Crash.net:
Is it going to be quite difficult going from the Cork straight to the Trackrod, especially in light of the fact one is on asphalt and one is on gravel?
LS:
It is going to be tricky. It is going to be good that we have come straight out of a rally though and we will have that competitive feeling and having been in the car we should feel at one with it. That should be a great advantage. However converting it back into gravel spec mode and getting use to the car moving around a bit more and stuff again will be a challenge. It should be alright though.
Crash.net:
Looking to 2008, is anything decided yet?
LS:
This is really a one-off deal for us with Suzuki to advertise the cars for next year’s championship. I think it might end up being a bit of a quiet one but to be fair it has been an absolutely fantastic year. We couldn’t have asked for more and if we are not doing much next year, maybe just the odd few rallies, then we have had a pretty good lead up to it.
Crash.net:
Do you keep an eye on the WRC? What do you make of things there, because at the moment it is a close battle between Marcus Gronholm and Sebastien Loeb for the title?
LS:
Yeah, Sebastien is not getting away with it so easily this year is he?
[laughs] I love watching the rallies and those guys are just fantastic really. It gives us a wake up. We think we are going well at times and then you watch those guys and that is another level up. I try and watch it as much as I can. When we are away rallying we get the recorder on and watch it when we get back. It is a fantastic championship. It would be good to get a few more people back in it. With Suzuki coming out that is great. It is another manufacturer back in there and if they can get a few more manufacturers’ it will get back to what it was before.
Crash.net:
How do you think Suzuki will get on next year in the WRC with the SX4 WRC?
LS:
It is going to be their first year in it and I would imagine there is a long term plan in place to do the development testing on it and see how it does in competition. There is obviously going to be a few gremlins in there that will need to be ironed out and I think it would be naive to think otherwise. But they will be out there and they should be able to get the stage times. They won’t win the championship next year, but it will be on the cards definitely in the future and that is what they will be aiming for in the long run.
Crash.net:
Marcus Gronholm won’t be in the WRC next year, do you think Sebastien Loeb will run away with it?
LS:
[pause] Difficult to say. He is a fantastic driver, but saying that the others are kicking out the times too. Chris Atkinson is really coming on there and Subaru seem to be getting on a bit better now. Petter [Solberg] will be up there again. It is not going to be easy for him - at that level you can never say it is easy for anyone.
