Present:
1st Marcus Grönholm – BP Ford World Rally Team
1st Timo Rautiainen – BP Ford World Rally Team
2nd Sébastien Loeb – Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team
2nd Daniel Elena – Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team
3rd Daniel Carlsson – Mitsubishi Lancer WRC
3rd Bo Holmstrand – Mitsubishi Lancer WRC
Malcolm Wilson - BP Ford World Rally Team

Welcome to the final FIA press conference. Joining us are the winners Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen, second placed crew Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena and Daniel Carlsson and Bo Holmstrand, who finished third. Team Principal of the BP Ford World Rally Team Malcolm Wilson joins us on behalf of the winning manufacturer.

Q:
Congratulations Marcus. Two wins in a row – did you expect that at the start of the season? It was a big fight between you and Sebastien; at what point did you feel confident that you would win? Did you expect Sebastien to be closer to you? What about Petter?
MG:
No, I didn’t expect to win. It’s a new car, it’s a fantstic result. I thought I could win before the last stage, not earlier. Everything is possible. We had our problems this morning. I was expecting Sebastien will be closer but I knew it would be a good fight here, I was sure about that. Petter had so many troubles in this rally, he couldn’t show his speed. We have to wait for Mexico to see what he can do.

Q:
On the last day of the rally today, were you able to drive according to the split times or were you still pushing hard? Were you worried at all after last year, when you rolled on the final day?
TR:
I have to admit, Marcus was still pushing a lot of the time. He had to drive on the edge until the end. We had a frightening moment on SS16 with the oil, but the boys did a fantstic job after the car leaked the oil. We drove at full speed in the car after that. I didn’t remember the corner where we rolled, but it was on my mind. Just before the corner, Marcus said: ”I remember this.” After the corner, it was like, okay I remember too. Last year we had a big fight, but stupidly we lost eight points, then he didn’t settle for them – he wanted the win.

Q:
Sébastien, Marcus was generally a bit faster than you throughout the rally. Does that worry you at all? Do you think that the days when the Xsara was the dominant car are over?
SL:
Sure. I prefer to win than be second. Here in sweden I knew Marcus would be very fast, he was the fastest all weekend. On the first day we dropped a bit of time with the penalty, we tried to come back, sometimes we got some time, but mostly he was faster. I tried my best.
 
Three stages from the end I tried a different tyre, using the same as him. I knew it would not be enough. I have to admit he was faster. I don’t know about the domination. I know Marcus, with the Ford, will be competitive. I hope we fight and I’m sure we can, but it won’t be the same as the championship last year.

Q:
Your progress was delayed on the first day when the bonnet flew open and broke the windscreen. What happened exactly?
DE:
Okay, it’s me for the bonnet. No sure, when you change the wheel and take off the lightpod, there’s a lot to do. Seb was changing the wheel, I was taking the jack and cleaning the screen, I completely forget to pin the bonnet. After 100 metres, the bonnet is open and through the windscreen. It was not possible to close the bonnet, then Seb is coming to help me. In the end we take 10 seconds of penalty, but it’s my responsibility.

Q:
Daniel – congratulations on your first podium, which takes place in the best possible circumstances on your home rally. How do you feel? Originally, you were not even entered in this car as you were entered in a Super 1600 Suzuki…did you expect a result like this?
DC:
For me it’s just a perfect feeling. Fabulous. For me it feels like a win. Third behind Gronholm and Loeb, for me it’s a win. One week ago, I didn’t know I’d do rally. I was in England meeting the Mitsubishi team. We sorted out the last details and now I would like to thank all the competitors for signing and letting me change the class A6 to A8. It’s a lot for me to imagine now, but a great feeling.

Q:
Bo, you are a new face to most people here. How does it feel to stand on the podium of your home rally?
BH:
This was my sixth WRC start and third in a World Rally Car and first rally with Daniel, so it’s a fantastic start for me. I’m really, really happy.

Q:
What do you think of the new Focus on snow and ice? Did it live up to your expectations? How easy is the car to drive? How would you compare it to the Peugeot 206, which you always said was one of your favourite cars? You had a scare this morning when the car would not start – what happened?
MG:
Yes. I drove my first time in the car in Sweden in December. We did three days there and the feeling was very good and it’s still good.

Q:
Congratulations Malcolm, a great result.
MW: It’s there for everybody to see on this rally. Marcus has won the way he wants to win and for the team, we were leading from SS1. We were encouraged by the test results. As we all know, it’s very early days for the new car. There was a slight glitch this morning but fortunately it happened at the right time. We fixed it so they could go out and keep the pressure on. It’s the 50th WRC win for Ford and also the first time here since 1978, when Björn Waldegård won this rally, so it’s a very special moment for me.

