WRC – E. Evans: “I don’t really know what to feel.”

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT – Elfyn Evans (GBR), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid (driver)
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT – Scott Martin (GBR), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid (co-driver)
M-Sport Ford WRT – Ott Tänak (EST), Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid (driver)
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT – Esapekka Lappi (FIN), Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid (driver)
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT – Jari-Matti Latvala, Team Principal

Q:
Congratulations on the win here in Croatia after what has been an incredibly emotional week out there. How are you feeling at the end of the rally?
EE:
Pretty mixed emotions obviously, back to almost like reality now after the full focus of the rally weekend. Definitely mixed emotions, don’t really know what to feel to be perfectly honest. On a sporting side of course it’s a sense of relief having been quite a while without a win and being close a few times but not quite making it happen. So definitely positive on that side. But obviously the flipside is we remember the news of last week and obviously we’re back in reality now.

Q:
That’s only natural. Another positive is that journalists can stop asking you when the next win is coming because it has come along. Talk to us about your pace out there this weekend and how satisfied you were with what you delivered?
EE:
Moderately happy. I think to be honest it was a bit of a tall order starting fifth on the road here, we knew obviously seeing our time on the board on the first one on Friday that we were maybe in for a difficult job with the amount of pollution on the roads but thankfully for us the others hit trouble pretty early on so that gave us an opportunity then to fight for the win obviously. Unfortunately we lost Thierry [Neuville] on Saturday morning and from there I can’t say I’m over the moon with my pace, I think definitely there was times when I should have been quicker but then I think it’s also part of this rally to stay out of trouble and keep the car on the road and to avoid the punctures as best as possible. Obviously you need a bit of luck as well but all that was on our side this weekend and it came together.

Q:
The Power Stage has been tricky for the last couple of years but even more so this time around even in drier conditions?
EE:
We had this discussion a bit before we went in. Obviously the aim was always to go for points but I sort of wanted this win for obvious reasons since we haven’t had one for a while and I wasn’t really prepared to put it all on the line in a stage like that for extra points so in fairness we just had to get through and I think it’s a stage where you just go for it or just don’t bother and drive safe and that’s what we decided to do in the end.

Q:
It’s all shifted around in the championship but it’s incredible close still, it’s fabulous for everybody watching but it does mean you are going to be first on the road on the next rally in Portugal though?
EE:
Obviously the points gaps are all very, very tight between the top five I believe so I’ve landed a bit with the short straw there I think for a few points advantage. But at the end of the day it’s a run of seven gravel rallies and I’m sure the advantage is going to swing in all directions for a few rallies still. Naturally if it is dry as expected it’s going to be difficult in Portugal starting early on the road but of course we will be doing our best as usual. 

Q:
Turning to Scott, it’s very fitting with the win on the board but also to remember a good friend and somebody you were sat alongside for quite a few years. How are you feeling at the end of the rally?
SM:
It’s hard to sum it all up really, very emotional at the end but it’s an incredible feeling. I was fortunate to share some really special years with Craig and shared his first podium and my first podium together at WRC level. It seems quite fitting that we have delivered this result this weekend. For sure he was with us this weekend, I think he was with us all, maybe just supporting me more than the rest. I think it’s going to take quite a few days, weeks, months, for it all to soak in. It’s been a demanding weekend, I’m really particularly proud of the whole service park, everyone has done really well to stick together and support each other and we have to continue doing that because it’s going to be some difficult days still to come when the dust settles a bit from this weekend. I actually hadn’t done the maths until going into the Power Stage that if we win this then we’re going to be leading the championship so it shows you just how close it is. Like Elfyn says we’ve got seven gravel rallies now so it’s going to go here, there and everywhere. Hopefully we can pick up points and keep competing for the title all the way.

Q:
Absolutely, it’s really great to see it so close, it’s been many years that it’s 11 points between five drivers. That’s fantastic Scott and to be part of that is exciting and moving forward it is going to be tough for everyone. We all have the utmost respect for you guys and that went up 100 knots this weekend with you all keeping your focus and doing the job you had to do but that’s something to keep you all motivated moving forward? 
SM:
Yeah, sure, it was really nice to see the nice things that we did. Hyundai did amazingly well because it must have been so difficult to do, to get the whole team together and to be here this week. There have been some really nice touches to remember Craig and to do it together has been really nice. We’re glad to be back in the fight, 2020 and 2021 we were fighting for the title all the way to the end. Last year for one reason or another we missed some points and felt like we were on the back foot quite early in the season last year and never quite recovered. It’s good to start the season like this and we’ll keep pushing.

