16. Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2019
7. 3. – 10. 3. 2019, León • gravel 310.50 km • total distance including road sections - 1002.49 km • Other years • Other years
33rd Rally México
Info
SS21
"It has always been a special place, I am glad it is still happening that way. It was not a trouble-free weekend for us, but I am glad it finished with no problems. Corsica for sure will be the same target, take the win and maximum points. I'll celebrate on the plane with some champagne and then at home with my wife and my little one!"
"My tyres were dead, I had to fight with that. I had to have a good rhythm this morning because if someone made a mistake in front then I would have been there."
"I threw the kitchen sink at it, honestly don't know if hard or soft was the best tyre. The road will clean a bit. I pushed like hell."
"End of the second-last stage, last right-hand corner there was bed rock, it touched the sump guard and somehow it broke the radiator. Basically we had no water, we have this chemical which is like a glue, I fixed the radiator and I ran 500m down to the river to get water in the bottles to fill the radiator. The sump guard was only half-fixed so I couldn't go over any jumps or hit any more rocks because it would have broken the front-end of the car."
"The plan was to go normal, but I pushed a little bit but on the start line I felt good in the car and I enjoyed it a lot. However, I had to be quite careful because the tyres were quite worn and I was thinking about the manufacturers' championship points."
"A lot of positives to take away, the car is much more to my liking. I had a good clean run on this stage, obviously missing the first run on Friday so I was discovering the road a bit."
"I guess all the fights are over from the overall standings, I guess Mr Tänak will be on a really strong push. It is cleaning, but it is what it is."
"The bad luck is following us. I didn't hit anything. For Argentina we will be stronger."
"It is great, great result, it is the best ever. It is my first win in WRC 2, it is something I have been fighting for for two years and I'm really pleased it is here in Mexico."
puncture
"For sure the kilometres are the most important thing so I am pleased I am here at the finish. Next time I will be more confident for sure on these stages which are very demanding."
SS19
"Feeling really good, it is difficult to drive in these conditions because I just have to take the car to the finish and there is still a chance to make a mistake."
"It was pretty good, the beginning was very good, I struggled a bit in the second-half of the stage, it was very slippy or the tyres were overheating. I lost a bit of confidence but I'm generally happy with the stage."
"Driving clean for sure, but I need to keep the speed because they are pushing hard for sure."
"For sure we can keep trying, this stage was not bad to be honest. Feeling was okay, we can push in the next one. I'm up for the fight."
"We can build a bit with the tyres, this was the worst stage of the morning with the tyres as it is quite loose. The next stages are better."
"I'm driving on a good rhythm, you never know with the guys starting behind having a puncture or a spin, you have to keep pushing."
"That's because I'm not pressing the throttle!" Are you saving tyres? "Yes!"
"Our target is seventh place and catch them, that is the first step. The second step is to get the Wolf Power Stage points."
"It is okay, the feeling is not so bad. I'm just trying to get points for the manufacturers' championship so I'm not doing a big, big job. Just enjoying the next two stages and then looking forward to the next rally."
"It is feeling very good to be honest, car is handling very well and doing what I want. I tried to follow Esapekka's lines as much as I can, for sure it is better than yesterday."
"At least I don't need to follow any lines! I can follow my own lines and if they are wrong then all the others are suffering!"
SS16
Hit a haybale & engine stalled
SS14
"For sure it is not flat out push, just protecting the lead. This stage is very slow, very sandy and very low grip."
"I struggled a lot to be honest, just such low grip. I couldn't do more."
"I'm okay, just trying to preserve position because I'm just thinking of the manufacturers' championship now."
"I do as well as possible but the stage is so slow that it is hard to make a big difference. In the morning the car felt better."
"It was okay. We had a good clean run trying to play with the settings. The car is better when there are ruts on the road and we can push harder in the corners."
"It was really bad, with hard tyres it was a big mistake, all the stages were like a beach. Some places on the stage won't clean too much. For me it would have been better for soft tyres."
"Very slippery, a lot of sand. The beginnign was okay but from KM 13 there was quite a bit of sand. Hard to do any more."
SS13
"The day is going pretty good, but I made a mistake at the very beginning of this stage and I had to reverse so I lost a lot of confidence on this stage and it was very slippery."
"Let's see how it goes in the afternoon loop. The road order gamble has definitely paid off."
"I had a very clean drive, I'm happy with the stage. The car is feeling good, so far so good."
"That was good, I was happy with the run to be honest. It was quick and clean and efficient. I'm enjoying the fight, there's still a long way to go, but it is good."
stopped
"Just keep to the plan. There's still manufacturers points to play for, so just keeping it neat and keeping it tidy."
"For sure there is plenty of kilometres, if we can catch him? I don't know. Still a lot of work to do. It is not so rough, just slippy."
"I try, we swapped some settings Dani and me to try and see some difference. I'm still struggling but it's okay."
"It is better than this morning, because it was very dusty and difficult then. I'm quite happy."
"We came and a gate was locked basically. When this has happened before we should have a marshal in these places."
SS12
"I'm very happy, good rhythm this morning. It is a very difficult day today but we are happy with our performance so far."
"We just got the first place again so I'm really happy, we need to keep pushing in the afternoon."
"Today I think it will be more difficult than yesterday but we will keep fighting until the finish."
"I tried to find my confidence back. It is going quite well but unfortunately I got a puncture on the last stage. We are enjoying this."
"It is good because this is a typical Seb stage, he is always winning stages like this. So I gave it a good push!"
"It's not been a trouble-free morning because we picked up the puncture first thing and without a spare you have to be careful not to make any mistakes."