Q: Now that you are leading the championship, does it make a difference to the way you approach things? Is it an easier situation than to be having to catch up all the time? In what frame of mind will you be approaching Mexico?
TR:
I don’t know if it makes a difference. The main threat is, surprise, surprise, Sébastien. We have to keep that in mind, and we have to take any advantage. Just because we’re happy with two wins, we won’t settle for two seconds. I’m sure he will make it very tough. It doesn’t make anything any easier. It’s only the second round and he’s only four points behind.
 
Q:
Do you think that with some better tyre choices, you could have pushed Marcus harder? When you are used to winning all the time, how frustrating is it to finish second?
SL:
No. I didn’t have the best tyre choice every time. But it was only one or two seconds difference. When we took different tyres it was the same, but when we were on the same tyres he was faster – we had no chance. In Sweden I can accept second behind Marcus. I hope it’s not every time this year though!

Q:
How happy are you with your new team after doing two events with them? Is their level of professionalism the same as that of Citroën Sport?
DE:
It’s a very good team with a good motivation. The mechanics, engineers and the boss push for the maximum and the car, we have no problem in Monte or Sweden. Every time we had to go to the mechanics, after we went off in Monte Carlo or after today and my er... when they have to change the bonnet and screen here, they change it in time. It’s a very good team.

Q:
Obviously Mitsubishi is not here as a factory team any more –how good is the car? With the resources of the factory team behind it, could it have been good enough to win? What are your plans now for the rest of the year? Do you think you will drive the Mitsubishi again?
DC:
It’s not so easy for me to predict. For me to come here with no testing it shows the potential in the car, no doubt. For me, it was easy to get into it and find a good pace to match the pace behind these two very fast guys. It’s a good car, very good. Next week, I’m already in Norway. I’m doing the candidate event. I have no idea for the world championship. It’s like this: one week ago we had the meeting in England and I didn’t have the budget sorted. After the recce I was still calling sponsors to get money for this rally. Hopefully the sponsorship will come after this podium.

Q:
BH: Your battle with Gigi Galli was one of the most entertaining of the entire rally. How was it from your perspective? At what point did you feel confident that you would win?
BH:
It was really, really fun. The biggest gap was only 8.2 seconds for three days.

Q:
Malcolm, Ford are now leading the championship but next up is Mexico, the first of the long-haul events. It’s on these long-haul events that you have some worries about reliability – how confident are you feeling now? Was Mikko Hirvonen’s engine problem a cause for concern?
MW:
In fairness, yes. It’s a bit worrying what happened to Mikko. We don’t really have the solution. We repaired the car and he’s done the rest of the rally, but it’s always a difficult time working out what it is. We’ve done lots of kilometres in testing and had no problems. We do have some plans for the futre to make some changes in that area, but we’ll have to keep testing and find out what we can.

2006 FIA JUNIOR WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st Per-Gunnar Andersson
1st Jonas Andersson

Now for the final press conference of the FIA JWRC, we have the winning crew of P-G Andersson and Jonas Andersson.

Q:
A perfect start to the championship. You were pushed hard by Patrick Sandell on the first day, but you gradually managed to stretch out a lead – how did you achieve this?
P-GA:
For sure I know the stages quite well and the conditions. I like the snow and ice, they’re the best in the championship. I had quite good confidence. I was surprised at Patrick, and I thought Guy (Wilks) should be quicker. I thought maybe Guy could be closer, but not Patrick... we had to put our foot down. We took 20 seconds out of him on the long stage on Friday night, then we could relax a little bit after that.

Q:
Unlike many of the JWRC crews, you have plenty of experience of driving on snow. How much did this experience help you?
JA:
For sure, it helped us a bit, but Patrick has quite a bit of experience too. To know the stages is an advantage.

Q:
Do you think Sweden is a rally that is well-suited to the characteristics of Super 1600 cars?
P-GA:
You can see in the results, not many cars have retired, normally half the field retires. For the cars it’s a good rally. The only problem is to find the traction, otherwise it’s perfect.

Q:
Do you feel that the Suzuki Swift has made a step forward since last year? Which events will you be doing this year? At the moment, we do not know what sort of pace Daniel Sordo will have in the Citroën C2 – does that worry you?
P-GA:
No big changes, no big steps. I hope we can build a little bit better pace in the car so we can be up there and fight with Citroën. I will do all the gravel rallies and leave the tarmac rallies for the Citroën. I hope Kris (Meeke) and Sordo have big battles, so they can pinch points from each other. I can’t do anything about them, just drive my best. If they’re quicker, they’re quicker.

Q:
How much does this victory help you in your objective of winning the championship this year? Will you head into the next round with more confidence?
JA:
It helps a lot. We had our mind set for a win here. It’s great to have the win. We have to work for Argentina now though.

Q:
Have you seen P-GA improve in the last two years?
JA:
Yes for sure, we’ve both improved.

Q:
Looking good for the championship then, P-G?
PGA:
So far so good.