Toyota GAZOO Racing :

Tommi Mäkinen (Team Principal)
“It has been a very positive day. It was an incredible performance from Ott. We are all surprised what he has done so far and how quickly he has learned about the car. It is looking very good for the future with him. Tomorrow I am sure he will be very fast because now he has more experience with the car. Our team seems to be very strong. Esapekka’s road position was not the easiest and still he showed good speed, especially in the morning, while Jari-Matti improved during the afternoon. We still have two more days and tomorrow the conditions could be difficult in the snow, but I think it’s going to be OK.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Driver car 7)
“This morning I was struggling a bit and I couldn’t get the feeling with the turning, but for the afternoon we made some adjustments on the differential and I was a lot happier. I wasn’t very confident on the standing water so I lost some time there but otherwise the car is going well now. We are in a good battle. We are very close to Esapekka now and the podium is not very far away either, so we just need to continue the momentum from today and see what happens.”

Ott Tänak (Driver car 8)
“It feels very positive to end the first full day in this position. We improved a lot today, and it is nice to be increasing in confidence with every stage. I want to continue in the same way: to keep learning all the time and to understand the car more. There are many mistakes happening from others so we just need to be really clever with our driving. There is definitely no need to push any more. The rally will not be decided just by pure speed: it’s more about the consistency and smart decisions.”

Esapekka Lappi (Driver car 9)
“I think my strategy to be careful on this rally is paying off all the time. I’ve been on the safe side today and still we are fighting for the podium, so I’m quite pleased with that. It’s been a good performance from the team so far but there is still a long way to go. The condtions may be more difficult tomorrow, with snow maybe coming, but if it is clear which tyres we should take then I think we will be OK.”

M-Sport Ford : 

Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
 
“It’s fantastic to be here in the lead and to see both Sébastien and Elfyn proving the pace of the Fiesta with a number of stage victories. But we cannot forget that this is Rallye Monte-Carlo and that there is still a very long way to go.
 
“With more stage wins than anyone else, Sébastien is delivering another fantastic drive – although we have to admit that we were pretty lucky this afternoon! He made a very simple mistake but thanks to the quick thinking of the fans we didn’t lose too much time. It puts us under a bit of pressure for tomorrow which won’t be easy, but Sébastien has the speed and the experience on his side.
 
“Elfyn has had a much better day after what was a really unlucky start last night. With the puncture on the opening stage he lost more than three minutes, but has refocused and shown some great speed – especially when the conditions were at their most challenging.
 
“Bryan also hasn’t put a foot wrong. He’s making his debut with the Fiesta WRC in less than ideal circumstances, but using all of his experience and learning more about the car with every stage.”

 

Citroën Racing :

WHAT THEY SAID

Pierre Budar, Citroën Racing Team Principal

“Obviously, I’m disappointed for Craig, who deserved better. After his problems, we decided to concentrate our efforts on the future, the aim now being for Craig to get as many miles as possible under his belt whilst we focus on improving the set-up. I’m pleased to finally see Kris gradually grow in confidence, and move back up the standings. We are going to try to keep moving in this direction, whilst remaining ready to seize any opportunities that may come our way.”

Kris Meeke

“Snow is forecast for the rest of the rally and when it comes, it might just shake everything up, so I hope that it works in our favour! Although it’s not quite perfect yet, I’m pleased to have got a better feeling in the car this afternoon, especially as the level of grip was particularly low, with a lot of rain, mud and patches of blacktop…”

Craig Breen

“We didn’t have a lot of luck this morning with the brake issue. It has never happened to me before, but it ruined our loop. The afternoon was much better, particularly with the good time on SS7, although it’s really difficult to get among the leaders when you’re driving on stages at full racing speed for the first time. I hope we manage to make the most of our strengths in the conditions tomorrow, which are expected to be really tough again.”

 

 

Hyundai Motorsport :

Against the stunning backdrop of the French Alps, our three crews found themselves climbing high altitudes followed by steep descents on Friday. The highs and lows of the stages were mirrored by the ups and downs we faced as a team on another busy day of WRC.

Following a steady start on Thursday, Dani and Carlos battled through a difficult second day to emerge with their provisional podium position firmly intact.

A repeat loop of three stages – Vitrolles-Oze, Roussieux-Eygalayes and Vaumeilh-Claret – made up Friday’s itinerary, covering a distance of almost 145km. From a largely dry start, weather conditions deteriorated in the afternoon loop.

Dani recaps: “Our first loop was not particularly strong and we lost some ground. Afternoon rain then made driving conditions tricky. In the final stage we had much more grip and we could find a better feeling in the car.”

Misfortune had already struck our Belgians Thierry and Nicolas on Thursday, so they had a fight-back plan for Friday. Although a puncture caused further frustration, their day ended with a maiden stage win of 2018.

“We had a puncture on the very first stage,” said Thierry. “After that we had a pretty good day. At the end of the afternoon, the car was working well and we could enjoy ourselves a bit more. We are up into ninth overall, and everything is possible in the coming two days.”

For Andreas and Anders, it was a day to forget. Our Norwegian crew encountered an alternator problem at the end of SS3, which they couldn’t fix in the short space of time before the subsequent stage.

“Fortunately, we are able to start again under Rally 2,” said Andreas. “We will now use the remaining stages to build up some more experience in the car.”

“Another day of ups and downs,” summarised our Team Principal Michel. “Things are never easy or straightforward in this rally; it’s a reality check of the WRC’s challenges and demands – exactly as it should be. Let’s see what unfolds on Saturday.”

 

 

Source : WRC Teams