89. Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2021
21. 1. – 24. 1. 2021, Gap - Monaco • Automobile Club de Monaco • asphalt - snow 279.88 km - (cancelled 22.24 km) • total distance including road sections - 1392.88 km • Other years
Info
SS15
"That's not a bad end to the weekend! The car has been amazing - it's been such a pleasure. I almost have tears in my eyes and I think it was a good decision to do one more year. The team is great - such a huge thanks to all of them. Jari [Latvala] - welcome boss for the win!"
"It's been good, but I felt never 100% as it should have been. There were some good stages, but never consistently where I'd really like to be. Perhaps we were just a little below the point you could call the level of risk."
"Very pleased to be at the end of the rally. We knew it would be a real challenge and I didn't know what to expect. Martijn has done a really good job for his first time in a WRC car. Good points for the team, even if it wasn't the greatest weekend for Hyundai."
"It was basically a nice weekend driving-wise, but we missed a good result with many unlucky things. I can be happy with my driving and thanks to the team."
"We didn't do very well - from the beginning I was not on the pace. The only thing we can do is try to help the team. In some stages I was not very confident in some places but it's okay, we will come back stronger."
"The most important thing is I got a lot of experience from the very tricky conditions. The speed is getting higher and the confidence is also coming."
"I wouldn't say positives - I'd say it's been the worst performance of my career to date. I feel like with the preparation I've had, I should have delivered a much better performance. It's happened now, I'm going to learn from it and improve on it for the next one."
"I did a good stage in this one this morning and I wanted to take some points here to thank the team. I made a stupid mistake and got stuck in a ditch, so I'm very disappointed. Thanks to them - they did a fantastic job to rebuild the car on Friday night."
"I think it's okay, but I don't know what happened. I was in cleaning my driving but it came after 8km. After looking at my time, I should be okay, but it's so difficult!"
"It has been really nice. Tricky in the last stage because there was no gravel crew allowed. The key to success here is to be at one with your gravel crew and luckily I work very closely with my crew all of the time. We spent some time here before the recce to get synchronised and it has paid off."
puncture
"It was a really nice rally for us. We had very good pace and fighting with Andreas was really nice. I want to say thank you to M-Sport - they did a perfect job all weekend."
were off
spin
"It's very slippery - sometimes you don't think it's so bad and it is. It wasn't so easy and we are happy to finish the rally. P3 in WRC2 should do, we're happy with that after a year without driving."
SS14
"It was just a clean drive. Conditions were much easier to read and the car was working well. I just enjoyed the driving."
"Still quite tricky and still frozen in places. It was a steady enough run through with no problems."
"We are trying to save the tyres for the last stage to bring back the result for the team."
"The stage is much better than before - there's less ice and it's little bit more easier."
SS13
"It was better than expected - I really expected very low grip and I was very careful. No risks at all for me in there."
"I was careful - but what do you do in these conditions? We're trying to strike the balance between being tidy and not too slow, it's difficult."
"After the puncture there is nothing really we can do - the gap is too big. I am not pushing anymore and I'm just focussed on keeping my position."
"I tried to avoid all the cuts in this one - we don't want to get a puncture. We're looking forward to finishing the rally like this."
"I don't think it's worse than the first one - it's a little more stable and you can read it. I just tried not to make any mistakes - if we can bring two cars to the end and take some points that's all we can do."
"We spun and lost more than thirty seconds. There was a lot of ice - my gravel crew did a good job with very good information, but the conditions were just so tricky."
"Worse than expected. We spun in a narrow section, so I lost a lot of time trying to turn the car around. Very tricky."
"I don't know - you have no grip at all. At the end it was like the previous one - so difficult to stay on the road."
spin
SS12
"Crazy slippery start to the day - never driven a stage like that before but happy with the pace for sure! "
"There is no info from the gravel crew that you can trust, just because it's changed so much since they passed through. A tricky one."
"It was very slippery. Just impossible to judge the grip really."
"We have a puncture - there was something at the beginning of the stage. I don't know if it was a loose rock or something - I didn't even see it."
