MC: John Desborough
Present:
Guy Frequelin, Citroen
Malcolm Wilson, Ford
Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot
Sebastien Loeb, Citroen
Markko Martin, Ford
Petter Solberg, Subaru
JD Let’s talk, to start with, with Guy Frequelin, who is the chief the Citroen sport team, and the announcement last Thursday that at the end of 2005, Citroen aren’t going to be rallying anymore. Why?
GF Why? I don’t know, but Mr Folz knows that he makes this decision because the automobile market is very difficult for the moment and probably for the future also and we need to accept his decision.
JD What was your reaction Guy when you heard the news? You must have been distraught.
GF For sure, I am very sad and very disappointed for Sebastien and Daniel all the team because Carlos is stopping for next year but for Sebastien and Daniel and all the team it is for sure very difficult because they did a very, very good job and altogether for sure. Also Carlos and Marc, but it is more difficult and for sure it is harder for the team and for Sebastien and Daniel and it is very difficult to have this situation.
JD It seems strange that we saw Citroen win the WRC manufacturers title in the very first year and in the fourth season and then this year you win the manufactures title again and there’s a great celebration for the team and for Sebastien when you won the title in Corsica and yet after just two years, we now know its all coming to an end. Do you wonder what happened? Why is this happening?
GF I don’t know why they decided to announce this decision so early in the year and I don’t know why they don’t wait for the complete season and for sure we are very good altogether with the drivers and all the team but I told you before we need to accept it is a decision from the boss of the group PSA and its like this, it’s a bad moment for everybody and also for the rally because it is very difficult for the Rally to have two pull out like this but the rally is disciplined and very strong and I hope the rally continues without PSA.
JD Is there any way that you can persuade your boss at PSA that Citroen should stay? Have you tried to convince PSA that this should carry on?
GF You know, when a decision like this is told by the President like Mr Folz I think it’s difficult to challenge but for sure we will try to do our best next season and to have the best result for the driver title and the manufacturer title but it is difficult with a decision like this to have a very big motivation with the team and its very hard work to do the job when you know that you continue for a few years but when you know that you will stop in one year for sure, it is difficult but okay, its my job and I just hope that I can do it the best I can.
JD Just finally Guy, what happens to the new car that you were planning to bring out I think towards the end of next year and then compete with in 2004? What happens to that now?
GF It is too early to say for the moment, I don’t know which decision we can take about the C4. For sure it is very important to be competitive next year and for sure it is important for C4 to compete with other manufacturers but I do not know for the moment if it is possible to develop for the car. It is not decided for the moment, not yet.
JD Guy, thank you. Malcolm let me move onto you if I can. There seems to be contrast of intentions between yourself and Guy in that he is going to have to say goodbye to all of this in a year’s time and yet you are now committed with Ford for another four years.
GF Just a moment, I am very happy for Malcolm and for his team and for the Rally.
MW Thank you Guy, thank you very much and I am sorry for you. Yeah it is fair to say that it has been two years for us really because we were in this position last year and we didn’t even know whether we’d be competing this year and I think that most people knew that it must have been a pretty desperate situation when I returned back from Japan because it is the first Rally that I’ve missed since we took on the contract and I think it is fair to say that in view of what happened with Jaguar , the writing was certainly on the wall for the World Rally program as well. After coming back from Japan I got the chance to meet with the President and I think I could see that there was a desire, there was a will that they wanted to stay in the World Rally Championship. It was a case then of trying to find a solution then that would suit Ford and would suit M Sport. I had a lot of help from a lot of people in trying to review the whole status of the World Championship and help from ISC in terms of where the TV is, where it’s going and what the future is for it and basically we made a very good business case and a viable proposition so as that Ford could continue and I mean it wasn’t just all those aspects but it was a lot of those aspects of the business we will take on now, we will take on the merchandising rights and things like that. So basically we found a business case that works for both Ford and for M Sport to put us in a position where we are now for a four year contract.
JD It sounds like you need to give a copy of that business case to Guy to take back to PSA to say now hang on, if this is what Ford see in the WRC, can we not do the same?
