56. RallyRACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada 2021
WRC #11 • WRC2 #11 • JWRC #5 [coef 2] • WRC3 #11 • RGT Cup #5 • Peugeot Rally Cup Iberia #6 • Beca Júnior R2 RFEdA #4 • Suzuki Swift Cup (E) #7 • Suzuki Swift Júnior Cup (E) #7
14. 10. – 17. 10. 2021, Salou • Real Automóvil Club Cataluña • asphalt 280.37 km • total distance including road sections - 1413.54 km • Other years
For crew #40, Reeta Hämäläinen appears as Driver on official documents.
Info
SS17
"Relieved to be at the end. It was a tough weekend but we fought very hard. We had a good clean run and until near the end everything was perfect. Unfortunately lots of stress before the last stage - again. I am really disappointed about that because otherwise the weekend would have been perfect and nice, but now it isn't. I don't know what to say to be honest."
"I'm pleased in one sense but quite frustrated in another. It wasn't a perfect weekend. Still a pretty solid job, but of course we are fighting a bit of a cause here. Not what we wanted, but there we go."
"You can't imagine how happy I am. Seb was working us really hard and for me it was nice fight. Thanks to the team for giving me this car to fight with - I am so happy."
"It's points for the championship. Coming here I was targeting higher, but for some reason it didn't happen. In a hard time, we still took what we needed for the championship. Monza is a rally which we did last year, so let's see what kind of [championship] lead we have tonight."
"It's mainly because of the conditions. The last part is now drying up and I think the guys behind will come much faster all the time. I think we can not do much. We do some set-up changes in the last service and I was not enjoying it so much, but it was good to drive here."
"I pushed like hell at the end. I opened the clicks massively because I saw the rain. I want to say what an absolute gentleman Chris has been. It's been genuinely the privilege of a lifetime to work with him."
"It was a good fun weekend. I think we did some progress. It was raining a lot at the beginning of the stage, but the last bit was drying out. You never know how slippery it is and I just wanted to finish."
"It feels amazing to do this weekend. The car was working quite well and I am very happy for the job we have done. Thank you very much to Hyundai and everyone who was helping out."
"It will be really tricky for the guys behind us. It was really slippery at the end and the car was easily snapping. We did a clean drive and let's see. It was such an experience with the hard tyres in the wet."
"It's so tricky. If it started from the beginning then it's fine, but I did not get rain - just Tarmac which was fully wet. It was such a surprise."
"I put the rain set-up on and I was really struggling at the start of the stage because there was no rain, so I thought I made a mistake. At the end it was very slippery, but I took some risks and we are very happy."
"I was expecting the rain. I think I will lose time there but the guys behind maybe will have better conditions but it's rally tough. The first part is good but after that it's like full wet and it's like driving on ice."
SS16
"No concerns for us. We have a good gap now and I was quite careful in there. We don't need to push for power stage points because it doesn't change anything in the championship for us."
"I think the car is working a bit better now, but there are so many horrible cuts in here that we're airing on the side of caution. They all count, so we need to try [in the power stage].
"We will keep on doing what we can. We had a good drive in this stage but we can see that we are missing a bit of speed anyway."
"In some places I think I lost a little bit but I did my best. It was okay. A nice stage - maybe two corners I could go a little bit more."
"It has been like this. A lot of learning for us. We changed the set-up of the car to try to gain something for the power stage. There was a lot of gravel here so I was quite careful."
Patterson: "We're very privileged to be doing the best stages in the world at the minute. The car is fantastic on these roads and the stages are in beautiful condition."
"It was not dark, so that helps. I struggled a lot with understeer - it's using the tyres only and the feeling is starting to go already. I did some changes which was better, but also some other changes which were not better."
"I am not focussing on the times really. I just want to enjoy it. We have some changes on the car now and it's quite different - it's like a go-kart."
"It's just a really nice stage to drive. I was enjoying so much and I am happy with my pace."
"The feeling was good and we are trying to make some changes for the second loop. It seems to be working well. I didn't take risks but still it was okay."
SS15
"I just had a clean, smooth run. We have to control and just try to keep the car in the middle of the road. The car was working fine in this stage and it's important to bring home a victory for the team."
"There were quite a few changes to make."
"There is not so much more I can do. I slid a bit near the end. The car is not bad and it's not over."
