Present:
Urmo Aava – FIA JWRC
Guy Wilks – FIA JWRC
Matthew Wilson – Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
Daniel Sordo – Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team
Harri Rovanperä – Red Bull Škoda Team
Mikko Hirvonen – BP-Ford World Rally Team

Welcome to the pre-event FIA press conference.

Q:
Urmo, you’re leading the FIA Junior World Rally Championship at the moment, but by just one point. How are you going to approach the event? Will you need to drive flat-out from the start, or are you going to look at what everybody else is doing and adjust your pace to suit?

UA:
I think I have to forget the Championship and only concentrate on a good result in this rally, I think that is the easiest way. I think we have to go very fast but still have to keep the car in one piece. But there’s no time to look you have to attack. I think it’s still possible, I’m one point ahead of second; one point is one point.

Q:
Guy, it’s been an exciting few days in the JWRC. You’re now four points behind the leader, so also in with a good chance of winning the Championship.  Is your approach going to be any different from that of Urmo? Is it wait and see or flat-out from the start?

GW:
Our approach to the event is to try and win it, we can’t control what other people do or what happens to other people and first and foremost we must try and win the event. I think there’s quite a lot of tactics to be played in this rally. Obviously there’s four drivers that stand a chance of winning the Championship, which is quite unique in this day and age of rallying; you know it’s not very often that it comes down to the final round. And there’s four points separating four drivers, I think it’s very interesting; I think it’s one of the most interesting things that has happened recently for the sport. And as far as the tactics are for the event, yeah you can go out and try and be fast and try and set the pace, but I think in this rally you have to be quite lucky to stay out front. Wales can always throw up a problem or a puncture, even, and a puncture in the junior cars - obviously we don’t run mousse like the WRC cars - that’s a big disadvantage to gain a puncture and you have to try and be very wary and balance your speed and stay with the front-runners, I think it’s the most important thing.

Q:
Urmo, it’s the first time that we’ve had a World Championship rally in December for many years and obviously we’re likely to have rain, maybe even snow and ice. With just two wheel drive, how slippery do you think the conditions will be for the JWRC drivers? Are you going to be struggling for traction and grip?

UA:
I think it’s easier than in a WRC car because the speed is a little bit less, so we are lucky. I think the traction will be the key point of the fast driving so I think that everybody now is making their set-up to get perfect for the traction, but okay it’s the same for everybody.

Q:
Guy, do you think you have a home advantage? How well do you know these stages? Who do you expect to be your biggest challenger for the win, regardless of what happens in the Championship? What’s the key to doing well here do you think? How different are the conditions going to be on this rally in December as opposed to September?

GW:
Not so well because they’ve reversed quite a lot (of the stages) and changed quite a lot this year funnily enough. Obviously the days have changed. Brechfa and Trawscoed are now on the last day and they used to be on the Friday. I don’t think you can ever know a rally too well. It’s my home rally and you know it’s great to have that support. We always approach a rally trying to win it so from that point of view it doesn’t change anything apart from obviously we have a lot of support here which is fantastic. In terms of knowing the rally there’s a lot of stages reversed, a lot have changed around or there’s link-up sections in the middle and that almost disorientates you when you first see them. I don’t think it’s so much of a disadvantage for somebody like Urmo who hasn’t done the event for a couple of years to be coming in and fighting in this situation. I think my team-mate PG (Per-Gunnar Andersson), he knows the rally almost as well as I do; I’ve only competed on the rally once more than he has. Obviously Kris Meeke and Urmo as well. You know I think us four are generally the strongest competitors in the Junior World Rally Championship and it’s no joke or funny coincidence that three out of those four drivers are in with a shout of winning the Championship. The difference (in the conditions) this year is massive compared to last year. Last year I signed a picture for a guy that had a massive plume of dust behind the car, I don’t think you’re going to see that this year. The grip last year was incredible, it was very good. This year the mud’s coming through the road, there’s been a lot of rain over the past few weeks. Brechfa and Trawscoed are notoriously slippery in these conditions. It makes a difference because it slows the average speed of all the cars down and it’s definitely going to make it a lot trickier. Phil (Pugh) and I have discussed that already. I think that always rallying is about going quick and keeping the car on the road, but here this year it’s a lot about keeping the car on the road.