MW If I had to give Guy that it would cost him half his budget.
JD Which means you’d probably both be rallying on the same amount of money next year from what I understand.
MW Well that’d be great.
JD Are you a great Salesman then Malcolm, is that was happened? I mean was it really touch and go before the confirmation?
MW There’s no question. I mean when we were in Japan it was all over and that is a question I’ve been asked by many, many people – how did we manage to put it together? As I say, I think once I got to see the President there was a desire and it was just a case of them trying to find a solution. It is fair to say, the first proposal I went back with I didn’t get the green light so I had to go away again and we ended up coming up with a package that suits both parties.
JD Which makes your team in demand because you’ve committed to a long term future with Ford and I kind of looked at the drivers that will be in the press conference after you and I worked out that three out of the four of them will be out of contract at the end of next year so have you had any CVs or taps handed to you or Resumes for 2006? You’re a man in demand.
MW Yeah, if I could have three out of four that are in front of me we could have a good team together couldn’t we? Its fair to say that there’s obviously been a big interest especially with the announcement of PSA but we haven’t made any plans yet and we’ve absolutely got no definite rally plans for 2005 and in view of this decision, then obviously I’d be taking a longer term view and certainly not be rushing into it – okay that the first nomination has got to be in by the end of the month. As you say, rightly so, a lot of people have been on the phone and we’ll be making that decision in the next few weeks.
JD What drivers are you looking for Malcolm? Can you talk in round terms of where they might come from? What they’ve done?
MW There’s certainly three of the four that are going to sit here in front of me that we fancy.
JD Who’s the fourth one that you don’t fancy?
MW Its not that I don’t fancy him its just that I think his contract is with Subaru for a long time.
JD Right that clears that up. I was thinking of a certain Estonian that you might have wanted back.
MW No …..
JD Oh, that is interesting. So look, let’s talk about Australia. Guy, Sebastien, I think with the World Championship would like to win a sixth Rally and this is the weekend that you could win a sixth rally. That would be important in France I’m sure. Can he?
GF Yes, for sure Sebastien wants to show that he’s faster on this surface, this difficult surface, and maybe we think because it’s raining today and maybe tomorrow and in this condition it will be very, very difficult. I am also very sad and very disappointed for Carlos and Marc. I saw him yesterday and I spoke with him yesterday and he said to finish my career like this it is very, very difficult time.
JD Now Malcolm, can he make it a hat trick? Maybe it’d be a good bargaining tool if he fancied a drive next year.
MW There’s no reason why not. I think we’ve seem how competitive it is on the last two events. I think it is fair to say that Australia has definitely never been one of our better events.
JD But why is that, what’s been the missing ingredient?
MW I don’t know. I think we’ve always struggled for one reason or another. I think last year both drivers felt that they were lacking experience and they weren’t happy with their pace notes. Hopefully they’ve addressed that issue on this event for this time but in all honesty, I see no reason and if they’re confident then I’m sure they are going to be in there challenging for victory – both drivers.
JD Concentration okay with both drivers? When you come to Australia there are distractions and it’s the end of a long season, we’ve done 16 events and I’m told the sun will shine on the beach. Are they able to concentrate on the job at hand?
MW Yeah I think so, I think its fair to say that Markko is pretty fired up after his last two victories and I predicted that Francois will win a rally this season and he’s only got one event left to prove it. Whether he can do it might be quite a tall order for him but as I say, I think they’re going to be in there fighting with a shout.
JD Gentlemen, thank you. Malcolm Wilson from Ford and Guy Frequelin from Citroen, thank you very much.
Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot
Sebastien Loeb, Citroen
Markko Martin, Ford
Petter Solberg, Subaru
JD Gentleman, a very good afternoon to you, I’ll make this short, there’s a very good barbeque I have to go to. I’ll make this short. Who is going to win?
PS raised his hand and said “me”.
JD How? You crashed your car this morning, how are you going to win?
PS Co driver mistake! No no no that’s bad to say, it was my fault, my fault – I came through quick.
JD Have you worked out what went wrong?
