Rally Australia - Finish press conference

Present:
1st - Mikko Hirvonen, Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
1st - Jarmo Lehtinen, Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
2nd - Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
2nd - Miikka Anttila, Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
3rd - Petter Solberg, Petter Solberg World Rally Team
3rd - Chris Patterson, Petter Solberg World Rally Team
Malcolm Wilson, Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team

Q:
Mikko, congratulations on the result here in Australia. It’s the team’s first one-two since Sardinia 2009. Good points for the team and for you in the Drivers’ Championship!

MH:
Well that’s the way it is. We did talk about this at the start of the year that we [Latvala] could be equal as long as we fought for Championship points. Unfortunately Jari-Matti has had a difficult season so that really helped me this week that he slowed down and let me take the lead. So big thanks to him.

Q:
You’ve come away from this event with the possibility now still on for the Drivers’ title, and also the Manufacturers’ Championship. How do you feel about that?

MH:
Yes they are both still there. But it was more important just to have a good result here especially since it’s been a tough season; we won in Sweden and it’s been very close after that and we didn’t know if we could pull it off so it was very important especially after what happened on Friday that we could still control things, and now getting a one- two is very good for everybody. Hopefully it helps us all in the future.

Q:
Let’s talk about Friday because it seemed like an incredibly tough day and of course you saw both your Championship rivals Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier go off the road. What did you think when all that was happening?

MH:
I had enough things on my mind to keep myself on the road. It just shows how difficult the conditions were and the stages as well were very fast, very muddy and slippery and you know it’s just the way it is. Some places you didn’t have any grip when you were braking so it was impossible to tell what kind of grip you have in each corner, so very tricky. Luckily we made it alive. No accidents and we could carry on for Saturday so very good.

Q:
Obviously the team had made a decision and were hoping you guys would come through in a one-two, when did you feel the pressure was off you in terms of competing out there this weekend?

MH:
It’s been such a long time since I’ve won a rally that it was never really over until the last stage, so I was nervous the whole time that something would happen or that I had made a mistake or that I would make a mistake or something goes wrong, so I wanted to really just wait all the way to the end and then know for sure that it was all over and we could do it.

Q:
How are you feeling about heading to the Tarmac of France?

MH:
I’m sure everybody knows that it is going to be up against those two Citroëns that are there, and Petter as well. We were happy with our pace in Germany and now we have a test plan so we hope we can improve our car so we are definitely not giving up at this point. We have to keep on pushing now that we’ve got the boost from his rally; hopefully we will go even faster in France and we are really able to fight over there.

Q:
Jarmo, the fight for both Championships is now back on. Citroën could have won the Manufacturers’ title here this weekend. How do you now capitalise on the fact that everything is game on again? Does that fact change your approach to the rest of the events?

JL:
I hope this week gives that extra push to the whole team. We’ve been struggling a bit throughout the season and I hope that we really get the next step and I know we have a lot of work to do for Tarmac. We need to be realistic but like I said, I hope and I believe this was the extra push we need for the oncoming events.

Q:
What did you think of the event here? Would you like to return?

JL:
Definitely I’d like to come back. It’s a very enjoyable rally. Friday, conditions made this a little bit different. It wasn’t enjoyable all of the time but 90 per cent of the stages were really, really nice and enjoyable all of the time. It was great fun to be there.

Q:
Jari-Matti, it’s second overall when it could have been a win. You were a team player today and slowed to help Mikko but how are you feeling at the end of it?

J-ML:
I lost my chance in the Drivers’ Championship in the spring time when I had three bad rallies in a row and I said this already in Greece that it’s now all over from my side and I need to support Mikko if he has a chance for that and now was the time so I feel okay. It’s never a nice feeling to slow down and drop behind. Of course, nobody enjoys that but you need to see the bigger picture and the main thing was I had a good feeling, the speed was there. They’ve given me a good feeling from this rally and at least I’m really happy for the team that I can see the whole new speed coming for the next three rallies.

Q:
How important is this result in terms of motivating everybody within the team?

J-ML:
It’s a big thing. I think there’s been a little bit of frustration within the team because there have been a lot of things happening and we haven’t won a gravel rally until now, so of course it will boost a lot.

Q:
Let’s talk about the event itself. You had some moments out there – what was the biggest scare of the weekend?

J-ML:
I think I have been very unlucky in some rallies this year, but now I had a lot of luck with me. I had a scary moment two kilometres into the first stage on Friday morning and I spun and went backwards into the forest. Even today I went wide on one of the corners and there was a big tree and I could just hear a little touch. But there was no damage on the car so it must have been a magic touch. The scariest moment was on that first stage, the same place where Ogier went off the road on the first passage that was fully muddy on that corner. When you came to the top of the crest, you couldn’t see, then suddenly we hit at least a two metre diameter big wood but somehow it caught back so that was a scary moment.

Q:
It’s back to Tarmac next, how are you feeling about that?

J-ML:
Last year, I had some good stage times in France. I like France more than Germany. Germany has never really been good for me. I have always had trouble over there which I have to improve for the future. I feel quite comfortable to go to France. It was a very difficult rally last year but I’m looking forward to it. I know the Tarmac is grippy over there and we have a good testing plan coming up. So we need to make sure we get all the benefits from testing so that we are strong in the rally.

