[Speaking in the mid-day service] “Ah, this morning was tricky, you know. We started well, with the fastest time but it got harder after that. I didn’t feel I could push as hard as I wanted because of the grip. We slipped back, but we’re still close enough to push and get some places back. We’ll push and just see what we can do this afternoon. The recce we did last year is more confirmation of our pace notes which are so, so important here, so I hope that will help us to attack.”
Gigi Galli [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]: [retired from day 1 after SS6 - hit a stone bank - will re-start on day 2 under SupeRally]
"Obviously I am very disappointed with my problem today as the rally was going quite well for me and I was starting to get a good feeling with the car. We slid on a slippy section of the stage and went backwards into a big bank of rocks and this damaged the diff cooler and I was unable to continue as the temperature rose so high; I didn’t want to cause a lot of damage. I hope the team can repair this for tomorrow as its very important for me to get back out there and learn more about this rally and this unique surface. The first loop of stages today went well for me and I was starting to find a good rhythm and getting more confidence with the car and I would like to continue with this progress tomorrow."
[Speaking in the mid-day service] “I cant seem to find a good pace and rhythm at the minute and its just not flowing for me. I need to try and build my confidence up during the rally. The third stage went very well for me and our only problem was a small spin just 1km from the end of the last stage in that loop. We must get used to the slippery surface and there are also many cuts on the stages that I didn’t expect to be there from the recce. We have had to adjust our line a few times mid corner but overall things have been reasonably good this morning.”
Conrad Rautenbach [PH Sport-Citroen C4 WRC]: [retired from day 1 after SS8 - clutch - will re-start on day 2 under SupeRally]
