Sebastien Loeb [Citroen Total WRT]: [retired from day 1 after service B – mechanical - re-started under SupeRally on Saturday]
"I hit a snowbank with the front of my car on the inside of a fast left-hander [in SS4], and that sent us into a spin. I tried to get the car back in line but we hit a bank and rolled. We landed on the stage but a problem with the clutch meant that we weren't able to re-start at once. It was a driver error but the car didn't really take a big knock. Had we been able to service after the stage, I think we would have been able to continue."
"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."
Henning Solberg [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]: [retired from day 2 in SS11 - went off the road]
"I’m very, very disappointed we had started off well with some fast times but unfortunately I got too sideways coming out of a fast left-hand corner hit some railings and damaged the car quite badly. I was pushing quite hard and had got into a good position so obviously it’s been a bad end to the day for me."
"I am very disappointed with what has happened today we just made a small mistake and got caught out on the exit of a fast corner. I know the Stobart mechanics will work hard tonight to repair the car for tomorrow and hopefully we can still collect some points. This was the event that I needed to try hard on and it’s a shame this has happened especially for all the Norwegian fans who have come to watch."
Sebastien Loeb [Citroen Total WRT]: [retired from event after service E - engine problem]
"In the sort of situation we were in, it's never easy to know what tactic to adopt. We tried to push hard to stay concentrated and everything went well up to the service halt, but we decided not to go any further because our engine had suffered too much in our off on SS4."
Team principals:
Malcolm Wilson [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - team director]:
"It's been a dream day for both Jari-Matti and Mikko, with some text book driving. They appreciated what they had to do and stayed out of trouble. To see five Ford Focus cars in the top six is an incredible situation and I hope tomorrow will be just as successful."
Malcolm Wilson [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT - team boss]:
![Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) BP Ford Focus RS WRC 07. Swedish Rally. February 7-10 2008. [PIC CREDIT: FORD / worldrallypics.com]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/405528.jpg)