Q:
After this rally is over, it’s less than two months until the 2007 Rallye Monte Carlo. What are your plans for next year Urmo? How much does it depend on the Championship battle?

UA:
I have plans but they are not 100 per cent, so I cannot say anything. Of course it makes it easier but if you win the title it doesn’t automatically give you something, so still you have to find the sponsors to continue.

Q:
How about you Guy? How close are you to getting 2007 sorted? Is there much on the table? How difficult is it for a driver in your situation to find a drive? How much easier would it be if you won the Championship? Is your idea to step up to the World Rally Car formula, or would you consider something else.

GW:
I hope so, but there’s nothing guaranteed at the moment. It’s difficult times in rallying I suppose, especially for guys like us who have been around the JWRC for a while. We’ve proven we’ve got the speed, it’s just a case of either having a sponsor behind you, like Urmo said, which is very difficult to get. Winning doesn’t guarantee you a seat with a manufacturer, or a better chance of getting a sponsor, it might aid you. Hopefully we’ll be doing something, there are a few of us in the JWRC who would like to get into WRC cars and feel we could do a good job and be more than competitive with a number of drivers, so it’s just waiting, well, not waiting, but going out and getting the opportunity which a number of us are trying to do at the moment. Obviously I’ve driven with Suzuki now for three years, we all know about their plans, but at the same time it’s about getting an opportunity as soon as possible. It’s very difficult trying to gain sponsorship for rallying; it’s not an easy task. People say it matters in which country you live, I don’t think it does. Some countries definitely have a larger following or larger percentage following of rally enthusiasts and firms and industries that are interested. It’s very difficult but it’s not stopped us yet.

Q:
Hi Matt and welcome. You unfortunately start this event with a one minute penalty. Do you think you have lost a chance of a result here? What do you think it’s possible to achieve? What is your strategy for the rally now? Is this one of the most important events of the year for you?

MW:
I think it’s probably gone with a chance of a result, but I think if we can go out and hopefully do what we did in New Zealand and set some good times like we did on day two and day three then I’d be reasonably happy. I think we’ve got a little bit more experience of this event and that should help, but obviously the date change is going to make it a little bit more difficult. But we’ve seen on the recce that the stages are quite tricky in places so we’ll just have to wait and see. I think you’ve got to treat all the events the same. It is quite nice coming home and doing your home rally, especially after every rally this year has been totally new to me. It is nice to come back and do some stages that you know, it just makes life a little bit easier. There are a lot of quick guys here. I mean Mark Higgins, for example, is probably going to go very well in the older Focus and we’ve seen before how competitive he is at the front, so it’s going to be difficult to do that but I will be happy if we can show some speed; we’ll see what happens.

Q:
Your first Rally Great Britain in a World Rally Car Dani. What do you think will be your biggest challenge here? Now that the Manufacturers’ Championship is decided, does that mean you’ll be able to drive as quickly as you like? How important is it for you to end the year with a strong result? How much more difficult is it to drive a World Rally Car on this event than a Super 1600 car?

DS:
The stages are fast and slippery, but I’ll try and take some good notes because it’s important to finish the stages this year. I will try to drive fast all the time but it’s difficult, it’s really difficult also, for Matthew, for young drivers, to drive very fast with two passes for recce. Sometimes it’s really difficult on Tarmac but it’s better for me because it has more feeling. But on gravel in these conditions on really narrow and fast stages it’s difficult to take a very good position with two laps only. The S1600 car is different, the sensation is faster but after the speed it’s faster in a WRC car. In the JWRC the people sometimes make more mistakes than WRC cars, in World Rally Cars people like Marcus never make a mistake, this is difficult.

