Present:
Khalid Al-Qassimi - PWRC
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah - PWRC
Daniel Sordo - Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team
Malcolm Wilson - BP-Ford World Rally Team
Manfred Stohl - OMV-Peugeot Norway
Harri Rovanperä - Red Bull Škoda Team

Welcome to the pre-event FIA press conference.

Q:
Hello Khalid, your first time here in the PWRC. How difficult do you expect this rally to be, in front of all these extremely experienced competitors, like Nasser and Toshi Arai? You are a former Middle East Champion; do you think your experiences in the desert will help you? It is likely to be extremely hot inside the car, but I suppose you do not even notice it.

KA-Q:
It looks like being a long and difficult rally and I am sure that the battle will carry on to the last few kilometres of the event. As a driver you need to control your driving and your balance. In the Middle East we have a couple of desert-type rallies and some hard gravel rallies. We can say that there is a similarity with the rocks and the roughness. But this rally is very technical. Everyone asks me the question about the heat, but I think that the hydration factor is more of a problem here than it is in the Middle East. Over there we have faster rallies and there is more air blowing inside the car. Here we have twisty rallies and the air flow is reduced.

Q:
Hello Nasser and welcome. You come to this rally effectively four points ahead of Fumio Nutahara, once all the dropped scores are taken into account. You’ve each got two wins. Is this the most critical rally of the year for you – the one that could maybe win you the Championship? Obviously you want to finish ahead of him so what will be your tactic? Do you think you will be able to go flat-out for the win, or will you be keeping a close eye on Fumio’s times?

NA-A:
Actually this rally is our key. If we get a good result here in Cyprus we will be very close to the Championship. I will do my best, because I have a lot of experience of rallies in Cyprus and the hot temperatures. I don’t have any problems with slow stages. We are here to do a good rally. We have worked well and are leading the Championship. Toshi is here and Nutahara is here and Aki. Everybody wants to win this race. Our experience will be the key, I think, for this Cyprus Rally. Sometimes you make a plan, but you change your tactics during the race. If someone is fast you try the same pace. We try and stay away from trouble and make no mistakes. This rally is not one stage, it is three days and very tough. We will do our best.

Q:
Nasser it’s been a busy year for you. You have won the Asian Clay Target Championship and you have another championship in December. Is the target for you three championships in one year?

NA-A:
I hope so. I try and do my best. In shooting I was in Singapore last week for Clay Target. I was happy with the win. I had not planned to get a good result last week, because before this I was in Morocco with BMW for a test for the Dakar Rally. We did around 6,000 kilometres. I was coming to Singapore very tired. The next day I competed. I was happy with the win, because the Asian Games in December is very important for me.

Q:
What do you think will be the key to success here? Tyres seem to be a major factor; are punctures going to decide this rally?

KA-Q:
The thing is there are a couple of stages where we will be following after the WRC cars and the tracks will be rutted. Suddenly there are two fast-flowing stages. The key is not to overdo the faster stages. The strategy is you and your co-driver building confidence and making your own pace on each stage. We will see how it goes. If you are competing for seconds in a stage a puncture is crucial. If you have to stop it is crucial and you will lose too much time.

Q:
With tyre performance being such a critical factor, do you think the Yokohamas fitted to Fumio Nutahara’s car will be a big challenge to your Pirellis? What do you think the major differences between the tyres are?

NA-A:
Now all the tyres are good and are the same in terms of performance. If you have a puncture you still have a puncture. Last year when I was here we had a puncture. If you stay far from punctures you will have a very good result in Cyprus.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR:

Paul Fadhel (Al-Jazira TV, Qatar)
During this year you have experienced several surface changes, desert, ice, tarmac and rough stages in many championships. Do you and Khalid, as Middle East drivers, have an advantage on this type of stage?

NA-A:
No not really. All these drivers are very experienced and have knowledge of these conditions. Everybody is here for a good result and has experience.

Paul Fadhel (Al-Jazira TV, Qatar)
It is your first time in a battle for points. The last time in Greece you were in the top six I think. What is your plan for this rally?

KA-Q:
We need to get a good result. Regardless of the position we need to score some good points to support Nasser for the Championship. I would like to thank people who have supported me and give them a good drive.

Q:
Dani, the big news for you after Japan is that you are now confirmed as an official Citroën driver for next year. How much of a difference do you feel that will make to your performance this year? Will you feel a bit more relaxed and confident in the five rallies that remain this season?

DS:
This is very good news for me. Now everything is good for the future, for my confidence and the work. I will be more relaxed, but I will try and make a big push for Citroën. I think it is difficult.