Q:
Miikka, how are you feeling about the return to Tarmac when we go to France and Spain?

MA:
We saw at the start of Rally Germany that we are competitive as we were leading the rally after the first stage, so we are not far away. Also the other stage times show the same way, so we are having some Tarmac testing coming so I think that we will be stronger on the Tarmac as we have been as a team earlier.

Q:
Is there a sense of relief in the team now that both of you have managed to seal a one- two here in Australia?

MA:
Yes. It’s a good boost for the whole team and I have to say I’m proud to be in such a team that we can make such decisions and both drivers and both crews are supporting each other so it’s a big thing. Also another thing for me is that in this rally, for me on Friday, we had very slippery conditions and now we can see that it’s only Scandinavian crews that have the best control! Earlier it was said that the middle European drivers were the Tarmac specialists, but Friday shows that in slippery conditions, the Scandinavians have the best control in handling those conditions.

Q:
Petter, back on the podium in third position overall and you take one Power Stage point. Are you feeling happy with the way the rally has gone this weekend?

PS:
Of course I’m very happy about that. Everyone out here had a very difficult Friday. It was very tough and the thing is I’m very happy about my speed. I’ve been on good pace for the whole weekend so for me that was the main thing. The engine changed before this rally so everything was back on track and the thing is, we can’t continue the way we did for the past two rallies or there would be no point to drive and no point to continue with the rallies, but now, everything was good. The car worked good so very enjoyable between the stages this weekend. Lots of stories and it’s been really good fun.

Q:
You didn’t seem really happy with the car until yesterday afternoon, what changed?

PS:
I didn’t do so much but some other things changed in the car and the car ran faster so it was good. The pace was faster. The magic touch sometimes makes the difference.

Q:
In terms of the season ahead will we see you compete at all the remaining WRC rounds?

PS:
If it was the same performance as the two last rallies then I would stop. When you have a lot of sponsors, you need performance. I can’t say that I’ve sold in to be fifth in every rally. We’ll drive in France and then take it from there. If it’s a good performance there then we’ll continue. I have to perform. I want more than sitting here at third but I’m very happy, very pleased with the week and that I’m back on the podium,

Q:
And what of next year?

PS:
No nothing happening yet. We’ll wait and see. Discussions are in place but we’ll have to wait and see.

Q:
These boys have full advantage of manufacturer testing. What kind of test will you have before the event?

PS:
I don’t think there will be any testing for me before the rally so I try to use what I had in Germany with some small changes because of the different surface and combinations. That’s about it and I’ll take it from there.

Q:
Chris, some drama’s along the way this weekend. How tough was it on day one after making notes in dry conditions to be faced a totally different perspective, were there constant changes?

CP:
On Friday, no there weren’t too many changes to the notes, it was just a case of surviving on the stages and the notes all seemed to work okay, but today the stages were so fast and technical and I think everybody made quite a few adjustments. The first pass through is obviously very difficult when you come to a new rally and you get two passes in a fairly slow recce car. And, with the stages being so fast today, it was quite difficult but on Friday the conditions were just so bad so we were just surviving and getting through the stages.

Q:
In terms of motivation, how does this transform the guys back at base?

CP:
We all know Petter, and he is permanently motivated. We’ve never lost our motivation and we try to motivate the team as much as we can. Obviously this weekend has been fantastic and everyone’s spirits have risen. Motivation has never been lost and we’re really motivated for France now to try and get another podium finish and if not, a bit higher.

Q:
Malcolm, you said it was important to win here and the team have secured a one-two; is there a sense of relief in the Ford camp?

MW:
I think we’ve touched the summit. We’ve lost quite a few rallies by such a small margin and to be honest, you don’t start to doubt yourself but you keep thinking, when are things going to change, when are you going to get onto the top step. But that’s what has been really important - when the whole team sticks together. Everybody’s played such a big part to get this result and there’s no question it’s just the boost we needed, I think at a crucial time with the three events left in Championship. It’s fantastic now to put Mikko back in the hunt again and a great job by both these guys in very difficult conditions. You can imagine the huge amount of pressure on the team because all we could do from half way through Friday is basically throw this rally away, so really it’s fair play to these two guys that they’ve managed to keep ahead of the Norwegian and keep the Finns on top.

Q:
Citroën could have claimed the Manufacturer’s title here in Australia had they sealed a one-two, but now the team have been offered a chance to continue to fight in both Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championships. Can you capitalise on this now?

MW:
I think we would need a few more results like what we have had here. I have a feeling that that’s not going to happen but we’ve seen what can happen here. Anything’s possible if we keep on fighting. We know we can make some improvements and hopefully we will in time for France. Hopefully we can go to France really in a good position.

Q:
You mentioned improvements, what kind of improvements?

MW:
Just detail things that we learnt from Germany. As we said we’ve got a test plan and quite a few things we want to try.

Present:
1st - Hayden Paddon
1st - John Kennard

Paddon and Kennard have also won the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship title (subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA).

