15. Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2018
8. 3. – 11. 3. 2018, León • gravel 344.49 km • total distance including road sections - 1021.12 km • Other years • Other years
32nd Rally México
Info
SS22
10s penalty applied to SS22 time cause chicane hit
"Many many stones in the middle of the road, easy to puncture. Even if you drive in the middle of the road you can puncture.."
puncture
"I feel a bit stupid to be honest. I had the pace, the car, the road position.. I didn't do the job, so. Never been as frustrated with a third place. Need to tidy my game up."
"I tried to keep it clean and a good pace. I'm happy enough with that stage. It could be really important points to take away."
"I had a very good feeling. I said to Miika [Anttila, co-driver] I couldn't really drive any better. It was a good stage for us."
"On the narrow road it's going well but on the wide road I was very bad. I was too wide in many places and too fast. I lost a lot of time."
SS21
"The car is working well. I can get it to do whatever I want."
"I was checking a couple of places for the Power Stage but trying to save the tyres for that stage as well."
"It was quite slippery. We didn't do a good job."
"I wasn't brave enough. Not a good stage."
"It's going very well."
"The grip is not so high in there but there are some fast, fluid sections."
"I just have to get through and protect my third place."
"With Kris's [Meeke] problems in the first stage this morning, we can drive a bit more easily now."
"I was trying to explore the limits but luckily it wasn't a hard hit. Unfortunately, it took a while to restart the car."
"I had fun in the car. I was a bit careful."
"It was very loose. I tried to give my best in this stage to see if the pace notes are okay but I was struggling with the handling of the car."
SS20
"Everything's good. Let's wait until the Power Stage. We'll try our best, for sure."
"I need t keep the car on the road for the manufacturers' points. When there is dust, I am lifting and not taking any risks."
"We had a very good feeling and a good run. I'm really happy with the time. The car feels great."
"We've taken the optimum tyre choice for the Power Stage, not for this one."
"I just was just coming on to the cobbles and the car slid. A deep gulley on the outside caught a wheel and put us on our side."
half roll, continue
"It was a good feeling in the stage; it was fun to drive on the loose. It's been a long time since I've done that."
"It's all about saving the tyres for the Power Stage. I had a very smooth run through this stage."
SS16
"It's been pretty good and I haven't made any mistakes. I just wanted to be consistent and we've done that."
"I'm really enjoying it. Everything is working really well and I'd like to thank everyone that's helping me."
"I didn't push at all. It was just going slow. I'm not in the fight for the lead now so the motivation is different."
"I didn't have the pace of Ogier this afternoon so I'm happy to still be in second."
"It's been a perfect day to be honest. I've pushed as hard as I could and it's worked for us. We have a bit of tyre wear now so I didn't push as hard as I would have wanted."
"I'm trying but still I'd like to be faster!"
"I pushed maximum, maximum – I couldn't go any faster. I gave everything I could."
"I was sliding a lot at the start and then I hit a ditch and realised I might have a puncture. That's when I slowed down quite a lot."
hit a bank
SS15
"It was okay. I didn't take any big risks because we only have one spare tyre. I tried to drive carefully on a good rhythm. These's noting more I can do."
"I had a spin and had to go back through the dust and turn around. We've lost 30sec easily. Too many little, stupid mistakes this weekend."
"I tried to push but there's a lot of sandy sections that are slippy. It's hard to push in these conditions."
"That was a clean stage. We're trying to set the car up a little bit better before the corners. We'll see."
"Everything is okay but we're a bit on the limit with the temperatures. It's hard for the cars at the moment."
"I tried a new diff mapping and it suddenly locked the wheels and we hit the bank. I've now changed the map back because it wasn't working."
SS14
"There was a small stone at the beginning of the stage. The tyre broke and then delaminated close to the end."
puncture
"It was a stone on the line. Nothing really bad. I didn't think I'd have a puncture for that but I had one."
"I couldn't do much in there. I tried everything. In five corners I probably lost a tenth of a second. I couldn't do much more."
"I was pushing hard."
"In the position we're in, there's not much we can do. We went soft on the rear tyres and it felt okay but its still early days. I'm still not in the place I want to be."
changing puncture
"The target is to catch the car in front of me [Gus Greensmith]. He's four minutes ahead but we need to push."