Q:
Hello Harri. We last saw you on the Rally of Turkey in October; what have you been doing since then? Have you been testing? You’ve always liked this rally; are you confident that you will be able to go well here? Do these difficult conditions suit you? Is it difficult to come back in and drive quickly straight away when your last rally was nearly two months ago?

HP:
Okay, it’s been business in Jyväskylä and again I have continued building my house. Yes this week on Monday I tested. This car is similar like in rallies before, there are not any new things here, it’s still the same. Every year the rally is quite similar and I’ve gone well nine times, so I hope it’s 10 times. We will try. It’s my last rally with Red Bull Skoda and I will really try pushing this weekend. Yes of course, it’s a little bit difficult but I don’t have any pressure and I’m not thinking about this. I’m sure tomorrow morning everything will be starting as usual. Everything is working well.

Q:
Mikko, we’re here at the last rally of the year after Ford won the Manufacturers’* title in New Zealand. Does this mean that you are off the leash now? Do you think you can match the pace of Marcus in a straight fight, or even beat him? Are you going to be flat-out from the start?

MH:
I think maybe in a way yes, but I don’t know if it is it going to change things so much. Of course I can take a few more risks and maybe try to push a bit harder, but okay I will try. These are the conditions I am really lacking experience in and I’m always losing time when it’s muddy and slippery so this is now a good opportunity to learn a bit more and really try my limits. Yeah maybe flat-out but I don’t know am I going to stay on the road for too long?

Q:
How much does it mean to you to be competing on your home event Matt? How well do you know these stages from your experience of the British Championship and Wales Rally GB in the past? How much trickier do you think it will be competing in December? Have you enjoyed a lot of local support?

MW:
Yeah, it’s good to come back home and probably see a lot of the people that you don’t see on the other rallies. For me you’ve got to treat every rally the same, but like you say it is nice to be a bit closer to home and maybe even have some more support as well. I did this rally for the last two years so we’ve got two years experience, but I think being held at this time of year it’s going to make it difficult like Mikko said, what he lacks in these slippery types of conditions it’s probably the same for me. It’s going to be a good chance to try and pick that up this weekend and get more feeling in these types of conditions.

Q:
How was the recce Dani, was there was a lot of rain on the stages? It looks like the weather is not going to be too cold, but there might be more heavy rain. Will the weather conditions be a big factor? How easy is it to make a mistake on these roads? Your last rally with the Xsara; how do you feel about that?

DS:
There was a lot of rain in the recce but I think here it’s normal, the rain and mud all the time. But I think that sometimes it’s difficult on the corners because they are very fast and very long and close and it’s difficult to make the notes, but I think it’s okay. It’s very nice to drive, very fast especially fast and nice, I like it. The Xsara is the same all the time, it’s a good car. I drove only one year with the Xsara but I think it’s more for Sébastien and for Citroën, but of course, yes, because it’s a very good car on Tarmac but also on gravel, it’s a World Champion with Sébastien.

Q: 
Looking back over the year, how do you think it has been Harri? Are you likely to be driving the Škoda again? Do you have any plans for the 2007 season at this point?

HP:
It’s not so easy always this, but for rally business it’s normal. Not. Like I say I have a business in Jyväskylä too so if I’ve not found anything in rallying. Yes of course I’ve enjoyed it.

Q:
Mikko, you’ve been testing as well before this rally. Do you think that the Focus will suit these stages? Do you think the battle will be between you and Marcus on the stages or will there be a few other drivers involved as well?

MH:
I’m sure it will. It’s been a good car in all the rallies actually this year so I’m sure it’s not about the car; it’s how we’re going to do the rally. I’m sure there’s going to be some other drivers as well. It’s like with Subaru, they have the speed and some rallies they have been struggling; maybe they’ll be very fast here. I’m sure Henning (Solberg) and Manfred (Stohl) they will be very fast here. Like Citroën, I think in New Zealand at the end of the rally that Dani and Xavier were doing very well and it might be that we have a big fight in the end.