Urmo Aava [PH Sport-Citroen C4 WRC]:
[No Quote]
Petter Solberg [Subaru WRT]:
“Today has been very tough. “We've been pushing hard, but we're too far off the leaders. We had some problems with damaged front right suspension, and that's where we lost most. Grip was really tricky this morning, very slippery, and it got better this afternoon, but with our road position we should have been faster.”
Per-Gunnar Andersson [Suzuki WRT]:
"The first stage was really tough, it was a bit of a surprise. The car was much too hard and this was combined with the driving been too bad. The tyre was too hard for the conditions, but this is the same for everybody. We came out of the first stage and made some changes to the suspension on the car - we softened it as much as we could. This helped in the second stage and then in the third, everything was going really well. I found the re-run of Pirongia West (SS4) quite hard, I couldn't find a rhythm in the stage. It's been a good day today, though. The car has been perfect and we're in the best position possible. Now we have to stay there."
Toni Gardemeister [Suzuki WRT]:
“This morning was disappointing for me. I really wanted a good run here and had a nice feeling, but then we got the puncture. After that, the rest of the day has been good. No problems. The car has been running well, but the conditions have been tough this morning. Running through the stages the second time, the line is looking cleaner which is helping to give us more traction."
Marco Baldacci [Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX]: [PWRC leader]
“I had a spin. It was in the first stage out of service. I was on the line, on the line, on the line and then spin. Terrible, Twenty seconds have gone there. Bang. Okay, then it was not so bad. My only problem today has been in the slow corners. My car is set-up for the fast places, where it is working really well, but in the slow I'm not getting the traction.”
Martin Prokop [Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX]: [JWRC leader]
“I didn't have much confidence this morning. It's better in the afternoon, but still in the really fast places I don't know this car as well as I would like. Maybe I'm dropping some time there. It's so different to drive here; this pace is really not the same as anywhere else that I've competed before.”
Fumio Nutahara [Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9]: [PWRC - third overall]
“They are very exciting to drive. But I have to be patient with the car. I can't force anything. The car has been perfect for me, now I have to think about tomorrow. It's so close, a big battle.”
