Present:
1st Petter Solberg – Subaru World Rally Team
     Philip Mills – Subaru World Rally Team
2nd Markko Märtin – Marlboro Peugeot Total
      Michael Park – Marlboro Peugeot Total
3rd Toni Gardemeister – BP Forld World Rally Team
      Jakke Honkanen – BP Forld World Rally Team
David Lapworth: Representative of winning Manufacturer, Subaru World Rally Team

Q:
Petter, you and Marcus had an incredible fight. Tell us about your win?
PS:
It can turn around very quickly. It was very good. There was no psychologically factor between Marcus and me. It’s very straight forward. It’s a great feeling to win this rally, I almost can’t believe it’s true. It has been very tough in the past, but this year has gone perfectly.

Q:
Philip, what did you think when you saw Marcus car before you on the stage?
PM:
At first we didn’t know it was Marcus car. It was a red Peugeot, it could have been Märtin.

Q:
Petter, do you think you had won if Marcus still been in the race?
PS:
It’s difficult to say. But I felt I had good control. We sat for 10 hours working at the strategy.

Q:
David, were you confident before this rally?
DL:
We were confident with a good result. In his heart Petter wanted to win this rally. He performs well under pressure.

Q:
Markko, was this what you expected?
MM:
We had our problems we decided not to push to the limit. I know I can drive faster. But this was definitely more than I expected.

Q:
Last year it went very well in Mexico. Do you expect it to happen again?
MM:
No, I can’t expect it to happen again. We need a lot of testing and we have to catch up on the suspension. 

Q:
Michael, Was it a big problem with the gearbox?
MP:
It wasn’t such a big trauma but it was a big surprise that we hit the rocks. We are used to snow, it is a shame in that point of view.

Q:
Toni, is it OK to lead the championship?
TG:
It is very nice. It hasn’t happen before.

Q:
Toni, you implied you didn’t feel OK
TG:
I was never too confident. I feel out of pace. And this rally has been different. No snow banks, it was difficult to drive.

Q:
The big issue before this event was the amount of snow. Has it been acceptable?
PS:
It’s the wrong thing for me to complain about. But rally drivers should be able to drive on every surface. It went really well. It’s nothing to talk about.

Q:
Should the rally move further north?
MM:
Yes, this time the organizer was lucky. It looks white on TV but it is not the real thing.

Q:
Now you won with the Impreza 2004. Next rally you will compete with the 2005. What are your expectations?
DL:
I am confident about the new car. Petter will test it next week, we are waiting for his feedback.

2005 FIA PRODUCTION CARS WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st Toshihiro Arai – Subaru Team Arai
and Tony Sircombe - Subaru Team Arai

Q:
Congratulations. What is the big difference compared to last year?
TA:
Thank you I’m very happy. I got turbo this year. And it’s a big difference.

Q:
Tony, will you comment on Toshi driving?
TS:
Toshi is always pushing himself to win. He is always does it the proper way.