ACI Rally Monza 2020
3. 12. – 6. 12. 2020, Autodromo Nazionale Monza • Automobile Club Italia • asphalt 241.14 km - (cancelled 47.23 km) • total distance including road sections - 512.04 km • Other years
Info
SS16
"I am pretty happy. It was a difficult weekend and this last stage was not enjoyable. We feel sorry for Elfyn. We had great fun fighting each other this season and I am sure next year will be the same. I think we have done a good job this season - the car has been fantastic the whole time and it's such a pleasure to drive the Yaris. I'm looking forward to the future."
"This was the target. I didn't take any risks because it was very important for the team. I am happy to survive this rally and thanks to all of the team for their work this year."
"It's been a very strange season - I didn't see the team too much! Hopefully next year will be more back to normal and we see each other more - that's how it is."
"This rally was good. It was nice to see that we can be competitive in difficult conditions and I have been really satisfied with my driving. Thanks to everyone who has supported me this year."
"It has been a nice year. First time in a WRC car and I want to say a big thanks to the team - everyone has worked so hard."
"I don't know. The feeling was better. I want to say thank you for the team - I made a stupid mistake at the beginning of the rally and it was not good."
"Of course, it's what could have been. When you go off the road, that's it. Not a great stage - I stalled twice in the gravel and the conditions were so extreme. There we go."
"It's the best day of my life for sure! It's always difficult to find words. This season has been really tough and to be here and be the world champion is amazing."
"It's an amazing feeling. Thanks to my team and all of the sponsors and everybody who was helping me. Really happy, I can't really say any more!"
"
It's unbelievable. I am really happy - such a difficult weekend with so many ups and downs all through the year. We have won the championship as the underdogs and we have developed the car through the year - just an amazing job by the team to get to where we are now."
"It's quite rutted. We did what we could and I think the performance was there this weekend but we had bad tyre choices. I am happy to be here and it was really fun."
puncture
SS15
"It's tough, but we just need to keep going. We had bad luck with the tyre choice this weekend but we just have to finish the last one."
"The nerves are not doing so well! It's complicated - the stages are not easy and I don't know what to say. You can so easily make mistakes here and I tried to play it a bit safe."
puncture
"The muddy section is really bad in places. So far, so good. I will try to keep the rhythm in the last stage and hopefully we can make it."
"Like I said before, my target is to bring home the Manufacturers' Championship, not to fight with Ott."
"This stage is definitely a tricky one. It's very rough now and in the power stage it will be very demanding."
"It's tricky - but I am not really happy with my driving this morning."
"It's not possible to move up anymore. It was easier in the first one because we had a better tyre than Lappi, but now we have the same. I need to be careful and bring the car home."
"I have to say, it's very slippery in this stage."
"Let's wait and see. Hopefully the mud will clear with the cars that pass, but it's tricky conditions at the moment."
SS14
off road / mimo trať
"I am happy that there is only two stages to go. I am taking it stage-by-stage today and I need to be at the end. I'm a little nervous!"
"The tyres made a big difference. I didn't really push, I just drove clean."
"The focus is to try to finish with no mistakes. I didn't take any risks and we have two more complicated stages in the muddy areas."
"We need to finish the day - that's the most important thing to do."
"Quite okay. It was nice to drive without the rain!"
"The goal is to be a bit faster and safe at the same time. We have to finish the day but it felt good."
"The confidence is getting higher and this stage is very familiar for me. I made a few mistakes so I could be a lot faster, but I have to finish this rally."
SS13
"It's very difficult to get back to the pace. This rally has been up and down for me, but okay, we will see."
"It's been very up and down, but a good end to the day for sure. I am happy to be at the end and tomorrow will be interesting as well. We have to enjoy as much as possible - when I enjoy, it goes well. We will see tomorrow but I am happy to be in this position."
"I expected snow this morning, so I went on snow tyres and lost a little time because it was just wet. That stage was okay, we just need to try and push on the track now. We will do our best and push as hard as we can."
"We need to keep pushing. I lost some time in the last stage today after seeing Elfyn. I am really disappointed for him and I have to say thanks to him and Scott for slowing down the cars."
"We still need to score the points - at the moment, Elfyn is 14 points ahead so we need to score the points."
"It was nice to drive again in the mountain stages. I think we had really good tyre choices but just didn't how to use them. That's how it is sometimes."
"A very demanding day - especially this afternoon. We are here and now the aim is to finish."
"It has been extremely difficult today. The conditions on the mountain stages were really hard with the snow and slush. Now we really have nothing to gain, so I am trying to bring the car home safely."
"The happiest thing is I am here. Very tricky stages and we didn't have the right tyres, but we survived. I am very sorry for Elfyn - he is definitely the best driver in the world."
SS11
broken suspension?