"I lost a little bit of time in one corner but I tried to do my best. It's so fun to do this and Seb is a world champion, so to fight with him is nice."
"It was the last corner, so it was no issue. I just went a bit wide but it's all good."
"Managing the temperature in the tyres was the main thing. In some places down the hill my notes were a little bit cautious, but everything seems to be working okay."
"I am enjoying the car. I didn't do anything special - just driving, enjoying and flowing - that's my target for today."
"I am enjoying the car. I didn't do anything special - just driving, enjoying and flowing - that's my target for today."
"There is not much gravel but it's still technical and tricky. It's an enjoyable stage."
"In this stage I tried to be really tidy, but I lost the tyres nearly 5km from the end. I was trying to manage it but it was really frustrating."
SS14
"I wasn't sure if it was enough. There are a lot of cuts and I am still afraid to get a puncture. I had a clean run and in the daylight it will be better."
"The car was a bit unsettled in places to be honest - it's not easy. All okay."
"I was not really confident. I didn't see very well, so I struggled a bit in there."
"It was a little bit difficult in the dark. Some corners are difficult to trust. Let's see how Seb wakes up today and we will to try to fight until the end."
"It was basically just a check of the notes. We have nothing to drive for, so I don't want to take any risks."
"It's a nice stage in the dark. A couple of places where I we could have carried a bit more speed but it's all good."
"Just struggling. It's a brand-new stage in the dark and it's not so easy."
"What can I say? I don't want to finish this rally. It's amazing to drive this car and I am enjoying as much as I can."
"It's much easier when I have four-wheel-drive! It's really nice to have the stage in the dark. It was definitely challenging but it's enjoyable."
"I was careful but still quite a clean stage. Not so bad. I expected the fog to be bad but it wasn't so bad."
SS13
"It was a small mistake in SS 11 but we broke the driveshaft and the car wasn't moving. We had to do something with the diffs and finished the stage. On the road section we had to fix the steering arm and the suspension. It's in two-wheel-drive now so it was very tricky to drive."
"At lunch we basically copied Adrien's set-up and the pace was right there straight away. In the last stages we had a problem with the sensors so we couldn't manage the water temperature."
"Obviously when everything is going the right way, it feels good and it's a pleasure to drive. It wasn't an easy day - conditions were tricky in the morning with very dirty stages. I relied on the information from my route note crew and I felt comfortable in the car. I think we set six fastest times so it's not too bad."
"Not happy to be honest. It's not what we wanted. I didn't feel that comfortable this morning but it was even worse this afternoon. It’s fair to say we did improve some areas where we were struggling, but I lost the general balance of the car as well."
"The engine stalled. No idea why. I was on the clutch like normal then in a hairpin it just stalled. We know that on this kind of stage this can happen. We had a great afternoon but at least the pace is there."
"I had a problem at the start and lost a bit of time. This morning was a nice fight, but this afternoon Seb was a step in front all the time. It's so difficult for us because we are pushing like hell all the time and he is always just ahead."
"It has been quite okay. The main thing for us is that we have been improving all the time with the set-up of the car and the driving myself. I haven't been on the limit. It was one corner which I miscalculated big-time, but other than that I think we have been on the safe side. I don't want to risk anything."
"I had a problem with the car - the clutch didn't work - so I had to do everything I could to not stall the car. It was not so easy to go on the stage without stalling or having issues."
"I stalled the engine. It's new for me, this kind of small stage. Today I had a very good feeling and the team were amazing. I really enjoy driving this car on these roads and all day I had a big smile on my face."
"Some stages were pretty good, but the way it started I really hesitated from taking risks. We had some pretty good split times, so the feeling is getting better, but still I am missing a bit."
SS12
off road
"It's been good. We took two spares [wheels] this afternoon and the feeling is different. We took care too much in the last stage to try and avoid punctures so I tried to push hard in here."
"It has been a good day so far. I am a little bit afraid of the cuts, so I was careful in some places. Generally I was enjoying the drive."
"It's been a frustrating afternoon. We gambled to try and change some stuff to improve the car for the afternoon, but it didn't work unfortunately and we've gone in the opposite direction."
"Better late than never! It was a tough first half of the rally for us. We have been working a lot on the car and now I am starting to feel better. I have never changed so much on a car during a rally, but at least we have finally found better pace."
