Leg: 1
Flash No: 7
Service: B

Team Manager quotes:

Guy Frequelin
Team manager, Citroen Sport
On today’s action: “Today was very difficult with all the rain and fog. The only major problem we had was with Sebastien’s fog lights in the last stage, which was down to a short circuit.

We have never won this rally and our strategy is for Sebastien to win the drivers’ title because in 2003 we asked him to slow down so that we could win the manufacturers’ championship. His instincts are to go for a win, but a fourth world title is more important than a rally win.”

On his imminent retirement, after Wales Rally GB: “I will not be idle when I retire at the end of this rally. I love outdoor sports including paragliding and climbing. During the summer I climbed a 6000-metre mountain in Bolivia and then made the shorter journey down, paragliding!”

Under Frequelin’s stewardship, Citroen Sport has won WRC events, including two using kit cars.

Nobuhiro Tajima
President, Suzuki Sport
“A rock hit the brakes and so we only had one brake working on the car. We didn’t want to drive slowly through the stages, we wanted to drive at rally speed, so I told them to fix the brakes and now we will SupeRally. We have only completed one stage so far, but we are here to learn.”

David Lapworth
Technical director, Prodrive
“I think in these conditions you can’t be happy. You can’t read the grip levels. It was foggy, misty, muddy and dirty, so the driver is concentrating so hard he can’t tell you how the car is behaving. We made one small change to Chris Atkinson’s car before the last stage, and we’ll probably stick with it. It was to the rollbar. He said it was an improvement and made the car better behaved – but then he also said he couldn’t see anything in there! It’s a question of survival at the moment – and it looks like its going to be a case of more of the same tomorrow.”

21: Andreas Mikkelson/Ola Floene
“It’s been OK in there but when it got dark it quickly became a nightmare.”

22: Gareth Jones/David Moynihan
“The windows have been steaming up and so we turned up the heating but it very quickly became a sauna in there.”

25: Peter Van Merksteijn/Hans Van Beek
“We are still surviving but I think we would be better off competing in a U-boat.”

24: Conrad Rautenbach/David Senior
“We had problems in the fog. It’s my first time in a WRC car and what an introduction!”

23: Mark van Eldik/Michel Groenewoud
“We lost our windscreen wipers in SS6 which was really bad timing!”

46: Armindo Araujo/Miguel Ramalho
“We have had suspension problems all day today and are very pleased to be at the end of this very difficult day.”

34: Mark Higgins/Scott Martin
“This has been the worst day ever. We had two punctures on SS5 and SS6 which cost us time. It’s just been a nightmare start to the rally.”

59: Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh
“Unbelievable conditions out there – the worst I have ever seen! We lost the power to our lamp pods in SS6 because of water getting into the electrics.”

78: Jaap Sinke/Pascal Meijs
“I am OK but the car is a lot worse. The suspension broke in that last stage (SS6) and we have now rejoined under Super Rally rules.”

53: David Higgins/Ieuan Thomas
“That has got to have been the most difficult start to a rally ever. It is so rough in there - with all the water in the ruts the car is actually aquaplaning at high speeds. Very scary!”

42: Evgeniy Vertunov/Georgy Troshkin
“That was not a good stage for us. We had puncture on both left hand tyres in SS5 and also we damaged our brake lines on one when leaving us with only three brakes.”

37: Spyros Pavlides/Denis Giraudet
“We bent the steering arm this morning and still haven’t managed to get it fixed.”

64: Barry Clark/Aled Davies
“We have had no turbo in this last stage but for some reason it has started working again in the road section.”

41: Leszek Kuzaj/Craig Parry
“We had two tyres completely worn out in that last stage – all the tread had been worn off by the ruts and the stones.”

47: Andreas Aigner/Klaus Wicha
“It is so unbelievably foggy in that last stage but the car is OK and we are very happy to be here.”

60: Gwyndaf Evans/Huw Lewis
“These have been the worst conditions ever in these forests. I set 7th quickest time in SS6 which I was very pleased about – local experience helps I am sure.”

52: Travis Pastrana/Bjorn Edstrom
“I have never ever driven a rally where I could only see the road 10 per cent of the time. Absolutely incredible!”

40: Michal Solowow/Maciek Baran
“We got some water in the engine and it was down on power as a result. We have also managed to lose the rear bumper in the stage – the mud literally tore it off!”

69: Wyn Humphreys/Ally Mackay
“It was a nightmare not being able to see in there.”

68: Jasper Van den Heuvel/Martine Kolman
“Very tiring in that last stage – couldn’t see much in there at all!”

72: Reijo Muhonen/Jorma Kopsa
“I only had one puncture today which was a miracle. The fog and rain has been terrible.”

79: Brian Green/Fleur Pedersen
“We have had our fair share of rain and fog today, that’s for sure. Where I come from I am complaining about heat and dust – but never again after today!”

93: Gabor Mayer/Robert Tagai
“We have good notes but the car is going in very deep over those ruts.”

96: Huw Jeffreys/Avarina Connor
“We had to stop twice in SS5 because we literally just couldn’t see!”

90: Wayne Radford/Paul Drew
“The last two stages were awful! I’m going to bed for a lie down!”

73: Nigel Griffiths/Andrew Owens
“What a day! We had our turbo go in SS6 and then all our brakes packed up because of broken brake lines resulting in only the handbrake functioning. Not really the ideal situation to be in in a place like Rheola...”

85: Shaun Gallagher/Clive Jenkins
“Well, I have had better days! We got a puncture 2km into SS6 so we stopped and changed. In closing the tailgate the damn thing came off in my hand!”

76: Michal Kosciuszko/Maciek Szczepaniak
“This has been the most difficult rally I have ever driven in. We were all misted up inside the car – almost as bad as the fog outside the car!”

99: Peter Stephenson/Ian Windress
“We have got the turbo sorted now and the fog has cleared slightly in SS6 by the time we came to do it.”

101: James Wozencroft/Christopher Ridge
“Not happy about losing time in SS5 as we were doing so well. We stopped to help a car that had its hazards on but once we got out the crew shouted out that they were OK.”

106: Matt Beebe/Gareth Roberts
“We were late out of the last service which is a real nightmare.”

107: Mandy Bowman/Kenneth Bowman
“Bloody awful in there! The suspension has gone at the back and now we have no lights!”

105: Hugh Evans/Iestyn Williams
“The turbo has gone and its such a difficult job to keep it in a straight line when you don’t have enough power.”

129: Martin Roberts/Rich Mills
“That was extremely difficult in there and we have been suffering with a misfire with the water that has crept into the engine.”

108: Stephan Davis/Neil Foulkes
“We are still struggling on. We have had problems with the alternator and had to push the car through the time control to finish.”

111: Victor Hendriksson/Mark Walker
“Very happy to be here!”

118: Elfyn Evans/Richard Edwards
“We have been taking it steady to get round.”

120: Tony Jardine/Maurice Hamilton
“It has been a day of survival – this is the wettest event I have ever done.”

130: Steve Graham/Tony Graham
“Our car livery has been designed by a 12-year old boy and he is coming to see us tomorrow at the Super Special in the Millennium Stadium. We just hope we can get there!”