"The team did its absolute best to make repairs [in the RSZ at Sunnne - but the rules dictate that you are only allowed to change damaged parts using spares carried in the car itself]. We decided to call it a day then because we didn't have a sumpguard, we were down on power and the clutch was playing up. The intercooler was damaged, too, and it's just not possible to carry a spare in the car all the time! But rules are rules and we shouldn't have made the mistake, but it's very frustrating, both for ourselves and for
Citroen."
Team principals:
Malcolm Wilson [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - team director]:
"It has been a magnificent day for the team and who cannot fail to be impressed by Jari-Matti? He was outstanding. Mikko has also done a stunning job. He's thinking about the drivers' championship and with
Sebastien Loeb retiring, he is pacing himself. I'm expecting both to drive sensibly over the next two days to try to hold their positions with a view to gaining maximum points for Ford."
Malcolm Wilson [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT - team boss]:
"Today has been another fantastic day for the Stobart team with both nominated point scoring drivers in third and fourth positions providing a strong back-up to the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team. Matthew’s excellent position today has topped this off and we now have all three Stobart cars in the top-seven. All cars have run faultlessly and Henning [Solberg] and Gigi’s [Galli] pace has been impressive as you can see from the times. Hopefully they can maintain this strong position for the team tomorrow."
David Richards [Subaru WRT - managing director]:
"Today was not what you might expect from a route that is normally covered in deep snow. It’s a tough challenge for crews to adapt to and we have already seen some of the front-runners fall. Petter is in a solid position, and Chris will continue to fight for Manufacturers’ points but tomorrow will be a very different day and will present a whole new set of challenges. I am also very pleased to see Mads Ostberg in one of our private cars running so strongly in sixth place."
Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima [Suzuki WRT - team boss]:
"The rally route has been very difficult today as we expected, so we are all having to learn fast. This is only our second event, and already we have faced a wide variety of challenges. I feel extremely sorry for P-G, who certainly deserved more than this on his home event, after scoring a point for us in Monte Carlo. Under the rules we could not change the engine and while this is fair enough for the established teams, for us as a newcomer it makes the learning process even more challenging. Now we have had two retirements caused by the same problem, which we have not been allowed to solve during the events. Toni has been doing a very good job under tricky circumstances - if he carries on like this we will be able to meet our target of another points finish in our first two rallies. This would be an excellent achievement."
Olivier Quesnel [Citroen Total WRT - team principal]:
"Frustration is the first word that comes to mind to sum up our day. Things had been going remarkably well when Sébastien made a small error in a fairly straightforward corner. That just goes to show yet again that anything can happen, that the drivers really are equilibrists and that a mistake can be made at any moment. He will re-start under the SupeRally ruling tomorrow. Dani and Marc have kept to the plan established before the start and I am pleased with their performance today. There are still two long days to come and they could well still salvage a few Manufacturers' points."
