Q:
Congratulations on second position, your third podium in four events. It’s been a great start to the year.
Chris Atkinson:
Yes, it definitely is a better start than we expected for this year and the team made a step forward with the consistency of the car and as a result the results are better for me, so no complaints there. My confidence probably hasn’t changed at all; I’m still driving the same as I did last year and the same every rally. I came here not going flat-out at the start but pushing and seeing where we are. And this year it is working.
Q:
Things seems to have changed though with
Subaru and obviously you’re getting results and as you said consistency is there, what do you attribute that to?
CA:
It’s all about development and getting everything working on the car. We know we had a couple of difficult years and finally we seem to have turned the corner with consistency and the performance of the car. We’re still not on the pace of the leaders for sure and I think If we really have to have a fight then try to have a fight with Sebastien, or Mikko (Hirvonen) and Jari (Latvala) but hopefully that’s not far away and wins are not too far away either.
Q:
A big disappointment for your team-mate
Petter Solberg on the final day. What did you think when you came across him stopped in the stage?
CA:
I felt really bad for all the team and disappointment for all the guys. It would have been really cool to have two Subarus up there in the podium and I think it would have been a motivation for the guys to work even harder. For me it’s good to be second and it’s good for my Championship position. I feel sorry for Petter, obviously it sounds like it was out of his hands completely.
Q:
You were in a battle with Petter (Solberg) but as of yesterday afternoon you seemed to settle for your position. Was that discussed within the team?
CA:
No there were not decisions made or anything, but you know that you don’t want to crash especially when you’re in a safe position, when you have over a minute behind us like that. Petter has better experience than me on these roads and I took the decision to slow down and to be more conservative. That was my decision and at the end it didn’t affect my result. I sort of decided my day will come in the future. I didn’t have the best feeling; he seemed to have a better feeling than me yesterday. That was fine with me, obviously I would have like to beat him but the most important thing was that it was a good result for the team.
Q:
Back on the podium, like I said to Chris, it has been a great start for the two of you. How was the event? Did you take any risks? Were there any big moments for you this weekend?
Stephane Prevot:
Yes, a few but it was more due to the road conditions. I mean, Chris is not crazy, he is a good driver. He was pushing for sure but not crazy risks. For sure, we had some moments like everyone, yes, but it’s due to the road conditions. For sure it was really tricky.
Q:
Dani, third position and on the podium. Did you expect when you came here to Argentina that you would be in a podium position and was that the aim?