"It's a little bit hard this afternoon. We started to have 'Sébastien Ogier mode' - he is pushing! We tried to push as well, but this afternoon he is taking a little bit of time. For me, in this stage I did my maximum so I am quite happy."
"Quite okay. I was quite slow on the previous stage when I saw Adrien stopped. He was the only guy close to us, so I am not pushing anymore. I'm just trying to learn the stages and see how the condition is."
"I was too close to the barrier, so the tyre touched the inside. We had a puncture, but the car couldn't move. I had to lock the diffs and then we had to do some mechanics on the road section. It's a shame because it's a really small mistake, but it's part of the game."
"Something with one of the sensors. It's not controlling the cooling package so I was having to monitor the temperatures during the stage."
"We had a big slide on the previous stage. There was a long right with full gravel and I didn't have it in my notes. On this one I pushed at the end, but I think I overheated my tyres. Something I have to learn is tyre management."
"The car was working perfect and I was enjoying quite a lot. It's amazing."
"It's a massive difference, especially at the beginning with the gravel. I am missing a lot of my confidence so I will try to find it. It's not easy."
SS11
accident
damage after clipping a barrier
SS10
puncture
"It isn't easy at all, especially in this one. The road was much more dirty than the information I had. Obviously we are tenth on the road, so the conditions are changing quite a lot."
Some things are better, some things are not so good to be honest. We're struggling in a few areas."
"I tried a bit harder for sure. I have a new set-up with the car and it's a little bit better."
"I was never good in this stage, so it's no problem. It's very aggressive for the tyres and I felt the tyres suffering a bit. It's difficult but let's see."
"It was a clean run. It's really tricky with the conditions - a lot of gravel from the ruts. In a few places we had stones on the line and when you hit them it's quite scary."
"I am really happy with my progress this morning. I could improve in this stage, but it's so easy to make a mistake. It wasn't perfect, but it's interesting for the experience with these conditions."
"There's a lot of loose. How dirty it is compared to other years is crazy. It's tricky."
"There's much more gravel now and I wasn't really confident in the cuts this morning, but it's much better now. I am not pushing, but I am trying to get a better flow and it felt better
"We have done some changes again in the service park and the car is working much better. The confidence is good, we now just have to take care with the tyre wear."
"There is lots of gravel from the inside and it's a completely different stage from this morning. I am trying to get the experience."
retired at the regroup before service
SS9
"It's going good. We are trying to attack but at the same time try to avoid the risk of punctures."
"I had a good stage. I was a little more careful in this one - there were a lot of cuts and I don't want to risk the punctures. Still struggling with understeer - without that we could have been faster."
"Not too bad in here to be honest. Still struggling a bit with the car rotation - I just can't get on the power early enough and hold my line, so we need to work on that."
"It was okay. We had a puncture on the previous one, so I didn't want to take any big risks on the cuts. We had a huge moment on the stage - maybe one of the biggest I have ever had - so we were lucky to escape that one."
"It's really good and I am starting to understand how it works. It's a shame to lose the fastest time [on the previous stage but it's like that. This stage was a clean drive from me so I am happy."
"No idea where I got it. Everything seemed okay until that point but then I just got a tyre pressure alarm and then a puncture."
puncture
SS7
"I'm really gutted about that. We missed our braking a bit in a foggy section of the stage. I thought we had got away with it but we got stuck in a field verge. We eventually got out though and we'll keep going. It's still not over."
rolled
off road
"It was a good start. Conditions are much dirtier than expected and the visibility in some places was less than before. Not so easy, but we had a good stage."
"Not happy with my run. I felt I was too careful and just not committed enough. "
"It's not that bad. The car is better now and I can trust it. I think it will be better today, so I am more happy."
"I didn't feel very good in the stage. I was not happy with the pace."
"It's quite tricky already with the cuts. There is a lot of damp, then some fog also. I wanted to get a bit of feeling so I was a bit careful. It's good, I enjoyed it."
"I was just losing a bit of time in some corners. I was a bit too fast on the entries so I lost time on the straights after. The time is not what I expected."
"It was good. When the route note crew went through it was dry and now the humidity has dropped. In some places it was very slippery."
"I am trying to check the notes. I don't know the roads, so I want to just take care on the first pass. It's a bit damp but it’s not so slippery. We will see."
