We have all the reaction and driver quotes from Loeb, Ogier, Hirvonen, Latvala and Solberg after an eventful WRC Rally Australia over the weekend.
“It happened in the middle of the stage. I lost concentration for a second by glancing at the split time, which had just appeared on Daniel’s screen. I didn’t interpret the note very well and I braked too late for the next corner. The car rolled four times and it was too badly damaged for us to restart immediately.”
'It was so important for Ford to have a good result here' – Mikko Hirvonen
Sébastien Loeb made one of the rarest mistakes in his illustrious career as he rolled out of contention on day one of Rally Australia. This left Ford’s factory duo Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala to fly to victory Down Under and more importantly re-spark the 2011 World Rally Championship fight.
“It was so important for Ford to have a good result here,” commented Hirvonen. “This is our first win since the opening round in Sweden so its great to not only win but finish one-two. Fair play to Jari-Matti for helping me out today, he doesn’t have a chance to win the title any more this year, but still, it is not so easy to step back like that and he did it very [graciously], I owe him big thanks.”
'You have to look at the bigger picture' – Jari-Matti Latvala
Latvala was undoubtedly the fastest Ford all week, but with Hirvonen being the only Ford driver standing a mathematical chance of winning the Championship, his team-mate was happy to help.
“I lost my chances at the Championship in Spring with three bad rallies in a row, and I said to myself back then, ‘I have to help Mikko now,’” said Latvala. “It’s not a nice feeling to be leading and have to drop behind like that, especially if you have a big passion to win, but you have to look at the bigger picture. I really feel the sprit of the team growing after this rally and I think it is the feeling all round in Ford.”
'When you come to Australia you think it is going to be sunshine all the way' – Petter Solberg
Rally Australia’s slogan might be ‘The Ultimate Dust Up’, but in reality it quickly morphed into ‘Muddy Mayhem’ on the opening day, with the worst conditions that the WRC has seen in recent years. Citroën privateer Petter Solberg, a veteran of the sport and the final piece of the Australian podium puzzle had never seen anything like Friday in Coff’s Harbour.
“We had a very difficult Friday, it was extremely tough,” said Solberg. “I have seen a lot of different conditions in my career but nothing quite like that. It was the most inconsistent surface I have ever experienced. The hard-compound tyre was not the right option on the first day, but when you come to Australia you think it is going to be sunshine and hot all the way!”
'I was given team orders and I respected them' – Sébastien Ogier
Loeb, despite his roll, managed to pick up four valuable championship points. Three were courtesy of a dominant Power Stage win and one was courtesy of a surprisingly noble team-mate. Ogier stopped for 10 minutes on the event’s penultimate stage to hand Loeb a position and what could be one very crucial drivers’ point.
“I was given team orders by my Red Bull Citroën team and I respected them,” he said. What he was actually thinking might be another matter entirely…
Want more?
- Loeb crashes out of Rally Australia – report
- Look forward with our Rallye de France event page
- Official World Rally Championship website wrc.com
Citroën Racing Media
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