was water on the car, under the car and all around the car – there was even water in the car!"


Sebastien Loeb [Citroen Total WRT]:

"We have a lead of six points over Marcus Grönholm. If he wins, we mustn't finish any lower than fifth to make sure of the title. For once, I didn't set out with the intention of winning. It would have been stupid to throw everything away by trying to take the lead. We spent the day trying to adapt our pace to the difficulty of the stages and how we felt. Despite the thick fog that marked this morning's stages, for example, I had confidence in my notes and I managed to find a good pace. I didn't take any risks through the muddier parts where braking was very tricky, though. I tried not to cut across the deepest ditches and did what I could to avoid the rocks. There is still a long way to go but I'm glad today is behind us."


Petter Solberg [Subaru WRT]:

“I've never seen Rally GB conditions like this before. Today has been very, very stressful, but quite good also. It's been good fun as the surface is so slippery. It is good we are in fourth, but I hope we can climb from there. We will try everything we can here to improve on our position, so we will see tomorrow how we go. It's going to be a tough rally and a long rally so I am not giving up for a podium.”

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "I had a huge moment on the second corner of the first stage. It's incredible - I still can't believe we got away with it. If I'm going to rate the lucky escapes I've had in my career then this was number one. It was foggy, I came too fast into the corner and then we were spinning, turning around, going backwards, the lot. I can't really describe how crazy it was – you have to look at the onboard tapes. Other than that the morning was okay. The car doesn't feel so bad, but the engineers are looking to make some changes in service to allow us to attack a bit more."


Daniel Sordo [Citroen Total WRT]:

"Stages shrouded in thick fog wasn't the easiest way to start the Wales Rally GB. I managed to find a quick but safe pace, though, and my confidence gradually returned. Our Citroën C4 WRC performed perfectly; it's just me who needs to loosen up a bit. That said, the stages are so slippery and so difficult that it would be easy to make a mistake, and that's the last thing I want to do."


Matthew Wilson [Stobart M-Sport Ford WRT]:

“In the afternoon there was so much rain which made things very difficult and that last stage is one I will never forget, that's for sure; it was one of the most challenging I have ever done especially with the fog making it almost impossible to see. I just cannot explain how bad the visibility was; it was just a matter of damage limitation. I'm feeling quite good at the moment and it's great to be in a points scoring position but there is still a long way to go and a lot of tricky corners left in this rally. My times today were very encouraging and it's great to be sixth after the first day and even better to have stayed out of trouble today.”

[Speaking in the mid-day service] “This morning was very tricky because sometimes the visibility was fine but other times you really couldn't see anything which made it hard to pick the right braking points. Things got better though as the fog began to clear and it was really fun on that last stage with some big long slides and our time was pretty quick too. I'm feeling quite good at the moment and it's great to be in a point scoring position but there is still a long way to go and a lot of tricky corners left in this rally.”


Chris Atkinson [Subaru WRT]: