Present:
Mario Isola – Pirelli Rally Manager
Chris Atkinson – Subaru World Rally Team
Marcus Grönholm – BP-Ford World Rally Team
Matthias Ekström – Red Bull Škoda Team
Matthew Wilson – Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
Marc Van Dalen – Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team
Per-Gunnar Andersson (Suzuki)
Martin Prokop (Citroën)

Welcome to the pre-event FIA press conference.

Q:
Welcome Mario. Some people in this room do not know you yet; could you explain your role within Pirelli, and tell us about the particular challenges tyre manufacturers face here in Sweden?
MI:
I’m the new Rally Manager. Last year it was Brivio; now I take the same place as him. He’s in the new test team. I worked with Maserati Trofeo project for two years, so I have circuit experience for two years. The rally is very different from the circuit. We have a good product from last year with the tyre. We have some new tyres this time, something new with the studs.

Q:
Hello Chris. You are driving the 2006 Subaru Impreza for the first time. What do you think of it? What are the main differences between this and the 2005 car you drove in Monte Carlo?
CA:
Obviously there are a lot of diferences. We’ve been doing a lot of fine-tuning and trying to understand what we want from the car and what the diffs can do for you. It’s going to take a few rallies to get to the top level. What we have here is a good base and, obviously, we’re a bit quicker than we were last year. The feeling and response from this car are not going to be as sharp with mechanical diffs as it was with the active we had last year. The team is obviously working to make this better. We haven’t done a back-to-back test from last year’s car, but it feels very good.

Q:
There is a new design of studded tyre here from Pirelli. Can you tell us a little bit about it? Which sort of advantages do you think it will be able to offer you?
MI: We are always trying to find a stud that is easier to retain in the tryre. Now we are trying to find a stud that gives the driver better feeling and doesn’t move in the tread.

Q:
In Monte Carlo your season got off to an excellent start when you were second overall after the first day. With another year of experience of the Swedish event behind you, do you think you might be able to match that performance?
CA:
Considering I’ve only done four Tarmac rallies, my loose surface skills are probably a bit better. I definitely hope to have a better result here. Sixth is what we are aiming at, but I think I can be quicker than I was in Monte. I’m definitely more suited to this than Monte as I’d never done that event before.

Q:
At the moment, there is only one snow rally in the championship. With the amount of investment and time that tyre manufacturers put into developing snow rubber, would you like to see another snow rally in the championship?
MI:
You are right. At the moment this is the only snow event in the World Championship. This means you spend a lot of money developing a specific tyre and in testing. We have a facility in Italy, but the conditions you find here are nothing like we would find in another place. l have to test this tyre here and it costs a lot of money to come here. For us it’s better not to have a specific product for this rally or we should have another rally to share the expense on two or three different ones.

Q:
Does this rally have special memories for you – it was your first factory drive this time last year? Has your approach changed at all since then?
CA:
I had never driven a World Rally Car before. It was amazing last year. We took an approach, we took some risks and had a few crashes, but we showed some speed. There was no point going out and driving for the finish, especially when I didn’t feel comfortable in the car. It was better to take some risks, show some speed and let the rest come later. My approach this year will be a bit more conservative. But probably we will have better speed. I don’t think we need to take the risks we did then. The result will come from the experience we’ve had over the last year.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR:
Richard Rodgers (Motorsport News, GB)

Q:
Formula One will have a control tyre. What do you think of having a control tyre in WRC?
MI:
It could happen, but it wouldn’t be Pirelli’s point of view. Pirelli wants to have other tyre manufacturers to have comparison and to have a fight. One tyre manufacturer would not be good. In FIA GTs, we have three or four involved, otherwise, it would be similar to the Ferrari Challenge. It’s not the way to have development in tyres.

Q:
What if it could reduce costs?
MI:
Sure it costs more. It’s a small development when it’s a one-tyre championship, the tyres last one or two years. But we want to put all our technology from the race into road tyres and this means we need competition.

Q:
Chris, you’re doing Rally Ireland. Why, and how do you think you will get on?
 
CA:
The idea behind it is to get some more Tarmac experience. As I said, I’ve only done four tar rallies – and they’re keen on having someone along. Any help for me on Tarmac is invaluable. I’m sure it’ll be tricky. I haven’t driven Group N for a while and never on Tarmac. I’m sure the local drivers will be tough, but we’re not going there to drive slowly.

