Leg: 1
Flash No: 1
Special Stage: SS1 Port Talbot
Distance: 17.41Km
Weather: Dull and overcast with some fog
Road Conditions: Slippy

1: Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena
“That was a very fast stage but it was so foggy in there so I had to brake earlier and put my trust in the notes completely. The car feels really good though.”

3: Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen
“I was too slow in the beginning and just wanted to settle into a nice pace and keep the car on the road in this fog. This is going to be a difficult rally.”

4: Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen
“To be honest I was surprised to be quick in there because I can’t see much! The fog makes it very tricky and there are some surprises in there.”

2: Dani Sordo/Marc Marti
“Very difficult to drive in conditions  like that and it’s very slippy in places.”

7: Petter Solberg/Philip Mills
“I tried too hard at the start and went into a proper spin, a real 360, but managed to hold it. To be honest I thought I’d lost it so we backed off a little bit.”

10: Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerund
Car emerged from stage with rear left puncture and damage to bodywork on right hand side. “I can’t see anything because of the fog.”

9: Jari-Matti Latvava/Miika Anttila
“I am getting confident now but that was a tricky stage to start the day and I wasn’t too happy with my time.”

8: Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot
“What a birthday present! Fog and mud and everything – not what I wished for! I didn’t have a good balance in there and didn’t push at all.”

5: Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor
“The fog was quite difficult so I just take it easy in there.”

11: Luis Perez Companc/Jose Maria Volta
“Very difficult rally – they told me it was going to be like that. Very muddy and very slippy and if you go off you can do big damage.”

54: Gabriel Pozzo/Daniel Stillo
“Very difficult – we have to be confident in our notes. We try to win but I need to be careful in this stage.”

34: Mark Higgins/Scott Martin
“Just hard to get going at the start. Big rocks getting pulled out already so punctures could become an issue later. But I didn’t need the tyre mousse – I had some trifle instead!”
 
45: Mirco Baldacci/Giovani Agnese
“Gearbox broke after the first 5kms into the stage. Can’t believe it!”

36: Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula
“Not easy in there – first part of the stage really foggy. Just need to build on the pace and get some confidence.”

41: Leszek Kuzaj/Craig Parry
“Big spin in there, 2kms before the finish. Got to be careful – we got away with it.”

46: Armindo Araujo/Miguel Ramalho
“Lot of fog and difficult to see in there...”

50: Patrik Flodin/Maria Andersson
“For sure it is the same for me as everyone in these foggy conditions. Even in the pace notes I have to be careful – I am braking too early but I hope to get better later.”

59: Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh
“The going is so heavy in there I thought there was a problem with my car at times”

61: David Higgins/Ieuan Thomas
“Very hard to get a rhythm going in there. It’s about 80 per cent foggy in there.”

49: Stepan Vojtech/Michal Ernst
“I had no idea where I was going in there. You just don’t know where the straight begins and ends in these foggy conditions.”