IRC Scotland pre-event press conference

Q: Kris, well done on winning the Rally Costa Smeralda last weekend. That was a great result for you.

Kris Meeke: It was a pretty late call for me to go there. It was primarily to help Paolo Andreucci in the Italian Rally Championship. They set me a very simple goal: to do my best and take points off the other drivers. We were quite familiar with the territory there although I think the times flattered us a little bit. The other guys had a few problems: Jan Kopecký had a puncture and [Luca] Rossetti, who was Andreucci’s main rival, had a crash.

After that, Paolo backed right off and I had a free run. Everyone asked me where the pace had come from all of a sudden, but it was more the case that the others were backing off or having problems. But a win’s a win and the Italian national championship is one of the most competitive in the world, so to win there in particular was very good.

Q: David, coming off your second consecutive Scottish Rally Championship must give you a lot of confidence.

David Bogie: It does. It’s nice to come into an event as the Scottish champion – confidence is high and it means you go in with the right mentality. I’m really looking forward to it. The stages are very, very good – I think they’re the best Scotland has to offer. I’m sure the event’s going to be a cracker.

Q: Alister, you finished second here last year but this season hasn’t been as good so far.

Alister McRae: This year in Asia we’ve shown that the car has the pace to win – we’ve led most of the rallies there but haven’t been lucky and haven’t got the car to the finish. We did some testing on Tuesday and the engine feels better here. The suspension is better than we had last year, and, like you said, we finished second. I think there’s a strong field this year and we’ll give it our best shot.

Q: You’ve all had the opportunity to look at the stages and they’re not dissimilar to last year.

Alister McRae: The first day is very similar. There are a few extra sections on the second day. The stages are in very good condition. Last year was very wet and slippy, this year there was a bit of dust on some of the stages during the recce. There’s rain coming in on Sunday, which will dampen things down a little, but for Saturday the stages will be very smooth and fast. Like David said, these are the best stages Scotland has to offer.

Q: Will they suit your car?

Alister McRae: I think they will, but they’ll suit everybody else’s as well so we’ll be pushing as hard as we can.

Q: David, you’re in the Mitsubishi Evo. The Group Ns are a bit heavier so it’s a very different experience to a Super 2000, isn’t it?

David Bogie: The Super 2000 cars are unbelievable, very good for the sport. It’s going to be a big battle between the drivers at the front. My aim is to go out there and win Group N.

Q: Kris, last year you won the rally on times. Are you going to win overall this time?

Kris Meeke: We’re going to try to do the same job we did last year. Obviously there were complications after the event that didn’t leave us with a paper victory but it was okay for me – my job was done on the rally. This year’s going to be a lot different. Yes, the stages are similar, but for me they look completely different because of the conditions. They’re going to be so much faster than last year. I had to change my notes because there’s so much more cutting you can do – last year you couldn’t go in certain places because of the mud. In the corners we’re going to be up a gear everywhere.

It’s going to be a good, fast race, and as Alister said, there’s a stronger field this year – Andreas Mikkelsen in the Ford, and Alister and Keith [Cronin] in the Protons. It’s going to be a hell of a fast race at the front.

Both the guys here have said that these are the best stages Scotland has to offer. For me they’re the best stages anywhere. There’s such a great flow and rhythm to them. Last year the first day’s stages were difficult because of the mud. This year they’re like a motorway and the speeds will just be incredible. On all the other rallies that have flowing stages like this, you’re up against ball bearing-type surfaces, like in Finland, where if you go off line at all you just slide away. Here you’ve got constant grip from one side of the road to the other. Road cleaning’s not so much of an issue. These roads offer the most pleasure behind the wheel, for sure.

Q: And it will be your last competition in a Peugeot.

Kris Meeke: For the foreseeable future, maybe. It’s been an incredible two years. 2007 and 2008 were very lean years for me. My career wasn’t really going anywhere and I even questioned whether we should continue or not. I was in the right place at the right time to get together with Peugeot UK. I have to give all credit to the guys there in Coventry. From being quite hesitant in the beginning they really jumped in with both feet and showed what an importer could do in a championship like the IRC. The marketing they’ve done behind it has been great from every angle. To win the championship was something we didn’t expect to do in our first year.

Q: Alister, you’re running fifth on the road so you’ve got some tyre tracks to follow.

Alister McRae: Yeah, we’ve got tyre tracks, and like Kris says you can use a lot more of the road than you could last year. Some of the cuts on the recce – I could question a couple of them, but maybe I’m just getting older. I’m sure that when it comes to it and you’ve got tyre marks to follow, you go 100 per cent on your notes and you push 100 per cent.

Q: David have you made your own notes?

David Bogie: It’s good to get the chance to go out and do the recce, because as these guys have said the cuts are more regular than they were last year. I’m going to take them – I’ll tell you later if they’re right or wrong! These guys have got so much experience so to follow their lines will bring me on, hopefully.