"The conditions are really difficult to drive with these tyres. I didn't want to make a mistake because I knew that Evans was off, so there was a lot of pressure."
"No one told us that it was snowing. Our information was that it's just wet so I didn't have my snow tyres on."
"First reaction - I can do the same. It was incredible, there is nothing Elfyn could do. I am very sorry for him. The championship is not over."
off road
"It's really crazy, I have to say. At the end it's really snowy and you have to go at almost walking speed sometimes. I don't know if it will get better for the guys behind."
"The snow makes such a big change to the pacenotes. There is nothing you can do - just take care."
SS10
under red flag
under red flag
under red flag
under red flag
under red flag
SS9
"We didn't expect it - when the gravel crew drove the stage there was no slush. I just tried to stay in the lines from the cars ahead. The second stage was not good - I was much too careful to try and save my tyres, but overall, we were fast across the loop so it's a good position."
"It's difficult, but things were working quite well in the car. When we got into the slushy snow at the end of SS7 there were a few heart in mouth moments! Obviously there's a long way to go, and this afternoon will be equally as difficult. We have to keep our heads down and get the most out of every stage."
SS8
"I am just enjoying - the stages are really nice. Sometimes in the cuts the cars in front have pulled out some snow which can make it difficult, but it's good."
"It was okay. The next one will be interesting."
"It's tricky. I hope there will be some slush on the next one."
"I really like to drive the car in these conditions - I really feel good. The next one will be even more tricky but I will put in all my effort."
"Quite okay - the beginning is slippery and it feels like I can't get the tyres up to temperature."
"I was way too cautious. It's not a good time, but a long way to go still."
"I wasn't happy with my stage, I think I could have carried some more space in the other areas. Not bad, but definitely room for improvement."
"It's difficult, for sure. I braked a little bit too late and the field was very muddy so I was stuck there for a while."
"I tried to go as fast as I could where I felt safe to do so."
"It was okay. The full wet tyres were working very well and I think the pace was good. The next one will be tricky with no snow tyres."
off road
"That stage was a lot cleaner. There was some water but nothing else. We've had a front brake issue since the first stage but I don't think we will be able to fix it until service."
SS7
"The stage is new. In the last part I lost a lot of time because I just didn't have the feeling. You have to take it a bit carefully, but it was a good feeling at the beginning."
"Where did I lose the time? The whole stage... all the time!"
"Tricky."
"It was okay. The snow at the end was a bit of a surprise and there was very little grip, so very tricky."
"It's tricky, but we are through, so let's continue."
"It's a lot of fun, I have to say. The last part was really tricky so I took it really carefully."
will not restart today at in order to save the car and restart tomorrow for the final day of the event
hit a bank
"My weather crew said it was pretty damp and wet, but it was all frozen for the last 3km and we had to just crawl through. Not nice on wet tyres!"
SS6
"Very happy and relieved to have finished today. Some crazy conditions - so wet and slippy! Great to be 3rd R5 car overnight and 10th overall though, the feeling has actually been quite good."
"Finally the day is over, and it’s been a hard one. I haven’t felt confident today, and I don’t have a good feeling with the car. We will check everything, and do the necessary changes. Tomorrow is another day, let’s focus on that."
"It’s definitely not been easy, a big learning curve! Not the easiest conditions for a first time in WRC-car. Taking steps and improving."
"I wanted to save the snow tyres but I'm not convinced it was the best choice - we had a lot of aquaplaning! I think I might lose the lead."
"If we could have done a better time in SS3 it would have been better. I think that this one was the most challenging one of the day and I made a few mistakes where I was braking too early."
"Very clean run but very demanding. Tomorrow it will be very interesting but it's something is more interesting than today I really want to see that."
"It was hard not to make any mistakes today - so slippery and the grip was changing all the time. Tomorrow won't be any easier than that I guess!"
"It was very difficult in here. A lot of aquaplaning, I just tried to be as fast as I could. At least we have made no mistakes and we're still going."
SS5
"We decided go to winter tyres for this stage and we got a puncture on the first gravel corner. That's rally..."
"We are trying to be a bit safe. The situation is complicated and the conditions are very tricky. Not feeling great, but we are trying to surive and tomorrow is a big day."
puncture
"This stage was enjoyable. We will see what happens next and I think tomorrow will be completely different."
"It's definitely not been easy, that's for sure. We are making steps all of the time, but it's a big learning curve. We just need to keep improving and I am looking forward to the stages tomorrow."
"The car is a lot better and the confidence is coming. It's good - I slightly hit the concrete in a chicane and after that I had to slow down."
"The conditions are really difficult..."
"Everything is good, it's just very tricky. That's it."
"It's a nice feeling when you see the finish line and go over it safely! Very demanding, in these conditions you have to be extra-careful in every place. You can't even relax on the straights because of the standing water."