Q:
Malcolm, rough and hot rallies have traditionally been a Ford Focus speciality. How confident are you that this latest version of the car will stand up to the notoriously tough conditions of Cyprus? The slow nature of the stages also puts a firm emphasis on cooling; how well will the car perform in that area?

MW:
I think if you look at the previous events, we learned a lot in Sardinia and made some changes for Greece, which worked very well. Greece was rougher this year than previous years. Since then we have been testing in Sardinia in similar conditions on tight, twisty slow stages. All is good, the drivers are happy and we don’t seem to have any issues. We are looking forward to the event. I hope that cooling is not a problem. Since we launched the car we have had no wet weather testing until last week in Spain. When we were in Sardinia it was up to 39 or 40 degrees some days. We had some problems, but we managed to address then during the test. This event is tight and twisty and we hope that that testing will bear fruit here.

Q:
Manfred, last year we saw a career-best performance from you here, with a well-deserved second place. What would you say are your chances of repeating that here this year? Is this a rally that you have a particularly good feeling with? What was the key to your success last year – are there any lessons you can learn for this year? What about the state of the roads – how do they compare to last year?

MS:
For sure it will be very hard to make the same result again. Last year the organisers had no Austrian flag when I came to the finish and they organised it very quickly! Sure they are better prepared this year and I want to help their efforts by using the flag again this year! Basically I don’t like the rough rallies. Cyprus is not my favourite event, but I had a good feeling last year and I saved the car. My tyres were okay and I had a bit of luck and everything came together. My experience on the rough roads helped me a lot. It is hard to say now about the roads. They tried to grade the roads, but it looks more dangerous to me this year. Stages are shorter and everyone tries to push a little more. The bumps are deeper and that could be some problems for the cars.

Q:
Harri, welcome back. Good to see you here, what have you been doing since your last rally in Greece? Have you been doing any testing? How did everything go and have you got any new parts on the car? So now we are here in Cyprus; is this a rally that you like? You need a strong car here – do you think that the conditions will suit the Škoda Fabia WRC? Is this rally one of your best chances this year?

HR:
All the summer I was building my own house. We had quite a good test after the Finland Rally. We found many small things and are working in the right way. Sure we need more work and more time and some more parts to be homologated. There is nothing new this week in the set-up, maybe just the front and rear diff. I think we have a strong car; that is not our problem. Speed is not the top. I hope we can push, but we will see by Sunday. I hope to make the podium and I am sure that the organisers have a Finnish flag ready!

Q:
Cyprus is another new rally for you Dani; how difficult will it be for you to get used to these quite specific conditions? Will you be able to challenge for a podium, or do you think you will be aiming for a points finish? Even if you do not know this rally well, your co-driver Marc has been here before. How much does his experience help you?

DS:
It is difficult. This is the first time here. It is slow and twisty. It is a good rally, not always flat out. It is not like Finland. We will see. The Xsara is a good car. Marc has a lot of experience. He is the co-driver and it is not possible for him to drive. I am happy with Marc.

Q:
Malcolm, you’re just back from a test in Spain. How did that go? Are there some new developments we can expect in the pipeline for the next few rallies? How important is it for you to win the Manufacturers’ Championship this year. I believe there are 11 points separating you from Kronos with five rounds to go – can they be overhauled?

MW:
Spain went very well. The weather we had was torrential and we couldn’t carry out any evaluation. It was our first chance to test in wet and slippery conditions. It was not very conclusive in a lot of things, but useful in other areas for things like Rally GB. It is important for me to win the Championship. It is our 10th year and we have come very close on numerous occasions. We have never pulled it off. The last time we won the Driver’s Championship was 25 years ago. A win is long overdue. According to Dani’s Team Manager it is in the bag for Citroën. That is the challenge I like. We have seen on recent events that our car is very strong, so we will see. Anyone in Japan will have seen the excitement. It’s a pity you cannot capture that on television. I think there will be some exciting events at the end of the year.

Q:
Manfred, speaking of Championship battles, you are in the middle of a very close contest, in fifth place between two factory drivers. Six points ahead of you, you have Mikko Hirvonen, then six points behind you, you have Petter Solberg. How do you see that battle developing? Do you think fourth in the Championship is possible for you?

MS:
I proved that I make constant events and make few mistakes. My plan is to continue. Sometimes it is better not to fight for the top place and wait for the mistakes of the other drivers. We are a private team; I try until the end and do my best. The last three rallies are my favourite ones, but you never know with Petter. He is fast all the time.

Q:
Harri, everyone’s been pleased to see you back. Do you have any plans for next year yet? Would you like to keep on driving – maybe in the Skoda? Or do you have any other ideas?

HR:
I have no plan yet. If we can do something in the next two events then we will see.