75. Wales Rally GB 2019
3. 10. – 6. 10. 2019, Llandudno • gravel 309.76 km - (cancelled 4.74 km) • total distance including road sections - 1628.10 km • Other years
Info
SS22
"It was a long weekend and there was a lot of pressure. The gap was never bigger than ten seconds and I can say every stage I was on the limit. It was a hard one but it feels good at the moment. We still have two rallies to go and we have seen plenty of drama in the past, so we need to keep going."
"I probably wanted a bit more this weekend - our pace was good on Friday but we fell back a bit on Saturday. Hopefully Ott can bring it home and we can get a nice chunk of manufacturers' points."
"There is no room for these what ifs in rallying at this level. A big shame, the pace was good all weekend which is nice, nonetheless it would have been nice to be higher up."
SS21
rolled
"It's a bit more inconsistent but we had a very clean stage. Let's see - we want to continue the same rhythm that we have had all weekend."
"It's not possible. Everybody knows the stage well and it is very difficult to make any time."
"I am not sure if I can do more but I will give it my everything."
"Very polished - especially under braking. Sometimes it's just so narrow that there is no room!"
"In a hairpin right I couldn't get the car turned. I had to try and I gave it everything. At this speed it's easier to make mistakes so I can't do anything more."
"Properly slippery in here - really difficult so let's see."
"I don't know if I had the right tyre choice on this stage now but it is nice to drive."
SS19
"I have a lead but I am not driving very well this morning I must say - it's maybe because of the whole situation. It's a fantastic situation to be in at this weekend."
"We are trying to experiment a little bit and it doesn't feel so nice but maybe it is! I had to give Petter a hug this morning because it is so emotional - I even asked him for a selfie actually!"
"We're using it as a test session and today we have made another good step forward - we're feeling much more comfortable."
"In the first run this morning the grip was changing a lot, but the car feels good. Let's just get to the end."
"It's nice to see that a tarmac stage is coming."
"I think we just need to enjoy the stages. There is a lot of spectators so it looks nice."
"I am just focused on finishing the rally. Of course we need to keep the pace, but the feeling is good in the car so I feel confident."
"We are going to see..."
"Let's try to finish as fast as we can but the pace is not so great at the moment."
"These stages are tricky in their own way and it is very easy to make mistakes. The conditions this morning are very muddy so it is difficult to judge the braking."
"I was flat out but the car was moving a lot. Let's see - I don't think my drive was the best but we will try for the next stage."
"Let's see - we just need to keep doing our best. There was a bit more grip than I expected here."
"It's starting to get better and better. I have broken the code for driving a world rally car. It's a big difference from what I was used to earlier so we will just keep going like this."
"It's nice. I'd love to be in the heat of a battle because every time I press the brake a metre or two early I can feel it. This rally is very much what could have been but it's given me so much motivation."
"It's quite okay to be first on the road, for sure there was more grip. I wanted to be sure that I would not go off under braking so I could have been much faster but it's fine."
SS18
"The car is great to drive. I have really good balance and I am just enjoying it. There was a really clean line in there."
"I have to try. It looks good compared to Seb but Ott will be fast so let's see."
"Let's try to finish the rally. I don't think there is chance the guys in front."
"The gap is going to be difficult to close in 30kms. It's a very narrow stage with lots of overhanging ruts."
"He was very fast. We are on different tyres as well so let's see who is right at the end. I had a clean stage and I have more to give - feeling confident."
"Let's see how it goes. I had a bit of a moment on the last corner - there was a massive boulder on the line just as I turned in. We just glanced it and I think we got away with it."
"It's good. I think the feeling is better than yesterday as I have got used to the car. I am looking forward to the next stage, it's tricky conditions but it's fun."
"Obviously after making the mistake yesterday it's hard to be flat out again. It's nice to be able to see the road again finally!"
"I hit a straw bale. It was a very fast downhill into a long right and the bale was on the inside so I touched it. No drama!"
SS16
puncture
puncture
SS15
transmission problem
"Very sorry to the team because we rolled the car on the stage!"
"Same as we lost the championship with last year in Australia. We lost a bumper and now I can't hear anything that Martin is saying. One more stage to go - let's see what we can do but I would really like to hear something!"
rolled
"I can not do more - I am on the limit! It has been a good stage but I can't do more."
"It was raining quite heavily towards the end of the stage but the time isn't brilliant."
"The stage was really terrible because there was rain and mud on the screen for about 10kms and I couldn't get rid of it."
"That driving was good fun! Elfyn is driving very well and he was very quick this morning. We had a good run."
"I just had a really bad rhythm and the car does not work when I don't use it properly."