"Really tricky - a lot of ice, even in places where it was humid. I did a good stage but there were no risks in there, so I don't know if it's enough."
"I have never driven a stage as tricky as this one - it was amazing. How slippery is it? Some places, it's another level!"
puncture
"We just need to finish, so we can't take any big risks. This stage was already very tricky and the conditions are changing a lot."
"It felt pretty good. God, was that slippy! I've not driven a stage like that in my life. I don't know what to say!"
"It was so strange - it was like driving on slick tyres on ice. I don't know if it was because I was first, but it was difficult to drive."
Little off road with little hit in first corner
Little off road with little hit on third corner
SS11
"We lost one minute on the stage before, so now we need to keep Eric behind us. I decided to push a bit more compared to this morning."
changed a puncture
"We have a big lead and we have to take care of it as well as possinle. For us, it's quite easy now - we don't need to push to we just have to get to the end."
"I needed that really! It's been a frustrating day, just not really being on the money. I tried to stay in the ruts and out of trouble. We'll try and keep the pressure on [Seb]."
"Very clean. The conditions have changed a lot since the gravel crew have passed, so I had to trust what I saw. It was a clean drive for me."
"That sounds good. It was quite tricky and I had a problem with my ear plugs - Jonne had to scream because I couldn't hear the notes."
"It was okay. Another tricky day, but we are constantly improving in the car. It wasn't a big attack but we had a nice rhythm to the stage. I didn't take any risks."
"I was very slow. We need to bring the two cars to the end of the rally so the only way is to go more careful than before. I didn't want to take any risks for nothing."
"That felt okay. I had a stall quite early on and lost maybe five seconds there. Apart from that it was okay."
"I am trying to drive relaxed but obviously this stage my gravel crew did a great job. It was very easy to see what was coming and I had a lot of confidence in the pace notes. The most important thing is we are here - that was the biggest aim for us today."
"It was very slippery - a lot of dirty parts with a lot of gravel. It was hard to find the grip."
SS10
retired after double puncture
puncture
puncture
"On the first corner, we got a puncture. I did the whole stage on the rim and I spun once. I am really disappointed."
"The grip is quite constant - constantly low I would say! It's quite nice - we took it quite careful. We have a good gap and we are going to control it.
puncture
"We had a stall, but other than that it was just very difficult in there. Maybe we were too careful down the hill into the village - I don't know."
puncture
"There was no grip - I don't know. I hope I don't lose 42sec to Elfyn!"
"It felt good, I don't know why the time is like that. I felt that I had no grip, but the pace and rhythm was quite good."
"We did a better stage - a much better rhythm in the car. I don't feel comfortable to be honest and I am hesitating too much."
"I didn't have good information about the surface. It was tricky, but the feeling in the car was not good."
"Just the conditions I think - they are getting more polished every time and we had no traction at all after the tight corners."
stopped
"I felt like I was driving a pretty good stage, but the time is shocking. That pretty much sums up this weekend."
"There's a lot of snow on the road, so I was cleaning a bit. I didn't too many risks."
SS9
off road
"We drove comfortably. Very tricky conditions, but my information is really spot on. I have the best gravel crew in the whole world."
"We had a lot of ice and it was difficult to see where it was dry. It's okay, we are still here and that's what's important."
"I didn't think it went too great - I was too careful."
"The one who matters is coming behind [Evans]. Some corners it felt like we didn't even have any studs, we were just sliding away. It was tricky."
"It was at the beginning. I had a spin, then at the next corner there was a loose rock inside. It's a beautiful morning!"
puncture
"I didn't feel so good, but I was quite careful at the beginning. When it was smooth I think my pace was good, but where there were patches of ice it could have been better."
"We just went straight on at a corner, but we didn't lose a lot of time. A difficult stage, we had to find a rhythm and it didn't work all the way along."
"It's very tricky. In some parts there is a lot of grip but other sections are very difficult. Very easy to make a mistake."