"We need to keep improving. I want to continue this progression. We analysed everything last night and we prepared different springs and anti-roll bars. The car is feeling very good this morning, so thanks to the team."
"Some sections are pretty damp and it was a bit slippery, but not too bad, The fog is a bit disturbing and I have no confidence to be honest."
SS6
"We have to think about what we can do. I am just driving, if nothing else."
"We are improving. The target for tomorrow is the same. We know that we can find more pace, so I am happy that we were improving the entire day."
"I just try to avoid all the cuts and you just end up driving in the gravel. I don't know what to do - it's very frustrating. We are just following the lines that everyone else is doing. I have to go to sleep and try to wake up in another mood, I think."
"It's amazing. It's fast, flowing and really nice to drive this car. For me it's missing a lot of speed on some corners and it's hard to carry the speed on the entry of the slow and medium corners. We enjoyed this day and all the team and Marc did a fantastic job today."
"The most difficult thing is the cuts with all of the gravel. I don't want to take any risks in these places because it can so easily go wrong. I have been working with the chassis to get it better but we still have a lot of work to do to get the understeer away."
"Today, all the stages were completely new for me so it was a big challenge. We can be happy to improve the pace during the day. Tomorrow, I know the stages perfectly, so I hope the pace will be similar to the last stage today."
"We are still in the fight. It's not easy, but I did my best. It's so difficult to be close. I was carrying extra weight [with two spare wheels] but I did everything I could here."
"It's a lot better than this morning. In there it actually felt pretty bad - the cuts are so deep that you're just bottoming out. Tomorrow's stages are absolutely beautifulm, so let's see what we can do."
"The rally is totally different. When you have a long corner, you need to have so many different things from the car and I think I am not fully happy with the car and myself also. It's getting better and it was quite an okay day."
"I am feeling more comfortable in the car and I am looking forward to tomorrow. On the twisty stages I could have been so much faster, but I just couldn't get the turn-in and we need to work on that. Tomorrow is a different profile - it's a bit more open so it should suit us better."
"We have to look positive. It’s not been the best afternoon, especially in the more dirty parts, but it's okay."
"That's the way it is. I didn't have enough confidence in the car to really push maximum. It hasn't been a really bad day, but at the same time I was always fighting a bit with the car and I didn't find the perfect rhythm."
SS5
"We went wide in one corner. To understand the time of Thierry - he is really fast when it's like this. I tried to push, but this time is so difficult to make. I think we have a little bit better tyres than the others now, but the rally is long so we will try to keep pushing."
"We had a puncture in the stage. I think it pretty much sums up our year. Of course I am very disappointed, but what can we do?"
"The last 5km are new for me, because before I couldn't see anything. We changed quite a few things with the engineer and now the car is working better. I think we are on the correct way."
"The first run earlier, there was no grip and the tyres overheated at the end. This one was better, but I had no grip and I had to try to do something."
"It was really dirty. We are taking all the cuts, so for sure we are bringing a lot of dirt. I tried to find a way to be smoother with my driving, so let's see how it goes."
changed a wheel
"We went wide in one corner. To understand the time of Thierry - he is really fast when it's like this. I tried to push, but this time is so difficult to make. I think we have a little bit better tyres than the others now, but the rally is long so we will try to keep pushing."
"There was a lot of pollution all over the road. To find a rhythm in there I think you have to be taking quite a big risk."
"The second pass is better for me. Some changes that we did to the car are better now and my driving is also adapting to the tyre as well. We try to continue like this - we are not too slow now, so it's good."
"The car was working better and we are getting in the right direction. When the road is quite dirty, you have to more smooth and stay in the line. It's less of a handicap for us and in these conditions. I was able to take more out of the car and you can immediately see it in the times."
"It was a pretty big moment! I just got caught out by the gravel and she just took off. Naturally I was really tentative through some of the other places. We struggled a bit in the gravel."
"It's very dirty and I was not comfortable with the dirt here."
SS4
"We have some issues but I don't know what it is. It's like the brake is stuck on and I feel like I have no power. Something is wrong so we need to try and fix it."
"The gravel crew was working very well, so we know the difficult places. It's learning!"
"I thought I pushed okay - but 10sec to the guy in front? I don't know. I need to find something..."