"I had a little it of a scare with a really big stone on the line and I was convinced it would have caused a puncture. Otherwise it was quite okay."
"It's completely different from this morning but it is the same for everyone."
"It's very polished and the grip levels are very low. There was a lot of understeer for me so I was having to wait a long time before the car started to turn."
SS14
"I tried to do well but at the beginning I was understeering a lot and struggling to find the confidence."
"We are pushing as hard as we can, all is okay."
"Couldn't have done much more! I think the times are going to be very very close."
"I had a good stage but again I got caught out a little bit beginning - the tyres were cold. Other than that I had a perfect stage."
"I had a good stage with some small mistakes in there. We will continue to fight."
"I can see the outline of the road but I can't see the grip on the surface. Sometimes we are getting mud on the screen and I can't clear it away with the wipers."
"It's just a mental effect - the car is fine so it is okay to push."
"It's changed a lot - it's pretty slippy out there now. It's difficult to say whether we had a good run, in some places we were a bit careful and in others we were sliding a lot. It's a difficult balance to find now that the surface is polished."
"I think everyone will be slower - it's more slippery and polished. There is a lot of understeer and a lot of sliding for sure."
SS13
changed a puncture
"This new part at the end was quite interesting to drive! When there is no competition I am not going so fast anymore, I'm just enjoying the stages."
stopped
"This one was okay The previous stage we were not able to do anything. We are trying to enjoy and just doing our own thing."
"It's tight and I must say it is slippery. It's definitely not easy but we are trying our best. You can measure a lot like this if you have 30kms and one second!"
"We had a big moment in the middle of the stage where I didn't understand a note and we hit a bank. I lost concentration before because we had a big impact earlier on and I thought we had a broken damper. The car is okay but it was a very strange impact."
"We're a fraction away this morning and it's slipping away. The car feels a bit different to day, a bit more lazy, but unfortunately we have no service today so we can't do anything."
"I tried hard but I made a small mistake in Sweet Lamb and lost a few seconds there."
"I was really pushing to the maximum and I had nothing more to give."
"Mechanically it's not so bad but I can't see out of the windscreen - it's cracked in front of me and I can't clean it either."
puncture
"I went wide at the beginning and couldn't keep the car on the stage so we got a puncture. Not very good."
"The previous 2 were really good. I didn't have as good of a run in here and I struggled in a few places because the grip was worse than I expected."
"The car feels very good so I am really enjoying the driving."
"The grip is much better but there is still some muddy places. There was two big surprises as well - luckily I had some margin under braking so I didn't overshoot or anything."
SS12
rolled
changed a puncture
"We had to overtake Jan and I don't know what happened to him so I hope everything is okay. We have a big gap now and we can't take any risks."
"It was demanding. The grip was changing and it was not so easy. So far, so good."
"It's a good stage and we are trying. For me, it was not really possible to go faster."
"Quite good. The grip was inconsistent but very very slippery at the start. The road position is not perfect today but I'd rather be where I am."
"Yeah we're okay. We were a little too optimistic - this stage has given me some amazing memories and some fairly shocking ones too."
"The first stage went okay but I don't know how this was now. I had to stop when I saw Craig off the road but okay, we tried."
"That was a beautiful stage. It is a long day and we are trying to push as fast as we can."
stopped
"I think it was a bit better and I was pushing a bit more. I was too careful in some places so unfortunately I lost time."
"The first one was pretty good. In here it was slippery in some places and so we ended up a little bit more sideways than we wanted to be in some places. All okay."
"The feeling is very good and I am enjoying the drive. The car is working very well so we will just keep going like this."
"Quite nice. There was some light clouds out there but it wasn't really disturbing the visibility. Ten times better than the opener and I have more grip now!"
SS11
broken suspension
"That was quite a nice stage. I drove without any risk but I had a nice rhythm and enjoyed the driving."
"We have to stay on the road and bring the car to the finish. I know that you can go fast on these stages but on this one I don't have enough experience."
"That's nice. Generally the grip was quite okay, we couldn't go to the limit but the car feels good."
"We have to try. The conditions are good - I was not as sharp as I would have liked but it was not a bad stage. I have to try harder."
"I didn't explore the grip enough - there was more of it than I expected. We have to try everything, Thierry is driving a Hyundai and we want to finish in front so we have work to do."
"I struggled in the beginning and I was too careful in the first part of the stage. It was a long day yesterday and a short night, but I should have done better."
"Everything was working fine. The grip was better than I expected and we could really push in here."
"Quite reasonable. I thought I would lose a lot more to be honest with you. It's polishing a bit but it's just very hard to stick your neck out 100% when you are not getting much seat time in the car."