Q:
Ott, let’s turn to you, second position and good points for the championship. As we said to Scott it’s fantastic to see it so close right now, it’s exciting, it’s motivating, have you walked away from this weekend happy with your performance on Tarmac or are you a bit moderately pleased, which is a word Elfyn used I think?
OT:
No doubt there has been some improvements like we could see on the first day and yesterday there were some stages when it almost started to come and we were feeling it was a bit like we were racing but always there was something to take us down again. Quite a few late nights at the service but there are some promising things so for sure plenty of work to do to get all the package together to make sure we are consistent and reliable through all the weekend. I am sure the guys back in Dovenby [Hall, M-Sport’s base] and also here in the container of engineers, they are definitely motivated to get it done, at least we will give it a good try.

Q:
At what point today or even going into today did you think that he’s not catchable with a 25-second lead or did you think maybe something special can happen?
OT:
I was not able to find any good feeling as well today so we still struggled a bit with some things and the focus was to get through without too much drama so it was not about performance too much.

Q:
A quick look ahead to the next round in Portugal, another event filled with long days and huge challenges for the drivers. How much are you ready for that? 
OT:
Portugal is a fun event, it’s fast with higher grip. Let’s see what we can do there. For sure we need to improve a bit on gravel but we will be testing next week and hopefully we can do some more steps forward.  

Q:
EP, congratulations on third position overall, I know that you were really keen to get onto the podium this weekend, you managed to do that. What’s your feeling at the end of it all?
EL:
Sort of relief and I guess also some proudness from the team. It was the toughest week I guess at least in my motorsport history and to come here first of all, not just personally for me, but all the team members I want to thank them. They made possible that we could drive so this was a huge effort from them. There have been some highs and lows during the weekend and during the week with all of us. This is a great result for us.

Q:
The first stage on Friday was always going to be difficult and it seemed to be across the board but then your pace picked up throughout the day and you set some great times in the afternoon, you had a big smile on your face and you were battling for a podium position. But then Saturday it went in the wrong direction, what changed?
EL:
I don’t know to be honest. I guess we need to investigate a bit. For sure on Saturday afternoon we were again on the pace so let’s see what we can find or what was wrong, or was just me mentally wrong, I don’t know. In the end we had some good times and some worse times but quite consistent throughout the rally, never really on the top pace but this was a good strategy because in the end it’s paid off.

Q:
Croatia is a really complex event and people watching are really understanding that, it doesn’t really matter what the weather condition you have out there it’s still tricky on the stages? 
EL:
First of all it’s hard to make the right tyre choice because even if it’s dry it’s not so clear if the hard is better than the soft even if it’s dry and the sun is shining. The Tarmac is so smooth and you have a lot of pollution so it’s tricky with that. Then for sure you have the dampness and the wet cuts and that makes it even more tricky and then you should stay on the road as well which is also one of the trickiest parts, at least for me. Tricky, tricky.

Q:
Jari-Matti, let’s turn to you because we talked earlier about the fact it’s been a hugely emotional week for everyone here in Croatia. Toyota walked away with a win, it’s been a while waiting for Elfyn but you mentioned the other night at Meet the Crews that you were glad to see the smile back on Elfyn’s face, you felt he was more relaxed out there, did you see a different Elfyn Evans this weekend?
J-ML:
Yes, I could see that. For all the drivers, starting the event under the circumstances was very hard for everybody and then on Friday evening on Elfyn’s face I could see the smile and I knew from that moment he has got the good self-confidence, the confidence is there. You could see that he was strong on Saturday giving a bit of pressure to Thierry. Of course you never hope that he goes off the road. But it’s rallying and it happens and he was in the leading position. Ott was giving some nice pressure but then Elfyn managed to pull out a nice stage time at the end of Saturday, so definitely I could see a different person and I know myself that when it’s been a long time that you haven’t won an event you start to think about it and it starts to go a little bit in your thoughts and you start to create yourself a bit of a pressure and I think this pressure, this burden is now taken out of Elfyn’s shoulders and that’s a very strong message for the rest of the championship.

