Rally Deutschland: three questions to Olivier Quesnel

Let’s look back on Rally Finland. With Sébastien Ogier in second place and Sébastien Loeb just behind, several people expected you to inverse the positions.

“Like in Portugal we opted for the sporting aspect by not interfering in the classification in an artificial manner. You had to have an overview of the situation. Mikko Hirvonen had retired and Petter Solberg was behind our two drivers. Third place for Sébastien Loeb was a very good result in the context of the drivers’ championship. By leaving Sébastien Ogier in second place we were able to keep up the pressure on Jari-Matti Latvala. At the same time, this result meant that Ogier didn’t lose too many points in relation to Latvala, his direct rival in the championship. I’d like to add that we talked the situation through with our two drivers and Sébastien Loeb told us that he didn’t want to finish second in such conditions.”

Does that mean you’ll allow your drivers to fight it out between themselves till the end of the season?

“Citroën Racing’s aim is to keep the World Rally Championship Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles. At present, we’re on target to achieve this as Sébastien Loeb and Citroën lead both championships. As in Finland, we’ll have to analyse each situation as it arises.”

Dani Sordo will have Diego Vallejo as co-driver in this rally. Is it the start of a new season for him?

“I certainly hope so! With the exception of Rally Bulgaria, Dani has experienced a fairly difficult season so far. It became obvious that a change was necessary as the rallies unfolded. It was up to him to take the decision. He’s made his choice calmly after examining several possibilities. We’d like to welcome Diego Vallejo, and we hope he’ll help Dani to finish the season on a high note. I’m still convinced that his first victory in the world championship isn’t too far off.”