IRC Scotland winners’ press conference

2010 RACMSA Rally of Scotland winners Juho Hänninen and Mikko Markkula, second placed Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene, and third placed Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle attended a press conference after the event.

Q: Kris, third was perhaps not how you wanted to end your time with Peugeot UK, but it was a reasonable finish.

Kris Meeke: The rally sort of summed up our season. We’ve been able to stretch our legs and punch it a few times when circumstances allow us to, but unfortunately we tripped up again here. I can’t believe we had another puncture there at the end, although there was quite a big gap to the guys ahead and behind so it didn’t really matter so much.

Third place gives us third in the series, which is a fair reflection on what we’ve done this year. We simply haven’t been good enough in certain areas to win the series, while Juho has done an incredible job.

It’s still been an incredible experience with Peugeot UK over the past two years, a great opportunity for me, and to finish with a little bit of silverware is some consolation.

Q: When things were going well you put in some good times…

Kris Meeke: Yeah, yesterday [Saturday] morning I knew, like we’ve seen all season, that when the [Škoda] guys get to know where they’re going and get their cars up to speed they’re difficult to stick with. I knew I had to put some times in. We really went at it from the beginning, and we were about 20 seconds up after a couple of stages, but then the problems started. I slid wide on a fast corner in Errochty and picked up a puncture.

When we’re driving at one hundred and whatever per cent it gets us a time, but you can’t sustain that level without problems coming. However, it’s been enjoyable. The stages have been in fantastic condition and the weather’s been very kind to us. For me, from a driving point of view, this is the best rally in the series. The speeds are so high, it’s so flowing. Other rallies – you’re having to look at every corner to see the stones sticking out and pick your way through, it’s more a test of endurance. This is pure speed.

Q: There’s been some speculation that they may extend the Loch Ard stage next year.

Kris Meeke: At 30km, the speeds are so high that it’s over in a flash. They have an opportunity in these forests to make incredibly long stages and I don’t think you’d see any drivers complaining. You get into a really good rhythm. If there’s an opportunity – why not? It creates a bigger challenge for everybody. I hope the event continues to go from strength to strength.

Q: Paul, were there any moments you didn’t like?

Paul Nagle: Not really. Yesterday morning in Craigvinean we did a fantastic time, thoroughly enjoyed it and really set the benchmark. When we didn’t have problems the times were good. The competition between us, Juho, Andreas and Guy has been intense – sometimes only three or four seconds between us in the stages. I think it’s been a really good weekend for everybody.

Q: Andreas, congratulations – probably the best result of your career?

Andreas Mikkelsen: Yes, I think so. We had fifth place on Rally Sweden in 2008 but this was something very special. We came to this event hoping that maybe we could manage a podium because we had a very good test before the rally, some new tyres which felt very good, and we felt closer than we’ve ever been before [to the front of the field]. It was very nice to see all the commitment and development pay off.

Q: Has this given you confidence that you can mix it with the leading teams?

Andreas Mikkelsen: Definitely. I feel that we have a little bit of work to do on gravel before we can really get up there, but we’re much closer than we were before, and also we have room to improve on tarmac. We’re getting better with every rally we do.

Q: Is this improvement a factor of your increased confidence, or development of the car, new tyres, or a combination of all three?

Andreas Mikkelsen: Definitely a combination. For this rally the tyres were more predictable, which helped me attack more. We’ve also learned more about the set-up of the car which makes it better to drive.

Q: Ola, we heard your voice on the television during the live broadcasts on Eurosport. There seemed to be a few words in English there?

Ola Fløene: Yes, that’s true. The pace notes are a mixture of English, Swedish and Norwegian. The Norwegian language is quite difficult – some words are quite heavy. Some English words are shorter, faster, easier to speak and hear in the rally car. On the recce I was thinking, “Oh, I’m going to be doing a lot of reading here, it’s never going to stop.”

Q: Juho, congratulations, you drove like a champion on this event.

Juho Hänninen: Thank you. Honestly, yesterday morning, after the first stage where I was something like 30 seconds behind the boys, at that moment I didn’t feel like a champion. But it was like I was able to start the rally again. After that I did some good times and the boys were a bit unlucky, which made things better for us.

Q: It was almost the perfect rally for you.

Juho Hänninen: Yes, big thanks again to the Škoda Motorsport team. As always they’ve done very good work with the car, there were no technical problems and from my side there were no mistakes. Taken all together it was a very good rally.

Q: What do you think you’ve learned this year to become a champion?

Juho Hänninen: Finishing the rallies. Sometimes when I saw the speeds of the other guys, people like [Jan] Kopecký, on the tarmac, I decided not to push so much and maybe to accept second or third and go for points. This way I picked up a lot of podiums, and put together it made a good situation.

I really wanted to win this rally. The drivers’ title was secure so there was no pressure on that – okay, I knew how fast Kris and Guy and Mikkelsen would be here. I had to push until the very last stage. This is one of the best rallies of the year – fast, you have space and you can use the car. I really liked all of the stages.

Q: Mikko, any dramas from your side of the car?

Mikko Markkula: No, he’s a clever boy and he knows what to do. It was a solid performance.