Q:
And another strong message from the championship is how close it is between all the drivers – there’s not just someone running away at the front?
J-ML:
Yes, exactly. I just did the mathematics here, Ott saw me doing my special website where I calculate things… back in 2001 it was this close with five drivers ending the championship inside eight points so more than 20 years.
Q:
That is some statistic, I think we will have to employ you for All Live as a special commentator on statistics…
J-ML:
Thank you, I would be proud of that!

Q:
Moving forward then Jari-Matti, we had to the gravel of Portugal next, it’s a big challenge as an event and one where everyone has so much experience and we have seen so many winners over the years there…
J-ML:
It’s a nice event as Ott says, it’s a fun event, as a driver I always enjoyed it. It’s an event that you can attack but also, on the other hand, the tyres make a difference and how you can save your tyres and also if you hit rocks then there is also this element. But I would say that still I think most of the drivers enjoy it. Let’s hope it’s not too hot, then it’s more enjoyable. I feel honestly confident going there. We did some good improvements on the car for Rally México and it did pay off there and I think our cars are better now on this kind of gravel rally.

 
FIA SUPPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS

FIA WRC2 championship winners
PH Sport – Yohan Rossel (FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2 (driver)
PH Sport – Arnaud Dunand (FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2 (co-driver)
FIA WRC2 Challenger Championship winner
Toksport WRT 2 – Nikolay Gryazin (ANA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 (driver)
FIA WRC3 Championship / FIA Junior WRC Championship winners 
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy – Eamonn Kelly (IRL), Ford Fiesta Rally3 (driver)
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy – Conor Mohan (IRL), Ford Fiesta Rally3 (co-driver)
FIA WRC Masters Cup winner
Armin Kremer (DEU), Škoda Fabia R5 (driver)

Q:
Congratulations on the win in WRC2, it’s been an amazing event for you, you’ve led from the start, you must be delighted?
YR:
Honestly, it’s a very good event for me. It’s not an easy week for the sport but I win here and the car improved a lot after Monte. The feel when it’s completely dry or when the grip is high the feel is very bad. It’s not easy yesterday when the conditions were very muddy but it’s like that. The guys next to me say it’s not bad but I win here and it’s most important for the championship, for my team, for my co-driver and thanks to them.

Q:
Nikolay was putting you under pressure at the end of yesterday and going into today and we thought maybe it could be an interesting day but you handled the pressure well?
YR:
I guess so, it’s not easy when you have a 15-second lead to the other guys. The plan was to do no mistake, he pushed very well yesterday. Today the car worked a little bit better, I worked yesterday night on the car to understand why I lose the time but today is not an easy day but a good day compared to yesterday.

Q:
Arnaud, let’s turn to you next, it’s a fantastic result for the championship and in WRC2 right now it’s really tightly contested so this is an important result?
AD:
Yes, it’s a very good result. As you say the championship is very difficult this year with a lot of good competitors. We have to work a lot before the event to be good in the pacenotes to make sure we take good corners and be fast everywhere. The next events will be on gravel so let’s see what we can do there. 

Q:
High pressure event out there for you this weekend, conditions were difficult but it was a very fast pace?
AD:
Yeah, you have to keep the pace because the stages are very fast as you say, you have a lot of cuts so we have a lot of information in the pacenotes to say and you have to call them at the right time. If you are late it’s not cool!

Q:
Turning to Nikolay Gryazin, winner of the Challenger section of WRC2 but pushing hard for the outright win as well. Did you think this morning when you work up that I’m going to go out there and give it some today and risk it all or not?
NG:
For sure after Saturday we saw it was possible to catch Yohan so we tried to get some pressure on the Sunday. I was expecting to put the pressure and wait for some mistake form him but he did very good, no questions to him and I just enjoyed the battle. Also we have a joke in our team that normally when I train at home I start training at night so when the stages start earlier I am not in a good shape but after I just get the pace back. Anyway, it was a nice rally. It’s quite slippery Tarmac so we need to really focus on the road to read the grip at every time, I guess it’s what is making the difference when you are on a professional level and knowing the stages from the last year of course helps.

