Mexico - Post-event press conference

Drivers / co-drivers: Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena (Citroen Total WRT), Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen (Citroen Total WRT) and Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson (Ford WRT).

Team principal: Yves Matton (Citroen Total WRT).

Press conference

Q:
Sebastien, congratulations on your sixth consecutive win here at Rally Mexico, second win so far this season. It's going well for the Drivers' Championship defence so far!

Sebastien Loeb:
I am very happy. I feel it was a long weekend. I can say there were a lot of long stages. It was a lot of pressure and a big battle especially with Mikko. Finally, we are here for the sixth time. They are nice shoes - it is a great moment!

Q:
The route changed a little this year, what did you think of the new format?

Sebastien Loeb:
For sure, the long one today was okay. We did not have to push hard, we just had to try and stay focused. Yesterday, the 42 kilometre stage was more demanding. It was very hard and long and twisty. It was hot in the car and we had to push at this moment. It was okay. I was confident. We had no problems at all. That has been the key of the success of the team.

Q:
Which driver's pace concerned you most this weekend?

Sebastien Loeb:
The Fords improved a lot in Mexico. We did not work a lot with the altitude - maybe we were too much confident in Mexico. Maybe we saw their improvement and we had to fight very hard. It was important to finish first and second.

Q:
Congratulations Daniel, another win in Mexico - how have you found the event this year?

Daniel Elena:
It's nice, but when you know the stage surface it is better. It is very fast now - there is one stage - eight kilometres of cobblestones now. It's okay. The two new stages, Mexicanos and Minas, were difficult and technical. Ortega was nice but not with the problems with some persons. I don't know where they were but it was dangerous for the crews.

Q:
Mikko, your first gravel event in the Citroen DS3, how was it?

Mikko Hirvonen:
It was very good. I am happy with the result from here. I was quite happy with the pace on Friday and early Saturday. The more I tried to push the worse my times were getting. I had a good lesson this week. Maybe I was too aggressive some times. I need to be smoother more often, but it was important to get a one and two finish.

Q:
How much were you pushing on Saturday morning to try to catch your team-mate? When did you realise that a win here was not possible?

Mikko Hirvonen:
Seb gave me a little bit of a lesson, that is all. I need to be more consistent.

Q:
You were fastest through the longest stage of the day, 36 minutes of talking through pace notes! How tough was that?

Jarmo Lehtinen:
Fifty-three pages of notes today on the long stage! [Daniel Elena commented 51 pages and Chris Patterson 96]. The stage was really nice, so fast, nice and flowing. In normal conditions it would have been tough, but the positions were decided and it was a case of avoiding mistakes. When we heard about the problem of Jari-Matti [Latvala] rolling, then we were more careful. I thought the stage was never going to end until I reached the 53rd page!

Q:
Petter, we were expecting to see your team-mate Jari-Matti here this afternoon, but a roll on the Guanajuatito stage means that you are elevated to third - great to see you on the podium though...

Petter Solberg:
I am very sad for Jari. He was on a big mission and then he rolled. It is s**t for the team but, from my own point of view, it was a good rally. We have a very fast car, it was very good and we won the Power Stage and took three points. That was fantastic - I even lost two seconds in there at least [Loeb commented he had not been pushing!]. I had the bad luck on Friday. I need to back off a bit.

Q:
Tell us about the event for you, it seemed to have got off to a great start on the Thursday evening but then tyre damage spoiled the party on Friday?

Petter Solberg:
It was a flat sixth gear corner. That is perfect for most of the corners. But I just touched a bank and the tyre came off the rim. There was no hard impact. The second stage, I was thinking flat out and we hit a bank and the tyre came off the rim again and then, in the afternoon, we hit a rock and the tyre was off again. Yesterday, we had a nail through the tyre. Mikko is putting them into my tyres [joking]. I just think the car is good enough to win the rally next time. Maybe I will not push too early and will wait a little.

Q:
What was your feeling with the Fiesta RS WRC on gravel?

Petter Solberg:
If you compare with many other rallies, we did a great improvement with the car. It felt very fast.

Q:
Chris, from a co-driver's point of view, what is the biggest challenge of this event? How many pages of notes did you have for the longest stage today?

Chris Patterson:
Ninety-six pages! I just keep reading them to the finish and hope I get there before Petter! It was a good challenge and, from a personal point of view, it was very satisfying.

Q:
And how have you found the event overall?

Chris Patterson:
It was very good for us. We had our problems but it is a difficult rally every year - what with the temperatures and the traffic. It's a case of just keeping on going to get to the end. You breathe relief at the last control and say 'thank god' for that. We will carry on. Petter never gives up and we were not going to give up today.

Q:
Yves, maximum points for the Citroen Total World Rally Team here in Mexico. It seems to have been a faultless rally for you. You must be pleased?

Yves Matton:
There are no secrets. The car was working perfectly and drivers also make no mistakes. There were no punctures and they stay in the middle of the road. That is the most important to win the rally.

Q:
Was there a point where you asked the drivers just to hold position and not fight?

Yves Matton:
On Saturday, after two stages, we decided it was important to stay with two cars in one-two positions and we knew it was impossible for Jari-Matti to come back. I asked them to stop the fight and look behind them.

Q:
Thierry Neuville picked up his first WRC stage win today, have you been impressed with the pace he has shown here?

Yves Matton:
It's difficult to see in the results, but he made a perfect rally. He was very fast in the first stage. After he was unlucky to take a stone and it was impossible to avoid. If you look at his road positions, his times were impressive.

Question from the floor

Q: Keiko Ito (Rally-X Mobile, Japan).
Can I ask the top three drivers to send a message to the rally fans in Japan on the first anniversary of the earthquake?

Sebastien Loeb:
Sure, we all know what happened since the last time we were in Japan. For sure, it was a terrible moment for everybody. It has always been a pleasure to go there and to drive there. The atmosphere is fantastic. They are different people and get very excited about what we are doing. Good luck to them and we hope to come back soon.

Mikko Hirvonen:
Japan has had a tough time since the last time we were there. The people were so happy and enjoying life. It is important to keep on doing that and to be positive, to smile and to enjoy life.

Petter Solberg:
They will be fine with a good positive mind and to work as a team, the same as a rally team. Then, they can be back to the top again. I know they have lost a lot of people. If they are positive, they can be back on top again.