How was your first day back in a World Rally Car?
“It was pretty cool. You know, I’m so stoked to be back here and driving again. The morning wasn’t all that, I think we could have gone quicker. The first stage was nice and fast, but the next two were a bit more twisty then we had the puncture which was a real shame.”
What happened with the puncture?
“We hit a rock on the line through a blind corner, we had no choice - we were committed to the line and we had to hit it. There was about 15 kilometres of the stage to go. The tyre went down slowly, which wasn’t so bad and I pushed quite hard so we didn’t lose too much time.”
Did you think you might have got away with it?
“I’d hit quite a bit rock on the stage before and we got away with that one, so when I felt the next rock I did think it might be okay, but it started to go soft pretty much straightaway: the sidewall was sliced pretty bad.”
Tyres are another thing you’ve had to get used to today...
“Yeah, that’s right. There’s a lot to learn with this new car and driving it at this altitude gives you a different feeling again, with the power not being the same as what we would have lower down. The last time I was here, the tyres were quite different. While there’s not as much grip from these, it’s just a case of getting used to it and knowing what’s coming.”
What’s the plan for the rest of the event?
“To get more used to the car and then to start setting some times, we’ll start to push on harder. As much as I would have liked to have gone harder today, there would have been no point in putting the car off the road on day one.”
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