"It's difficult. In some sections it's hard to judge if it's black ice or just shiny. I trust the information my gravel crew gave me but I was very careful."
SS7
"We are trying to keep pushing, but Andreas has been very good today. There may be some snow tomorrow and a lot of things could change."
"I'm really enjoying it. The gap is quite good now and it's a nice feeling, because in the car we don't feel like we're pushing very hard. I think the Skoda is fantastic in these conditions especially and my gravel crew is also doing a great job."
"I had more confidence. I am in more control of the car."
"We need to fight back. This one was difficult and it was my first time with the new winter tyres in these kind of conditions."
"That was a really nice stage for us. Martijn did an incredible job and I was more confident as well. It will be tricky for us to catch back the time we lost this morning, but I tried to have a clean stage and it worked quite well."
"No issues. I had no visibility and the screen was completely misted, but otherwise okay."
"It's very tricky. I was too careful in some places, but the car has a mind of its own sometimes. Not specifically the car, but the conditions are just so tricky."
"It was not ideal but there was nothing else we could do. We got unlucky with the puncture on the stage before and we had to finish with what we have."
SS6
changed a puncture
"Very slippery and some big cuts in that one!"
It was okay. There was a lot of mud, but I enjoyed it. The car is very stable, so it's really enjoyable even in the tricky conditions."
"I tried to do my best, but it was very tricky. Sometimes I was a bit careful but I'm happy to be at the end."
stopped
"The biggest thing is my gravel crew did a great job. The conditions were very difficult but we could drive smooth with no risks - I didn't push but the time is pretty okay. Thank you to the gravel crew!"
"There wasn't too much vision and the intercom is failing, so that was very tricky!"
"It was better for me because we had more light! Some parts are a little bit icy, but I feel more confident because I have all the same tyres."
"I made a mistake in the beginning. There was a really muddy cut and I lost the car - we went in a field and we had to reverse out which took a lot of time. A stupid mistake."
"There was a lot of rain in the stage. The car and tyres were working fine and we made some changes in the service. We did a nice stage and made a bit more rhythm than this morning - also Martijn has done a good stage. It was more enjoyable than this morning."
"It was tricky. The ice is very polished and there is low grip, so I tried to do my best. Not the place to be a hero, really."
"It was alright. The grip is changing much more extremely - one minute there's good grip and the next there's nothing at all."
"Puncture... there are so many cuts that it's very hard to know where the line is."
puncture
stopped
spin
SS5
"It was very difficult at the end. I was trying to push, but at the end it was very slippery and it was just a disaster. I'm pleased to only do this stage one time."
"The stages are very tricky and there are a lot of changes on the Tarmac. It's difficult, especially for me. It's getting worse now with the cutting in places."
"From the data we had on the test, it seemed like it could work but once we hit the wet parts we just had zero grip in the tyres. It's a lesson learned."
"We don't have the speed. With the snow tyre, the car is moving a lot and we lost a lot of time. I don't know - I can't give an explanation."
"I don't know. It was really dirty and the guys in front have a much cleaner road. In this stage there are a lot of cuts which meant more gravel on the road and I was not able to push."
"First of all, I have a snow tyre on the car. Also, in stage four, my gravel crew wasn't able to do the stage as they had an incident on the road section which meant I had no pace note corrections. I was really struggling on the snow tyre in here and we had a spin towards the end."
"We are having some kinds of surprises and I am not very happy with that."
"I think it's a probably a stage that Seb knows well in this direction. We were basically a bit too careful on the shiny tar, so not great."
spin
"I had a good loop. This one was not easy with a lot of gravel on the road, but we were much more confident than yesterday. Having brakes is definitely helping!"
SS4
"First 2 stages this morning done - very, very tricky! Dizzy face Lost around 30s with a spin on SS3, and another small moment on SS4 . Still learning and still enjoying though! One more stage to go before service."
"It was a very difficult stage with click tyres. It was easy to make a mistake, so I decided to push a little bit less."
"I think I am too careful everywhere. It's important to get to the end."
