“On Sunday on the last corner of stage 14 I was confused by my pacenote and came into the corner too quickly and ran wide and hit a tree on my side of the car. The damage was quite bad that we had to retire at the end of the stage. The Focus has been great and we have been on good tyres all weekend.”





Team principals:

Malcolm Wilson [BP Ford WRT - team director]:

"Mikko and Marcus could not have done any better. We've won every gravel event since May and to end the year with a 1-2 finish is a perfect result. Mikko drove a great rally but sadly Marcus didn't win the drivers' championship on his final event. It was a great season for the sport with a thrilling battle for the drivers' title that went down to the final round."


Jost Capito [Ford Team RS director]:

"It's fantastic to end a season in which Ford has again won the manufacturers' world title with a double podium. I'm sorry Marcus and Timo couldn't finish their career with a third world title, but it's great that Mikko and Jarmo are proving themselves ready to challenge for top honours next year. The targets set for our four-year programme with the new-generation Ford Focus have been achieved in just three years, and that's the ideal way to hand over my responsibilities and take on new challenges in the company."


Guy Frequelin [Citroen Total WRT - team principal]:

"With the final, decisive round of the championship taking place in Wales, we just knew the weather conditions wouldn't be easy - and they weren't. Sébastien and Daniel tackled today's stages in the same way they approached all the others and met their objective to the latter. As a result, they are the World Champions with Citroën for the fourth year in a row! True, the cards were stacked in our favour before the start but it was impossible to feel totally serene. There was so much that could happen. The team found me more anxious than ever, which shows just how much I feared this weekend's event! This title fills me with immense joy. It's a fitting reward not only for the talent of Sébastien and Daniel but also for the amazing motivation that spurred everyone on at Citroën Sport throughout this year's campaign. Returning to the competitive arena after a year's away to win the Drivers' title with the brand new Citroën C4 WRC is extremely satisfying."


Gilles Michel [Citroen - executive vice president of Automobiles Citroën]:

"By winning the world title, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena mirror what Citroën wishes to say about itself, that is to say a combination of genuine talent, remarkable commitment and simplicity. The team they form and the way they set about securing their fourth title does honour to the Citroën brand."


Richard Taylor [Subaru WRT - managing director]:

“It's good for the team to have retaken third place in the Manufacturers' Championship this weekend, and to have finished with all three cars in the top ten. Overall it's been a difficult year for the team but we are very positive that the development of our new car that will appear during 2008 will once again deliver the results that Subaru supporters and our drivers have come to expect.”


Malcolm Wilson [Stobart M-Sport Ford WRT - team boss]:

“It wasn't the dream result we were all hoping for but what a performance by Jari-Matti; fastest on all gravel stages yesterday and today is a great achievement. I would say this is Matthew's best ever performance on a world championship event, he has really upped the pace over the last three events and it is a very encouraging end to the year for him. Henning didn't get off to the best of starts but he has put in a steady drive and gained more experience of the rally in what were extremely difficult driving conditions.”


Andrew Tinkler [Stobart Group CEO]:

“The season has been fantastic and I don't think anyone would have expected us to challenge Subaru at the start of the year. It's great to see the young drivers developing during the year and especially Jari-Matti, who has improved a lot on both tarmac and gravel. This result is very encouraging as we head into next year; our pace is up there now and we just need to continue to push hard.”


Nobuhiro Tajima [Suzuki WRT - team principal]:

“We are very pleased with the progress that has been made on the Rally Great Britain, thanks to all the hard work from our test team and drivers. In extreme weathers we have gained a lot of data, tested many things and have had quite a few problems that we have had to solve. If we had encountered no problems at all then I would have been very worried. Setting fast times was not our objective this weekend. Overall throughout the entire testing programme with the SX4 WRC we consider all our experiences, both good and bad, to have been very valuable. Our testing objectives for 2007 have been fulfilled and the experience gained has put us in a much better position than when we began. Next year will be a new start for the Suzuki World Rally Team: testing is over now and for 2008 a new strategy will begin with a new team. We look forward to our fresh challenges coming up!”


Matthieu Bonardel [BFGoodrich - rally manager]:

"I don't think we will ever forget our last rally in the World Championship. The conditions this year in Wales were incredible. A big bravo to Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena for their fourth world title and a big thank you, too, to all our partners and drivers who put their trust in BFGoodrich."