Q:
You showed us a video of a hot moment you had on Friday, were there any other hot moments this weekend?
NG:
We had two moments, on the first stage and the second stage on Friday. But Škoda did a really good job because the car is really difficult to break and I tested this.

Q:
Turning next to you Armin, it’s been a hard event because wet or dry the surface is still slippery?
AK:
It’s the same situation we find on the roads but the organisation here make a really great job, a really fantastic and nice rally. We start here the Master Cup season and to win this race is optimal for us and we will see what we can do in Portugal and Sardinia because they are the next ones for us, the new Škoda is running well and we are happy for the moment.

Q:
Did you have any hot moments out there this weekend?
AK:
We had a small spin but that’s normal for this race.

Q:
What about the relief at the end, coming through to complete the rally. It is the Masters Cup you are battling for but you are also look around you at all the other times, how do you think you fared this weekend?
AK:
What impressed me the most was the number of spectators on the road is really, really nice. It was fantastic to see that.

Q:
Let’s turn to Eamonn Kelly, your second Junior WRC event and you are on the top step of the podium, which is something really special, how are you feeling at the end of it?
EK:
It’s pretty special indeed given the week we’ve had. Obviously it’s been a tough week for everyone in the motorsport world, especially in Ireland. We didn’t know if we’d even be here last week but that’s what he would have wanted as well. It’s really, really nice to be here and I hope it brings a small bit of positivity after what has been a hard week. It’s amazing to get a win, we knew we didn’t have the same experience as some of the other guys so I definitely didn’t expect to be on the top step but I needed to have a plan and for us with our lack of experience we said we just needed to keep it steady and just keep consistent and keep improving and you never know where you will end up and now we are here. 

Q:
It has been a crazy weekend in Junior WRC with all things going on. With your experience you have at home in Ireland on Tarmac have you ever seen anything quite like this before?
EK:
No, definitely not. It’s nothing like Ireland, there’s very little that can prepare you for this, you are really learning stage by stage and it’s such a tricky rally. Again that’s why our plan worked quite well because we knew after stage one it isn’t going to be simple. It’s a credit to the guys like Laurent and William who are on such a big, big pace. But it’s the WRC and anything can happen and you need to be consistent and thankfully that worked for us.

Q:
Next round of the Junior championship is Sardinia, another tough event and another challenge, how much are you looking forward to that?
EK:
We can’t wait, we love a challenge and there’s a 50-kilometre stage and you don’t get much more of a challenge than that. It’s all learning for us, it’s the stuff of dreams to be able to come out here and do these amazing events. It’s such good experience for us going forward.

Q:
You mentioned Craig Breen at the start there, obviously for all of the WRC community but even more so for the Irish competitors this weekend it has been incredibly emotional. But he was such a supporter of young drivers coming through and I am sure he would be absolutely delighted to see you get this result?
EK:
Yeah, absolutely, he was such a credit to our sport in Ireland. Literally just two weeks ago we spent the day in Galway in Ireland with young 14-year-old drivers and he was there to support that. He would have been delighted and would have been one of the first people to congratulate us. Like I said I just hope it brings a small bit of positivity to a lot of people. As I said at the finish line this is dedicated to him.

Q:
How tough was it out there and what was the relief like out there when you crossed the line knowing you had taken victory?
CM:
Today was probably one of the trickiest days of the rally, that second stage, the Power Stage was probably one of the trickiest stages ever, so many places where you could get punctures and get caught out. But when we crossed the finish line there was a big sigh of relief when we realised we got it.

Q:
Who would have thought on your second Junior championship event that you would taste victory, it is fantastic and it’s great moving forward now?
CM:
Yeah that’s it, we set out a plan to finish and every stage we kept chipping away at it and it all paid off and we are here now. 

Q:
Any hot moments out there you’d like to tell us about or did he keep it nice and steady?
CM:
There were one or two but you’re going to get that whenever you are pushing on but it was all good.