"We picked up a puncture halfway through, I'm pretty sure, that's what it felt like. Strange feeling on the rear-left after we struck a stone on the line."
technical issue
"I'm not really happy to be honest, I just try to survive at the moment. I think we have to go for more of a push this afternoon because Kris is just behind us. We have a few changes to make at service."
"There is something wrong with the wheel, we touched a small stone in a corner and I could feel something was moving."
"Very loose. I tried the hardest I can, I pushed to the maximum but it is hard for me to give any more in there."
SS11
right rear puncture
SS10
"Everything good, good stage, car felt good."
"It was an okay run, I don't know what the time is like but it is all okay."
Puncture
"Puncture was a bit earlier but we had a red flag so we had to stop. There were stones on the road that were pulled on from the car ahead, I couldn't avoid them."
off road
"Generally okay. Quite a bit of dust but it is a safe clean run."
"It is a long day. I struggled a little bit with confidence in this stage but it is very slippery. The dust is starting to hang, it was really tricky in places - you couldn't see the next corner. Really challenging."
"Some places there was a lot of dust. It was quite difficult in some places, it was not very nice to drive with the dust."
"Today is the worst day being first on the road, there is so much cleaning compared to yesterday. I'm doing a clean stage, that's the most I can do."
SS9
"A lot of drama today but we are here so it's good. A difficult day but I was learning throughout and I can try to use my head tomorrow. Let's see."
"It's been an almost perfect day apart from a puncture on Las Minas. We made the best of third on the road."
"A very difficult day and tomorrow is going to be even more difficult."
SS8
had to retire - electrical problem in light-fitting zone. Pushed car out of time control
SS7
puncture
"It's so tricky. I mean 60% is going quite okay but I don't have the confidence because the lateral grip is really low. I don't know how I should drive, I was wide many times."
"I rarely give up, but I announce today that there is no chance for us to fight. No chance, no chance. I had a good run through but something is not working."
"Altogether a smooth day with no mistakes. I've done everything I could. It has been very difficult but that's how it is. In the end a good feeling in the car and I enjoyed it. It will be a better day tomorrow if we get a better road position."
stopped on the road section (alternator?)
SS6
"I tried to do my best. Against the other drivers my time is good, but Sebastien is doing very, well..."
stopped
"All okay. Well, it would be okay if it wasn't for Seb Ogier."
"I turned too early, I was not on the apex and I hit a tree." Is the car okay? "I have no idea."
"The Yaris is good but Ogier is a wee bit quicker at the moment..."
"So far a good day for us. One more real stage to go, and we must manage it well."
spin
"I was fighting a lot with the car. In the position I am, I can do no more." You look frustrated. "I am."
"Not a big difference to when it was run earlier. This stage was definitely worse than the one before."
SS5
"It's close, eh? A really nice stage - perfect. It looks like for Ogier it was better, but hey!"
"Much better than the morning - 23 seconds quicker than my first time. I tried but I can't really do more. A couple of places a bit early on the brakes but otherwise good."
stopped
"That's okay, it felt like an okay run. A bit of movement but that's just representative of the grip."
"When the line is cleaner it's kind of easier, but in the end it's still very difficult."
"It felt really good on the hard tyre. I'm happy with that."
"That's not good news. I like to fight - not to take places like this."
stopped
"I said in the stage I can't do any more. I don't know if I can catch time to Tanak but I can't do more."
"It's hard say how much cleaner the road is. In some of the slow sections it was like it had never been driven before. Like before I did everything I could. The car feels good."
SS3
"I didn't do a really good stage, the feeling was good but I could have been faster in some places. We need to push more."
"Not bad, the feeling is okay. Quite tricky and dirty. I'm still learning the car, I'm happy with my start."
"It's good. The first stage was very difficult, very slippery and I struggled to find any confidence. In this one the grip was better and it was a bit more enjoyable."
"Not much we can do after the puncture. We have to try and catch positions today to get a better road position tomorrow. If we can't do that, we're finished."
SS2
"Very slippery, difficult to find the feeling."
"The problem running far down the order is the number of rocks on the road. Everything is okay, no problem with the car."
"We had a clean stage. Hard to know how hard to push but I tried to stay in the lines. The car feels really nice."
accident
"It's quite similar to Australia. I don't understand really, it's a nightmare. It's not about the car I think but I have zero grip. Probably it's me. I just can't drive. It's a shame, but it is what it is..."
"Very slippery. I tried to keep the line. For my first stage in a new car I'm happy enough."
"It felt terrible, the grip is very low. I'm not comfortable in the car. I don't know why. Difficult."
"It happened about 5km in. We nearly went off. I tried to avoid the rocks Tanak was putting on the road. We hit a stone and that must have done it. I couldn't avoid it."
"The beginning was not so bad but then it got more slippery and loose. The car is good. We did everything we could."
left-rear puncture
SS1
"I feel good. This is a new car and new team. The rally is going to be long."
"I wasn't expecting that, to be honest."
"It was okay, a bit slippery into the first corner and this jump is really, really aggressive. That took us by surprise, otherwise okay."
"It was very slippery in the tunnel with the water, and that jump is quite nasty, but we were warned by the guys ahead."
"The finish line was not where I marked it on the recce. Not in the right pace. I braked too early. It was not properly marked."
"It's great to be here, but this was just one kilometre and it was not a good run for me."
"It's a nice atmosphere but you can use a lot on this stage! I enjoy with with the spectators. Now I'm looking forward to El Chocolate tomorrow!"
"Nice to be here in Mexico again, a lot of crowds. We will enjoy!"
"I'm happy to be here."
"I'm very, very excited and that was crazy! The jump is really big!"
"Very nice. My first rally in this car - fantastic!"
"It was very difficult being the first car. There was water in the tunnel, it was slippery and I nearly hit the kerb. I think we managed to get a good time."