"Problem is just the driver!"
"We have to focus stage by stage and do the best we can on each one. The grip was a bit changeable in here - unlike yesterday where you could read the grip a little bit more."
"It is good to have some sleep last night and think about my driving. What we did just now was fantastic and I really enjoyed it."
"I was expecting to have good grip but it's quite far away from that to be honest. It was difficult to find any rhythm because the grip was so low, I am quite surprised to be honest."
SS10
"I have been trying to make some good times. In the morning I made a mistake and lost 15-seconds so it wasn't easy. The conditions have also been changing a lot so it was difficult to be fast."
"I had a big slide and aquaplaned on some mud with the rear so I was a little cautious after that! It's not over yet - there will be a few time differences tonight I hope."
"That was not good enough. I was struggling to see because I changed my lights before the stage and they were pointing too far down, so I couldn't see everything in the distance."
"The driving was good but we have to investigate. I was not on the pace that I wanted this afternoon. Still, we are here and we have to make the most of this situation."
"It was a good day, we are in the fight for the win so that's what we want. It's never easy at night but we are happy to be here."
"It was quite stressful in there. In the previous stage we lost the lights and the wires were damaged so we had a lot of work to do on the road section! Luckily we had some lights in there."
SS9
"It's very tricky conditions after the heavy rain. There was one section where there was a big puddle and we couldn't see where we were!"
"It came at the beginning of the stage from nowhere - we were on a big smooth road so I have no idea."
rear-right puncture
"It's really really tricky in some places - it would have been better if it was fully dark!"
"It was difficult. I feel like I am getting more and more confident and this stage I enjoyed driving."
"What can you do? When somebody at the front gets full daylight and you have to try and judge the grip in the dark, it's impossible."
"That was extremely challenging. In the dark, it is so difficult to see so hopefully I didn't lose too much time."
"Let's see. That was quite good and there is a lot more consistent grip this evening. The roads seem to be a bit better on the second pass but we still have to keep our guard."
"It was very difficult as predicted, but we had an okay run. I was a bit careful in the slippery part but it could sometimes catch you out. I thought I had grip but then I would lose it."
"It's a tricky stage and it is getting quite dark. Ott is six-minutes in front on the road and I guess the visibility for him was much better. It is difficult to judge how much to push in there, I was also on three soft tyres and it may have been a bit rough for them."
"It was okay but I didn't trust the grip enough. It's always a tricky stage in the dark so we will have to survive the next one."
"I tried to have a good run..."
SS7
"There was some marshals slowing me down and I couldn't see anything."
"It's starting to get rough now but the grip is more consistent this afternoon."
"It was a bit more predictable."
"I can't really attack. I have to be very clean to go fast and in these conditions you have to push very hard. We are trying to find grip that we are missing, but on the other hand I need some protection."
"Another good stage. I am happy but it is more difficult than this morning! The grip is higher but there are some ruts and bumps, so it is not easy."
SS6
oil leak on the road section
"We have been on the stage and I feel like stopping in some places because I couldn't see anything! The road is just coming up from the road."
"I don't know if I have a rear-left puncture. The rear feels very strange and I hit a stone, so I think we have a slow puncture."
"There are six of us with ten seconds so for sure, everybody will be in the same mode this afternoon. It was a more consistent second pass so let's see how the rest of the roads develop - every stage is different."
off road
"I really struggled to see in there to be honest. I was holding the wipers on until the water was coming but there was very little water spraying out."
"It feels okay but we had a puncture on the rear and I tried to manage it a little bit. I could have gone better but we were unlucky."
"It's good - the first time during the day that we are in front of him. It's tough to be honest, it's rough and we had quite a few impacts so I was not completely comfortable."
"The conditions are quite consistent but it's quite rough in places and the visibility is quite difficult with the mud and sun."
SS5
"Towards the start of the stage there is so much water and a lot of aquaplaning."
"We are happy to be in the fight - the conditions are really difficult but it will be harder this afternoon."
SS4
2 spare tyres, 3 punctures
off road
stopped
""Started okay and we were clawing back the gap to Kalle. We had a high speed spin early in that one and lost a lot of time - I think we got caught out on some moss or mud.""
"We did three stages and every stage was completely different. It's a nice rally but we are going slow!"
"It's difficult to say. There is some grip available but it's difficult to take advantage of that. Quite a few times I ran out of the lines and struggled to get back in control so we lost some time."
"This one was really difficult, I have to say. I had a half-spin at one junction so we lost a bit of time there. I am trying to keep up a good pace without taking any big risks, but here you have to take some risks if you want to be fast."