Q:
Congratulations on winning Rally Australia but perhaps more importantly winning the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship title! How do you feel?

HP:
Amazing! It certainly doesn’t sound right when you say it. A little speechless at the moment but it’s been a perfect weekend; you couldn’t ask for anything more.

Q:
The weekend hasn’t been plain sailing for you both. There were turbo dramas yesterday. What happened exactly?

HP:
Yeah we had a few issues but as a journalist said, it was getting a bit boring anyway so at least it kept it a little exciting and it was good for us to have to push. We just had a turbo problem in the morning and in all honesty the first full stage I thought it was all over. We lost almost a minute and a half after the stage. We tried to make a few repairs afterwards and it didn’t work and I almost threw in the rag thinking that we were going to lose a few more minutes, but luckily our repairs actually worked better than we thought and we didn’t lose as much time so it shows looking back on it you shouldn’t give in. At the time it may have looked difficult but you come back and now we’re on top again.

Q:
You have remained remarkably cool throughout the weekend; do you ever get flustered at all?

HP:
I got flustered when we were trying to fix the car and it wasn’t cooperating with us but at the end of the day I just enjoy driving – that’s what I love doing, driving rally cars and I’d quite happily still be out there tonight still driving! The win is certainly an added bonus. I’m just enjoying what I’m doing.

Q:
Were you feeling pressure going into this weekend; it didn’t seem to appear that you were feeling any?

HP:
In all honesty, at the start of the event, no. Knowing that we had that buffer and that we had a little bit of room for error perhaps, but I definitely felt the pressure today. Counting down the stages and my driving was getting a bit rustier as the day went on, particularly in the second last stage and I made a few mistakes. We didn’t put a scratch on the car the whole weekend and we got to that stage and banged three of the four corners of the car so it sort of was a bit of a reality check when we were bouncing off banks and I just had to pull it back a notch.

Q:
So how did it feel when you went through that final stage and you cleared it and you finally realised that you had done it?

HP:
Going over the finish line I thought I was pretty cool and calm about it, but going back I got goose bumps all over my back so it’s pretty cool. It’s been a long hard road to get to where we are now. Obviously I still want to go further, but there’s a lot of people, particularly in New Zealand, who have made it possible and all the hard work is paying off.

Q:
Rallying is a manly sport Hayden, were there a few tears or not?

HP:
No. I save them for behind doors!

Q:
Hayden, John’s previously mentioned how impressed with you he’s been, but what about the partnership with John. It’s obviously worked. You have to have ultimate trust in your co-driver and things have gone beautifully for you this year.

HP:
Definitely it’s been perfect ever since John came on board six years ago. The first two or three years was feeding up the learning process a lot and then of recent we’ve both had the same sort of ambition to win. There’s never a wrong note, I can trust 100% where it’s going. If there is ever a wrong note it’s probably because I’ve written it wrong at the recce, but everything’s perfect.

Q:
You’re still only a young guy, but how does this rate in terms of your career?

HP:
Definitely the high point. Hopefully there’s still going to be more to come, everywhere we’ve come from this year it’s been a highlight and this one tops the cake at the moment, but we’ve just got to keep working hard because there’s still a long way to go. We’ve got a five year plan in place with this company that’s funding a lot of what we’re doing and this is the first year and it’s a big tick in the box. It’s only going to get harder from here on in though.

Q:
So what happens in 2012 and how much does this result help what you do next?

HP:
This result aside we’ve already been planning and working hard for next year. We are trying to find the funding which is the biggest barrier. Ultimately we would like to go to something like Super 2000 but we’re just trying to go through the process of finding the money at the moment. Any opportunities that come along we’ll make the most of.

Q:
John, congratulations. It’s an incredible result here in Australia and for the whole season! How are you feeling now?

JK:
Yeah, absolutely fantastic. I just couldn’t believe at the beginning of the year that anything was ever going to go like this. Sitting at home while Sweden was going on we had our first result really because some of the guys disappeared and we just went up and up from there.

Q:
You talked a couple of times about how impressive you found Hayden this year, now that the title is yours, can you add to that?

JK:
I think he’ll add to it for himself for the future because for sure he’s going further, so that’ll be the story.

Q:
Were you getting flustered at all this weekend, you got caught up behind Daniel Oliveira at one point and it seemed you might be getting a little bit stressed by that.

JK:
That was probably the one time all weekend I’ve seen Hayden stressed! There was a part of that stage that no matter what happened with the way the stage was we just had to stay there and we weren’t going to get past so that was a little frustrating at the time but it all turned out.

Q:
Hayden mentioned the support that you guys have had; it’s been an incredible amount of support from back home hasn’t it?

JK:
Yeah it’s phenomenal. The people who are here are just the tip of the pyramid compared to the people that are at home. There are some really good strong fans there and some sponsorship but there has to be more for the future. On that I’d like to dedicate the result to a couple of people from home. Graham Valk who was a real fan and Willie Rutherford, they both passed away in the last few days. Willie; I guess there’s quite a few people here who would know from his Mazda days back in the UK. He’s been living in New Zealand for a while now and unfortunately they both passed away in the last few days so we’re doing it for them.