“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."
Matthew Wilson [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]: [retired from event after penultimate stage - mechanical problem]
"I’m obviously gutted at having to retire so close to the finish and in such a good position but there are lots of positives we can take from this event. In the end the throttle was sticking open and it was pretty scary for a while and we just couldn’t continue. My split times for the whole event were well improved and it gives me a big boost in confidence as we go into Mexico. This will be important as I am scoring points for the team there."
Team principals:
Malcolm Wilson [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - team director]:
"This is a dream result and a special weekend. We're proud to have the youngest ever winner of a WRC event in our team. I knew Jari-Matti would win this season but it came sooner than I expected. Mikko delivered a textbook performance, the cars ran faultlessly and to score this result in such conditions is outstanding."
Mark Deans [Ford of Europe - motorsport director]:
"This was a wonderful weekend for Ford. Three Focus RS cars on the podium and four in the top five emphasises the speed and strength of the car, the hallmarks which have taken Ford to the world title in the last two seasons."
Ahmed Hussein [Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority - deputy director general]:
![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)