"The car is working fine. The rear is sliding a lot with the hard tyre and I hit the bank. I wasn't pushing hard."
hit a bank
SS13
"We've been really careful this morning. We're looking at the stages and learning them after what happened yesterday."
"It's been going well this morning. This stage was nice and the car is working really well. For sure, let's keep going like this."
"I was driving too carefully. I should use the grip more in the high-speed corners."
"I was really happy. The balance of the car was much better. We were struggling with the traction in the slower stages this morning but this was much faster and better. I'm happy to come back a little bit."
"I'm happy to be in the fight like this. It will be difficult to maintain the gap because I lost some time in the last two stages but we'll try to stay in front."
"I made some mistakes in here. The car stalled on me braking into a corner and then I ran wide on another corner near the finish. It was a bit scrappy, to be honest."
"We didn't have the starter motor but that's okay. The stage was alright but I was scared to stall on the start line. I'm already looking forward to this afternoon with a good rhythm for the second loop."
"We had a clean stage, I can't say why we're not on the pace - the feeling is really OK."
"We knew it would be difficult this weekend because of our road position. It's really frustrating for us. But it's part of the game."
SS12
"We had a puncture on the first stage this morning so I was trying to keep it clean in that stage. We're a bit in limbo with the gap in front and behind so there's not point taking any unnecessary risks."
"It's hard to find a really good rhythm but I think I found an okay feeling in the end. If you try to save too much the car is not working. We've just been trying to find a good balance."
"I had a good feeling in the car but the time is not good."
"Kris has done a very good time, for sure. It wasn't a good stage for me; very narrow and tricky at the end. I drove as well as I could but it wasn't enough."
"It's so technical in there; corner to corner to corner. I'm happy with my time."
"I tried to push – I cannot do more. It's very slippery and I'm on the limit."
"I was struggling for traction and was trying to use the higher gears to get grip. I'm not sure it worked."
SS11
retired for today
" I wasn't confident in the stage and the car was moving a lot. I also had brake problems. It's not a stage I like – very narrow and slippery."
"I tried to have a good wake up because the rhythm you have in the first stage is important for me. I pushed hard and had a good feeling in the car. No problem."
"I don't know what the problem is, we have 20 horse power maybe."
"I tried my best for sure. The road position is better today with more grip. It's still cleaning so it might be hard to fight with people like Tänak."
"There was one pace note I misunderstood; it was really fast but I thought it was slow. It was braking on a straight. I really have to do better."
running slowly
"I was thinking why is there so much dust with three minute intervals? Thierry's problems explain it."
"It took more than a minute to start the engine after the water splash and then we had a slow puncture for the final seven kilometres."
stopped after water splash, continue
SS8
"A good drive, I pushed really hard. We know Tanak is very, very good in the fast stages. For me a good drive, no mistakes. The car was okay, good tyre choice no problem. Difficult to do more."
"A simple spin. I just dropped a wheel into one of these little off camber corners. I spun and had to reverse through the dust."
"We tried to stay in front, and we had a clean stage but always I'm losing time. We need to understand why."
"It's been not so bad today. Really tough to manage all this, but I tried my best."
"I think something is wrong with the alternator."
"We had hard tyres here and they worked a bit better than the softs I think. It's a shame about the spin on the previous stage but in this position sometimes you have to take risks. We tried out best."
"I have a problem with the steering so it was really difficult for us. And the day is not finished yet."
SS7
"I had a spin in a hairpin. Silly mistake. Lost six or seven seconds. Otherwise good."
accident
off road
"We tried, but with the hard tyres it was very slippery. A coupe of mistakes, but I'm pretty happy with the stage in general."
"Better than in the morning, still difficult. Very demanding stage. Hard tyres were the correct choice."
"We had a spin. Not a good run.."
"It was okay. I tried my best. I was on three soft tyres and one hard. Was it right? I don't know, we have to wait and see. Really hot in the car now, very demanding."
SS6
stopped
"I didn't see it until it was too late, I was looking at the junction after!"
"I just try not to drive so aggressively with the tyres. I have soft tyres at the rear and the car is moving a little bit."