Q:
Congratulations on your win in Monte Carlo. Sweden is your favourite rally: how confident do you feel of winning here again? Has the problem with your throttle pedal position been sorted out now? Are there any more things that are new on the car? Do you feel you are completely up to speed with it now, or are you still learning some aspects of it?
MG:
Not really confident, but I’m sure we can fight for the win. The car feels good, but it will be really tight. We’ll see. The seat is okay now we have moved the pedal closer to my seat. The angle and travel of the pedal is better. I think I still need some rallies to be really confident in the car. I haven’t driven the car on gravel, just the test two months ago in Sweden.

Q:
Hello Mattias. This is your second Swedish Rally with the Škoda Fabia WRC now. Does the car and the team seem different this time? What are the main things you have noticed? Have you done any rallies since then?
ME:
We have made some improvements. I’ve not been here for a year, but the team has made the car quicker. Everybody else is also going quicker, it will be interesting to see how we can fight with the other guys. I hadn’t done any rallies since the Swedish last year, then last weekend I had some testing and tried to do a national rally, but we stopped in SS1. We lost a wheel in the forest. The preparation is not massive like last year, but I have the experience from last year. This is something I would like to change for the future, if I come again. As for the car, we have a little bit more ground clearance which is good because the car doesn’t bottom as much, and it helps because we run the car quite soft. And the five-speed gearbox helps quite a lot.

Q:
Conditions this year seem very good. Are they ideal, or would you like to see the weather change? What sort of state are the stages in? What are they like to drive? For the first time in quite a long time you will be running as first car on the road – will that have any effect?
MG:
We need just some minus degrees. It’s perfect now, I think it will be good again. In the recce it was good as well, nothing to complain about. Running first can be a small problem. Tomorrow’s first and second stage... I don’t know; I hope not, but maybe a couple of seconds. The plan is to attack, do what we can and then see where we are.

Q:
Is rallying just a hobby for you, alongside your DTM commitments, or do you think that in the future you might be more serious about it? How much do you enjoy it compared to circuit races?
ME:
No, I mean definitely it’s only a hobby. I have signed a three-year deal with Audi for the DTM. The Swedish Rally is once a year for me. It’s very nice to do it with them, but that’s all. Maybe I will be coming to the Swedish Rally for three years, I hope so. I enjoy it a lot, especially when conditions are nice. During the recce we saw the roads were much better than in previous years. I would guess four or five stages might have some gravel, but when we have snow banks it is enjoyable. It’s definitely different coming from a different background. Just getting used to the pace notes again is hard – trying to store more than one corner in the head is difficult. Also driving the car on the road is hard, it’s so narrow and then also we are steering more than we would do on the circuit - this is different.
 
Q:
Marcus, you said that you had a feeling you could win the Monte Carlo Rally before the event started. Tell us – do you have the same feeling here? Who do you think will be your strongest opponents?
MG:
Yes I have the same feeling that we can win here. Not one hundred percent sure, though. I think Petter and Sebastien; they have won the rally, they know. But also there are many other fast drivers around. It’s easier to say tomorrow.

Q:
Welcome Marc. It was a fantastic drive from Sebastien in Monte Carlo: did the performance of your team and the car meet your expectations? How much pressure do you feel to succeed, now that you have a World Champion in your team?
MVD:
The expectation isn’t from me, it comes from Sebastien himself. That was my first time to work with Sebastien. Before the rally we didn’t know each other so well. He’s a very clever guy, but not like a star. I was very happy at the end of the rally, he said there was no change from last year. There’s not really big pressure. We worked with Manfred and Xevi last year, there’s no reason for us to change the mind of how we work. Okay there’s some pressure from the media, but not really from us.

Q:
Your perspective on the Monte Carlo Rally was probably very different. Are you happy with your performance? How difficult has it been to get to grips with all the new things you have had to learn?
MW:
It was definitely a good start. It was not the easiest to start with, but we got to the end and that was the plan. Having the first three stages cancelled didn’t really help my nerves. It was a baptism of fire, but we got to the end. In my first full year, it’s not easy, but it’s definitely the right place to learn. The more experience I get, it’s definitely going to make it easier in the future.