"I was just so careful, especially on the shiny tar. I don't have so much confidence at the moment, so I will try to build it and push more. This is all I can do now."
spin
"Just not driving well at all. It was getting really muddy and when there's no grip I have no confidence. I don't know..."
"With one snow tyre on the rear, the car is very difficult to drive. I was sideways in every corner."
"We have a different tyre strategy and I have a snow tyre on the car. The road is getting very dirty for the cars behind, but I did the maximum I could with the tyre I have."
"I don't know. Generally an okay stage, but the engine has a problem in the hairpins. There is low boost and we just have to manage it."
"Nothing really wrong - it didn't feel like such a bad run. It was very slippery in the middle so maybe I was too careful."
"The conditions were not so easy - the narrow parts were pretty greasy and slippery but I tried my best. The last five kilometres were very nice."
SS3
Puncture
"Just the ice - I was careful. We are here, so that's important."
"It's really nice to drive in the dark. This stage was really tricky and it was very slippery in some parts. I think today will be very long so we need to stay focussed."
"Overall I'm happy. I lost concentration when I caught Loubet but that's okay - a tricky stage."
stopped
"In these conditions it's so difficult to calculate the speed in the corners. At the beginning of the stage the visibility was really low and we slowed down a lot, then after that we drove really bad."
"It's going quite nicely. I made one small error on a hairpin, but other than that it was good. It was a really difficult stage - it didn't look so bad but it was really tricky."
"It was okay. Obviously I had a different tyre choice, but I wasn't able to take the maximum from it. The road is very dirty and I could have done more, but we are progressing."
"It's very changeable. The gravel crew did a pretty good job - I felt I was going too slowly in some places but then too quick in others . A difficult one."
"The conditions are much different than to the recce. We had to trust the gravel crew - we were definitely a bit too safe, but we'll see."
SS2
puncture
"We had a good start, I think. I tried to make the tyres work as good as possible but I had to be really careful."
"I'm happy with my pace on this stage! We decided to push, so let's see how it compares. It was very tricky, honestly, the grip was changing everywhere. A proper Monte-Carlo stage!"
"At the end, I think the soft tyre would have been better. It's okay - compared with the first stage we can be happy."
"The feeling is okay, I just need to understand how the tyres are working. Two spins today - tomorrow will be even more about learning."
spin
"I don't know - there is some strange noise in the car. It's like nothing I have heard before. In this stage I was not driving very well, but the one before I had a good feeling. It's strange, we'll try and fix it for tomorrow."
"I was surprised how good the feeling was with the pace notes and everything. The gravel crew is doing a good job so we have to continue like this."
"My engine stopped two times on the start line and there was only a few seconds to go! I had a clean stage apart from that."
"It was very difficult at the start with a lot of icy sections. We were stopped before the stage for so long that we started with zero grip and it took quite a long time for us to get some heat in during the stage to get any feeling."
"I was quite cautious again in this stage. Let's have a look at it tonight, I'm sure the team will be able to sort something out."
SS1
"It was a bit too safe, but we are here for the next stage. I was trying to be really careful with the tyres."
"On a very narrow section we spun and hit a kerb or something. It's all okay - all part of learning."
"One minute it was fine, another it would be terrible. I need to drive better - that was pathetic."
"The feeling was okay, but the time is so bad! I don't know - I had a good feeling with the car. I don't know, maybe there is more grip than I thought."
"I am quite comfortable with the car. It was a nice stage, but it was also quite tricky to learn the new tyres in the wet. The next one will be more tricky, so I'll try to be careful but also be fast."
"It's a strange feeling to be honest Martijn did a good job for his first stage in a WRC car. I did an okay stage and had a good feeling - the conditions are still slippery and it's quite tricky."
"We had a problem with the wipers which was not nice. Time looks good."
"Very tricky. In some places thre grip was quite okay and in others there was very little."
"It was difficult. I was a bit careful at the beginning and I had a bit of a brake issue. The pedal is sometimes going to the bottom and I have no brakes, so I need to check."