"It was okay. I am happy. I was a little bit hesitant when I saw Ott, but it's okay. We need to keep going to the end and see what happens with the result."
"For sure, it's easier when you have already had one pass of the stage, but it was not perfect. We need to find something."
"It was very clean and calm - no sliding or nothing. A lot better than this morning but there's still a bit of work to do."
accident
SS3
"We are pushing a bit harder, but our pace notes are a bit slow on the fast parts. In this stage it's quite tricky to maintain the time [with the tyres]. I am happy to be at the end of the first loop."
"We are trying to take it a bit steady, but there is always someone there to fight. It seems like the guys are pushing really hard, but it is a long rally and there are so many cautions to take. You need to push carefully."
"I lost the tyres a little bit and on a slow right corner I spun. It was so narrow and I lost a lot of time."
"The first stage I was very careful, the next was better, but this one was very difficult. The twisty uphill was not good at all. Okay, it's learning."
"I am learning the car and still trying to find the perfect set-up for me. The tyres were quite dead before the start of the stage and there are plenty of places where you can have a puncture. We are here, so we can be happy."
spin
"At the end I made a small mistake and went a little bit out [of the road] and lost some time there. We are more close but not enough. The car is going well, I just think the road conditions are a little bit more dirty. We will see in the second pass."
"Better than the first two. I made some small changes on the car to try and help a few things and it seems to be good."
"A lot cleaner than the last one!"
"I can't say that I am really happy at any point but we are making improvements all the time. Let's see what we can do on the second pass."
"Understeer. I tried really hard but no way. I can't even turn."
"It's been okay. It was quite difficult actually with so many tight corners and the confidence wasn't particularly high to be honest."
"I don't know what will happen on this stage but I will try. I need to find a bit more pace for sure."
SS2
“Everything is working nicely. We’re taking no big risks but just staying committed to our pacenotes.”
"This stage was better than the previous one. We are having a little bit of slow pace notes in fast short corners, but the second pass will be better because we will correct it. The car is feeling great, we just need to work on the pace notes."
"It was a little bit more tricky in here. If you risk a lot, it's possible to take more time, but I tried to be a little bit careful. There is a lot of cutting, even where I don't expect."
"For a moment it was completely fogged and I had to slow down because I could not see anything. I don't know where it came from because there is no water. Maybe some liquid from the engine or something - we have to check it now."
"It's been a good start. It's very fast and in the first stage I took it very easy. In the high-speed with the cuts and the gravel it's not so easy, but the times are getting better."
"It was a really nice stage to drive. We changed something on the set-up which gave me more confidence. I need to find something."
"There is a lot of cutting. I pushed quite hard and for me I had a good rhythm. It's so difficult but we will keep pushing until the end."
"It was better, but there's a lot of pollution on the stage already. So it was tricky in places but it felt better."
"I had quite an impressive spin - basically on the first corner. We made some changes and the car was always understeering."
"I think the biggest issue is the tyre. It's difficult to drive with a lot of understeer. I need to change my driving all the time and during the rally that's no so easy."
spin
"I am trying, but I am not confident in the car. I can not push as much as I want, so we need to work on the chassis. The rhythm is there, but I lose the front basically in the middle of the corners and I had to save the car a couple of times with the handbrake."
"Not a great feeling to be honest. I found myself being a bit too careful with my notes. It's a completely new stage and I was not as committed as I could have been through the stage."
"I tried a bit more for sure. I had a bit of a slide at the beginning that I didn't expect. For sure, someone who had a good wake-up this morning is Elfyn!"
SS1
accident
"It's difficult. The road is very, very dirty at the beginning."
"I've got to get my driving to be smooth. Not a good start."
"I expected a not tight corner but it was obviously very tight. I need to find out."
"Missing quite a lot of confidence in the high-speed. It feels very understeery. Not so natural but I will try to learn."
"It was quite difficult. I think it's quite okay - we made some changes to the car yesterday so now the set-up is better. Let's see what we can do."
accident
"I tried to drive fast but I was understeering all the time and I couldn't get the car turning. I couldn't keep a good line and I just had to be careful to stay in the middle of the road."
"Pretty okay. The car is working quite okay. A few places coming down the hill where I was a bit on the edge, but it feels quite good."
"There was a bit of understeer and I was a little bit cautious in sections. I have to wake up I think."