Q:
If you succeed in winning the World Championship this year, you would be the first private team to do it for 25 years. How confident are you that you will be able to do this?
MVD:
Not yet. There’s still a long season ahead. We have something positive though, the driver of the car. Everything is possible. I expect a big fight between Seb, Marcus and Petter. It’s hard for me to think about the end when we have so many rallies to go. I’m confident in the car. The Xsara is at a very good level and we have the right tyre, they’re just as important as before. BF Goodrich will give us the right tyre. The budget we have is not like a works team, but the motivation is very high.

Q:
What’s your game plan here Matt? Are you looking for the same sort of pace as you had in Monte Carlo, with the main aim of finishing? Or is it your intention to up the pace? How much experience have you had on snow?
MW:
This morning at shakedown was our test! We hadn’t driven the car on snow, but we did a few rallies to get used to it. I did three rallies in Finland last year and got used to it a bit. I got used to this car here today. Tomorrow will be more of that and then maybe pick up pace a little bit over Saturday and Sunday. My aim is to finish, but if we try to be too safe you can lose a lot of time. It’s so fast here, you can lose too much time. You’re in sixth gear for such a long time, you need a rhythm.

Q:
Everybody knows about Sebastien, but among the other drivers you are running there is Daniel Sordo. From what you have seen, how big a talent is he? Could he go on to achieve the sort of things that Sebastien has?
MVD:
It’s never easy for a young driver like Dani. He’s only 22. he has to learn and the finish of the rally is the only way to do that. He needs to make as many kilometres as he can and that’s the most important thing for him. For Xevi, it’s the same situation as Dani. He’s only 25 and learning all the time, that’s the most important objective. For example, it’s his first time driving a World Rally Car on snow. After that he knows the gravel and the Tarmac of Catalunya and Corsica better. I expect an improvement from the next rally, but the most important thing here is to catch a point.

Q:
How about your own ambitions, Matt? How long do you think it will take you to get to the top?
MW:
Realistically, we’re looking at five, maybe six years. Sebastien is maybe the exception. His rise to the top was extremely quick, but as for the guys like Petter and Markko, it’s taken them that time, and that’s from starting at 22. I’m starting at 18, so it could take a bit longer. As a person, I think you mature so much between 18 and 22, it’s the little things like that. Being in the M-Sport environment is amazing. It’s part of my life, it always has been. Growing up with the likes of Carlos and Colin coming around is amazing. I’ve got a fantastic opportunity to be here and doing it.

Q:
Hello P-G. New year, new season. Last year was not the best one for you: how are you going to make sure that the story of 2006 is different?
P-GA:
Just make better results than 2005. It’s hard competition this year though. We still have some good chances, we’ve done some improvements on the car and the driver has also done some improvements. It’s a positive start for all of the rallies.

Q:
Welcome Martin. There have also been a few changes for you too this season. You’ve got a new car – how are you finding it?
MP:
I have many changes in my team. A new car, the Citroen C2 – a big change for me. The car is absolutely different from the Ignis. The car is very good, maybe the best I can buy as a private driver.

Q:
Is there anything different about the Suzuki this year? Are you confident that it can be faster than the Citroen, which was its main rival last year? Are there any other cars that you will be watching out for?
P-GA:
The car has changed since Catalunya, but you know what our goals are. Our rallies are a bit stronger and testing before the rallies is good. Starting at home in Sweden is good for the confidence and it’s nice to show what the car can do. Even if the car’s not quick, I’ll be faster than the Citroen drivers. It’s easy! The same drivers will be fighting: it will be Guy and me, then the same guys from last year – there can be five or six of us.

Q:
You said that last year was mostly a learning year for you. Now that you have some knowledge of the events, which sort of objectives have you set for yourself this year?
MP:
I would like to try to drive faster than before, but the project is for three years. This year is a big step. I have a faster car and bigger team. I don’t know if I’m ready to make some big results yet.

Q:
What’s it like driving on home territory? Is it special for you? Does coming from Sweden give you an advantage over the other drivers?
PGA:
I’ve done it before, but not in the Junior Championship. It’s a big opportunity for me to show what we can do on the Swedish ice and snow. I hope to get a good result and hope to be on top of the podium on Sunday night. We will not be slacking off. We have rallies in Greece and Cyprus where the roads are in really bad condition, driving on the smooth roads here is easier – you just have to get the gears in.

Q:
Like most of the JWRC drivers, you have never driven this rally before. How difficult do you think it will be to get to grips with driving on snow?
MP:
Before I think it’s easier; after shakedown, it’s harder than I thought. It’s very fast and I don’t know how to race here. It’s very, very fast. It’s crazy!