[Speaking in the mid-day service] "We had no real problems with the car this morning, but I lacked a little confidence with the grip and balance of the car. The first section of this stage was difficult as it is slippery anyway in the braking zones and the surface is very bumpy, and then you need total confidence in the car when the corners become faster and flowing later on. I hope this afternoon we can be faster as I want to close the gap on Latvala in seventh."
Jan Kopecky [Czech RT Skoda Fabia WRC]:
“My tyres weren't hard enough for today's stages. But there's not a lot I can do about that, as I have not selected enough hard tyres for this rally.”
[Speaking in the mid-day service] "It's been hard this morning. This engine is quite old, so we don't seem to be able to match the other cars on the twisty and uphill sections. There's nothing we can do about this, though."
Henning Solberg [Stobart M-Sport Ford WRT]:
“Our tyres worked really well this afternoon and we tried to push on a bit harder than this morning. We still have a lot of things to learn about this rally especially with the braking points and car setup but it is my first time at this event and to finish the first day inside the top-ten is not so bad. I'm keen to get as much experience from this event as possible and so I can't make any stupid mistakes and throw away the chance. The stages are tricky in places and I'm not planning to do anything stupid. My pace notes are too slow in some places so we are losing time there and also I think the narrow roads are better for us; it is the wider, fast sections where we are dropping time.”
[Speaking in the mid-day service] "The car is feeling quite difficult for me to drive, I think it may be too soft and it is moving around too much in the corners. I am still finding it difficult in general to drive on asphalt and I need more experience and confidence on this surface. Again this is my first time on these stages and I don't have the experience that the other drivers have, it is very easy to push too hard and get caught out."
Andreas Mikkelsen [Ramsport Ford Focus WRC]:
“I'm not in the top 10 this evening but my priority has always been to learn on asphalt. I'm not really looking at the stage times, so if my overall position goes up, then it will just do so naturally.”