PS Of course, if I am sitting here smiling.
JD Right Markko can I start with you first if that’s okay? I did hear that Peugeot are going to announce their second driver for next year, well they were going to announce it last week but then they had delay it because of that PSA announcement. You don’t know who it is do you?
MM No. I can’t help you.
JD Not at all?
MM No, unfortunately no.
PS He’s very tall, blue eyes.
MM Honestly I don’t know. They’ve been asking the same question for the last six months.
JD Yeah I know and I still can’t get an answer so I thought I’d try again. Do you, in your own mind, even if you can’t tell us, have a clear idea next year of where you will be and what you’ll be doing?
MM I think the situation at the moment is very changeable so its like you know, there is a game where the music plays and the people are just going around and when the music stops everybody has to sit down but one is missing a chair so I think it could be very much like that in the championship and when the time comes there may be some surprises to some people that there is no chair and I just hope that I am not the one who is standing up when the music stops.
JD Did that announcement last year by PSA, did it make it easier to make your decision about next year or more difficult?
MM Its difficult for everybody, it is not good when two top manufacturers are pulling out. It is going to make a big hole in the Championship in the whole shell so I think that you should be worried actually.
JD Oh I am. That’s why I am trying to ask, because I’ve got negotiations to make I hope. It makes you think about all the decisions that you have to make in life about where you’d like to be, about the car that you’d like to be driving, there is still somebody higher up who is going to make the decision and you can’t control it.
MM I just have to hope that I have good management who can take care of it, all you need is good management.
JD Listen are the pace notes in shape this year?
MM Yes, they’re good but let’s wait until the stages.
JD Are you writing out pace notes at the moment because they weren’t quite on the mark last year were they?
MM No they were not good. We made changes to it to make it better and I know it has been one of my weaknesses, really the weakest event in the championship and I have to probably try double hard to do well here but I really would like to try and make it happen.
JD Okay, listen I wish you the best of luck over the weekend and also the best of luck with that stuff for next year. So Petter you’re going to win this weekend because you’ve borrowed this title from Marcus who is the out and out expert and master of Australia… he told me to say that earlier on. So you had the title just for one year, last year, because he’s going to win it back this year so you can’t win it.
PS Well, you know it looked like it wouldn’t happen when I stopped into the poles this morning but obviously I am going try the best I can. The car felt very good this morning but I have a good feeling here. The conditions are going to be very difficult and it is going to be very tricky and that fits me very much so. I know there are many other people here who are hungry to win it but I think it is going to be one of the best yet, I think it is going to be a hell of a show.
JD Listen have you and Seb got a thing going about the sixth win (victory) because you’re each on 5. Are you trying to stop him from taking the sixth and the last because you want to have a bit of bragging rights for next year?
PS It’s just a number but of course it is going to be good fun. I think Sebastien wants to do it also.
JD Is six important?
PS Sex is important but not six.
SL Six is important because it is a record but we will not beat the record this year because everybody is sixth. It is not the most important for me. The most important is to do a good rally and I think it could be very interesting.
JD What happened last year between you two because the lead changed hands on Saturday morning, Sebastien you had it for a while, where did it go?
SL I had the lead in the start yes but Petter beat me and he won the race but it was a very good fight and it was so close and this year I will try to win for sure.
JD After last year you can’t let him win this again. He needs to win something back, he’s a proud guy. To win this one, he’d call the record, take the Championship home and he’ll never come back.
SL He won the Championship and I lost on the last round and this year is different so I think even if we don’t win here, he will be here next year. We’ll see. It is very difficult, very tricky and there can be a lot of mud with the weather and we’ll see. It is very difficult to know who will be the faster.
JD The weather has been very upside and down today, that’s my only gag for this afternoon there won’t be anymore. Has it left you with difficulties in the places like fast corners with a bit of water, a bit of mud because that’s where it can get fun.
PS It wasn’t fun this morning but of course it gives you an idea that a small mistake and you are finished so you have to keep so focused and that’s maybe what I needed before this rally – it was like a small warning, you know, don’t take things too easy. What’s happening is always mean to be. There was a reason I think.