"There is still another stage to go. So much water here and we are always happy to cross the finish line in these conditions."
"I stalled twice and had to restart the car. It was an eventful stage!"
"It's still difficult - no change really."
SS4
"We had some issues on this one, car was not going straight. Something must have gone wrong during service. We must check!"
"went out of road"
clipped a chicane
under red flag
under red flag
under red flag
"The conditions are extremely tricky. Thierry was stuck in the middle of the road, so we lost quite a lot there but it's all okay. We need to use these tyres tomorrow so we have to be careful."
"I went straight on at a junction, stalled again and lost some time."
under red flag
"For sure, it was better. I was a bit too careful, but equally there was standing water which was just crazy."
stopped
SS3
Broken wheel -> Super Rally
“I had an open wheel going through a gate, it ripped the suspension apart. My fault, very sorry”.
"Tricky to judge how much one can push in these stages. But now we took too much caution."
"We had wet tires again and others seemed to have snow tires. We save snow tires for tomorrow’s sleet."
crashed
"More rain, and a lot more water on the road. It's not easy, and the next stage is going to be even more difficult."
"I don't know my time. It was much more difficult, and some places were a lot more slippery. OK, we survived with no problems."
"A big risk - we need to see how much the tyres wer wearing but it seems like it was working!"
Damaged suspension, blocked road
"Difficult. We tried to do our best in the service and we need to see if we can continue the rally. The engine is broken..."
"It's tricky for sure. There is a lot more standing water in the ruts. I tried to be clean, but I don't know why the time here is so bad."
"I clipped a chicane - otherwise okay."
"After the surprise this morning, we have to push hard. I tried to do good but the conditions are very bad and it's easy to do a mistake."
"It was like Wales Rally GB but on slick tyres! Slippery!"
"A lot of standing water. It's difficult to keep the car in a straight line and moving forwards."
SS2
"Not a great start to the day - stalled in SS2 and couldn't get the car started again. Lost about 20s... but still a long way to go! "
lost wheel
"I don't understand - I was so slow in every braking point. It's crazy, but the rally will be long and we need to stay focused."
"I survived. It's a lot about surviving - the stages are very complicated. It's possible to go a lot faster but we have seen how quickly mistakes can happen."
handbrake issue
"Quite safe I would say. I was struggling a little bit to find the braking so I was too early in some places."
"Not any dramas. Quite a clean stage for me, but not easy. I am braking too early in some places and I don't have the trust in the car and the tyres just yet."
"It's very tricky. I need to stay on the road and get experience - nothing else we can do after yesterday."
"It was really slippery but I took it too carefully. We're through anyway, no problems."
"I am happy! I was prepared for really bad conditions but I found it was actually nice! We made some changes to the car and it was working very well."
"I don't know - I have maybe two or three cylinders and no power at all."
engine issue
"I had a problem with the door, it was opening through the stage. Otherwise it was OK."
"I wasn't the first make a mistake in that place. Unfortunately the car wouldn't restart so I lost a lot of time."
"Very difficult. I had a small stall - I had to get through."
SS1
Hit a wall and retired - Super Rally
"It was okay in here. I was a bit careful and we're going to have to go quicker than that during the weekend. It was key to get through this one and there's a long way to go."
"It's very simple. I need to win, so I need to give everything. The conditions will still play a big part so we have to be good."
"We don't really know what to expect. It's going to be tough - slippery conditions - I already ran a bit wide at the end there. I am happy with my run and with the behaviour of the car."
"I guess it gives us an idea of what's coming. It was a clean run for us and tomorrow will definitely be interesting."
"It was okay. Tricky, as expected, but I want to be faster on the tarmac sections."
"I don't know... the grass sections are incredibly tricky."
"The last braking point was just on time - I was very lucky! We haven't really discussed the plan, we will just try to do our best and challenge the others."
"Some places were really slippery. It's fun in some places but in other areas you can make mistakes."
"I saw some fairly big damage to a barrier on the straight... some chicanes you can really carry the speed, but it's so easy to lock up the front [brakes]. That felt okay."
"It feels really great to be here. A very hard SS1 - there was a lot of dirt from the shakedown and it was really tricky to find the braking points. We are here to learn."
"It's great to be here. I got this opportunity and we have been doing some driving in the car. I'm getting the feeling step-by-step, but so far it's going well."
Stopped after hitting a wall
"It's tricky. Very slippery in some places, but the feeling is okay."
"It's really slippery - especially on the grass. When you go back onto the line from the shakedown, it's really difficult because there is mud everywhere on the ground. It's not easy."
"The rally is so complicated, I am not thinking about Sunday yet. We can see that the stages are quite tricky so we need to stay focussed on every stage."