Q&A with Juho Hanninen

Your battle with Andreas Mikkelsen on the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally was amazing to follow. What was it like inside the car – was this your toughest victory?

“It was one of the toughest for sure. I was fighting all the time with Andreas and it was really enjoyable because we had to push on every stage. I have to say thanks to him because it was a great fight.”

It had been a while since you’d last won a round of the IRC. What did it feel like?

“Mikko and I had been waiting for a victory for quite some time, so we were very happy. After the recce maybe I was a bit confused and with the weather conditions this made it really tricky. It was difficult to manage but it was a lot of fun in the end.”

How confident were you of keeping Andreas behind if he had not had his problem?

“It’s difficult to say. If the battle was still there on the last 25-kilometre stage and it was damp when we went through with two seconds between us then I don’t think we would both have got through.”