"This afternoon we were running the 'Conrad anti-stall programme'! The team disconnected the system at service. The upshot of this is that I have to dip the clutch when I pull on the handbrake, which is not ideal but at least I have the confidence to know the car's not going to dip the clutch and remove all drive where I'm least expecting it. Changing the differential set-up will help me get on the power on earlier coming out of corners. Today, I've found the car has been snapping sideways when I get on the power, so I was having to wait before the car was straighter to push the throttle. Obviously this costs time – but even more time when we were in the twistier stages today. Tomorrow, David [Senior – my co-driver] and I know the roads a bit more. I'm looking forward to those, if only I knew what the weather was going to do!"
Federico Villagra [Munchi's Ford WRT]:
[Speaking in the mid-day service] "Difficult conditions, due to the stones, but I like racing here. I have to change the rear suspension."
Matthew Wilson [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:
"I just didn't have the feeling this morning and the car is very unpredictable in these conditions. We made some changes in service to the setup of the car which helped massively and my confidence was much higher in the afternoon. It was a really good improvement on the afternoon stages and it all felt a lot better than the morning loop of stages. We had a small issue with the brakes which hopefully we can resolve tonight and the plan is to continue to improve tomorrow and over the rest of the rally."
Notable retirements:
Khalid Al-Qassimi [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]: [retired from day 1 in SS4 – lost a wheel – will re-start on day 2 under SupeRally]