JD And what was the reason? You were losing concentration or you were just getting a little over confident?
PS You never know, it can easily happen and you can get too much confidence. It is good sometimes for everybody to get something like that.
JD Sebastien, have you socialized with Petter this year? Have you met away this year or do you have a picture of him pinned up at home that you throw sharp objects at? What has the relationship been like because it has been a two horse race.
SL At the World Rally Championship we have a good relationship between drivers, everybody speaks altogether and we see each other 16 times in the year and we can speak a lot in the year.
JD Marcus, you’ve got two World titles, he’s got one and Markko’s still working on his first one. You’ve got three wins down here so you’re the grand daddy of them all. So do you like the conditions that we have here in Perth this weekend?
MG Normally it is not raining here so it is completely different. Maybe it can change tomorrow because it is drying very quickly and it is windy also.
JD So it makes it worse for you, I mean normally you prefer….
MG Normally I prefer dry weather..
JD Finland is a little bit like Australia, can’t understand anybody. It is similar, the condition, the roads?
MG The speed is the same maybe but a lot of trees close to the road, but it is more difficult here for me.
JD Back in Cyprus when you had the difficulty with the water pump your boss Provera said “will we give up? – never!” It was a very famous moment. But have Peugeot given up?
M No not yet, we are still fighting for next year and there are no thoughts that we are going to give up and I want to come back and win the title next year and we are fighting for it.
JD What was your reaction when you heard the news?
M I was surprised that they announced it now. Okay I knew that it is important next year to show some results.
JD Because you’re whole career has been with Peugeot so what do you do?
M I don’t know, back to my farm maybe. No I don’t know. The plan was to drive next year and the contract was to the end of 2005 so I’ll see how it is going next year.
PS I think anything is possible. They (PSA) have been talking about retirement but Malcolm did it and he got maybe not the best deal but a good one to stay in the Championship and hopefully he will go for a win so I think he is a fighting person so I think, you know, he has pushed very hard so we had to find a solution. Everything is possible. Doesn’t matter how dark it is and I just hope something can be sorted.
JD Did you hear us talking about Malcolm and Ford committing long term to the World Rally and the fact that now that makes Ford and him the best team thinking furthest ahead in the future and I said to him so have you had a few phone calls from one or two drivers who might be out of contract in 2006 and you’re the only one who wasn’t interested Petter.
PS The important thing is long term and it doesn’t matter if you’re a driver or a team you have to think long term to get the maximum out of the team or the drivers. And the other thing I think is very important is for FIA and the manufacturers to think long term Citroen have planned, you know, build a rally car, you sell many millions to get is absolutely perfect and now everything is up in the air, nothing is down on the table. We are talking to professional people here who want to do things properly and they need everything on paper. Then they can to it properly and it is the same for the drivers and also for the rallies – no changing anything because if they are changing rallies and dates you know, all the teams have to spend more money and sort out new hotels, and that absolutely pisses me off to be honest with you. The rules they are changing all the time you know.
JD You see Sebastien he’s off already so I’ll just stop him.
S For you, it must be frustrating. In Corsica you’re World Champion, you come to Australia and you’re looking for a job.
S Yes, but the decision like you said nobody knows what can happen, things change but here it is not so nice as it was in Corsica and for me I started with Citroen and have been driving with Citroen since I was not professional and we are world champion together this year and now to stop it is not nice. We had a nice project for 2006 with a new car and now I’m looking for a job here.
JD In New Zealand you were saying to stop tampering with these regulations.
MG Yes, I’ve said it many times. Something like Petter said, it would have to be stable and not changing things every moment.
JD Markko, you’re keeping quiet at the end there but you do have your points of view.
MM Yes, I was just wondering. It is good to see that Petter can do his job on a press conference for the longest speech.
PS I love the sport very much and that’s the reason why I’m saying it and it’s the best for everybody.
MM It is clear that everything Petter said, it makes sense and in every business I think you need some stability and if you keep changing your plans all the time then nobody knows what’s going to happen.