"I had a very big moment at the end of that stage on the grass! The grip is so much higher than it was in previous years so it's nice. I wasn't near the trees, I was amongst the trees!"
"This one was slippy. We made a small change to the set up and now I feel like I am starting to drive the car properly!"
"They were exceptionally difficult conditions, especially towards the end where the other guys have been cutting over the grass."
"I softened the suspension a little bit to try and gain some grip but it is quite tricky. We had a huge moment as well! The end is really crazy so it's a good thing that we are here."
"The conditions are extremely difficult. We had a crash and I had to stop and reverse in there."
"At one junction towards the end, I didn't expect it to be so slippery and I went into the ditch. The grip was changing very much in the stage!"
"I had a spin at a hairpin and lost around 3-seconds. A tricky stage - I don't know whether my soft tyres were the best choice for that."
"The last part was really incredible, even on the straights a low speed, the car wanted to go sideways. A big challenge!"
"The car felt okay in the stage. The speed is higher so we have more energy to put the car sideways but it was a tricky stage. There were some really really slippery places towards the end and it was very easy to go off."
"A lot of standing water in there so there was a bit of aquaplaning in there!"
"It was tricky with some muddy and slushy places. It's nice to get to the end of this one. The first stage was difficult but now we have managed to improve the car a bit. For sure, we can improve it further in service but for now it is okay."
SS3
lost wheel
suspension damage?
SS2
broken driveshaft
stopped, mechanical
"It was good and I'm feeling happy with the car. Everything was okay - a busy stage but all good!"
"I lost the rear and oversteered. I turned the car the opposite way and managed to get it back and a little bit of the car was hanging in the ditch. No drama."
"We're happy and the Yaris is working really well."
"The car feels really good. I had a couple of moments at the beginning so we had to be cautious."
"I'm really uncomfortable in the car and struggling with the balance."
"We ran wide on the last corner of the stage and lost some time there."
"Slippery and difficult, but we have to improve."
SS1
"It was a good start and I enjoyed it. Sometimes it is hard to see the road because there is a lot of strange corners, but it's not bad. See you tomorrow!"
"That was very slippery. Okay, I think this stage won't decide the rally and our main target is to make it to the finish."
"That is so tricky! About a third of the way in we had some really heavy rain but that probably didn't make much of a difference."
"I think this is the toughest field WRC 2 has ever had. Whoever wins this weekend will definitely deserve it! It was a fun stage but wow, that was slippery."
"I have a nice experience here and you can drive quite fast. The stages have been changing a bit from last year so there are parts where I don't have experience, but it will be quite interesting."
"The engine stopped! I had no lights, they were pointing to the top of the trees and I just missed it."
"It's not an easy one! I tried to be steady and we could have been a little faster but this is no place to take any risks. Tomorrow, the plan is to drive flat out."
"I had a good stage. It was very tricky and there were some surprises. The softer tyres would have worked better before but we had to have a compromise. It's a very nice place and there are lots of spectators so it was a good reason to come here! We can only try: we have a good feeling with the car and we are going to try to improve the rhythm and setup tomorrow to be on the pace."
Very difficult but we already knew that it was going to be slippery. It's an important weekend for sure. Every rally is important but when we are getting to the end of the season we do not want to lose any points."
"That was tricky - really tricky! In these conditions on a race circuit, it was like ice. There's no points for today, so let's try and have a good weekend."
"I forgot to push the screen heater on! At the watersplash I lost the visibility and went wide into the field - for sure we lost time."
"It was extremely slippery, especially as we had mediums. I made some mistakes and my tyre choice was terrible. Shakedown was pretty good and tomorrow the real rally starts so we need to find a good rhythm."
"I can't judge the car here - there is no grip! I just tried to be very slow and short distance but it feels horrible! There are a lot of surprises coming tomorrow but the stages are nice, so I think I will enjoy it."
"It's been a difficult time to be off but it doesn't get much easier being back here tonight - it was tough! I'm definitely looking forward to tomorrow so let's see what we can do."
"It's difficult and definitely more slippery than I expected. It will be an exciting weekend so I am really looking forward to starting the real rally now!"
"It's quite tricky in places so I just wanted to get through and not make any mistakes. There's a big weekend ahead and I'm looking forward to it."
"That was a tricky one. It was mostly dry when we did the recce so it was all about how slippery it could be! Tomorrow is going to be a tricky day, especially the first stage."
"That was tricky but the handbrake, even when it was off it was still on! The car didn't work for the first 100m, but after that it was okay. It was good fun and tricky in the dark and the last section was especially tricky."
"The whole windscreen has fogged! I didn't see anything so I almost stopped for the hairpin near the end! Ahhh - unbelievable! No no no..."