"I went wide and hit the left rear. We thought it was a puncture but it's suspension parts."
overshoot a junction
"We knew Ogier would be quicker on the repeat. For me it's more enjoyable on the second pass, good grip on the tyres and I'm happy with my rhythm."
stopped, continue
"A clean stage. I misunderstood one pace note, which cost a second, otherwise I'm pretty happy with that."
"When it's full power the engine is working well, no complaints."
"Everything is the same as it was this morning. So no change."
"The guys have been working hard in the office trying to fix it. At the moment everything is okay - the next one is more demanding."
"A bit more grip this time for sure. We seem to get traction but it will be difficult with the soft tyres. A lot of battles going on."
"The engine was running okay, but I'm really upset because we lost the time. Before that it was still possible to catch one or two places, and that important for our road position tomorrow, now it looks more difficult."
retired for today because of codriver's suffering from concussion
SS5
engine problem
SS4
"It felt okay but I did the damage in El Chocolate. I blitzed the tyres in there and and ruined them. That's the sort of thing we're here to learn."
"We spin one time. Very, very difficult. This is a long rally."
"No dramas. Very nice stages, a bit slippery but the car feels good. I really enjoyed the morning. Just a big smile."
"It's okay, the feeling was good, I was a bit afraid for the tyres because the stage is incredibly fast. I didn't imagine the speed bumps would be so high with a car like this."
"I didn't do very well in this stage. I am not happy but I survived. I can go a little bit faster in places. I need to say thanks to the team, they helped a lot."
"In sixth gear we hit a big bump and it just flew the car in the air. The rear end came round, I couldn't pull it straight and we hit a bank and went over few times. We're okay."
"The car is reacting strangely over the big speed bumps. I'm still learning how the car behaves."
"A massive moment over a speed bump. Tricky. I though the hard tyre would work but it's upset the balance. Not a wrong tyre choice, but let's see."
stopped
SS3
"Okay but very slippery. We start to destroy our tyres. Not an easy stage."
"Really nice, I enjoy a lot. I tried to drive well and push a little, I'm happy."
"I think we lost some time. I just do not have the pace. I need to improve."
"Tough, that's for sure. So slippery and trying to balance pushing with being careful."
"Tricky. The hards on the front and the balance was a bit tricky - we'll see."
"I found it slippery at the rear, it was everywhere. Not the best feeling. I tried to push as hard as I could with the feeling I have."
"Quite a long stage and a slow average speed. It is what it is."
"Slow, slippery, tricky, hot - everything together."
"Engine temperature is going too high, we can control it by reducing power. System is working really well in the car but we need to keep it safe, we have to be clever til the service."
"No drama. Not the easiest position but we tried our best. Car is okay."
"I tried my best, much better stage than the first one. Struggling with the balance of the car, still no good settings for these conditions."
SS2
That's it for the day, after a jump there was a big rock in the middle of the road and it broke the radiator...
stopped
stopped
"I'm quite surprised by that. A good run but not perfect. In places I'm hesitating, and I'm not there on the braking in others. It's coming."
"I lost a bit at the end because I was struggling on the tyres - it's a very hard surface for the soft tyre at the end and I took it carefully. I also lost time in a big compression - we didn't know the speed there. First stage and I'm happy to get to the finish."
"No big issues but it felt like the tyres were moving around quite a lot. Difficult to judge the wear here - the grip was really low. All okay."
"Difficult. I think I'm benefiting from the ruts more than the cleaning. The second part was pretty clean, the first part was like a beach, so much sand. I had a good rhythm. I even felt my soft tyres move a bit, so I'm happy I have a couple of hard tyres."
"It's hard to know how hard to push. If you do then you come out of the lines. I tried to find somewhere in the middle staying in the line but being aggressive too. An okay stage."
"Extremely slippery. Very tough. Even going slow it's so slippery. We tried. There is a line in the road now."
"My driving is bad and then some small things... Still, we are here. Very slippery all the time, I can't really have any confidence."
"Engine power went down midway through the stage.. the temperature is also rising. Maybe I can also improve my driving."
"Guys starting further back will be much faster. Can't see Neuville's lines."
"Slippy. I tried to do my best, I have to discover a bit. Feel like i'm not 100% comfortable. We will see, we will struggle a bit."
SS1
spin