Ford elsewhere teams driver quotes day 2 in Finland 03.08.2012: Mads Østberg, Adapta World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (5th) said: “The two first stages after service

Mads Østberg, Adapta World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (5th) said: “The two first stages after service [SS9 and SS10] were really tricky. We struggled a lot because I think we ran the car a bit too low. I tried to run with the same ride-heights as Petter [Solberg], but it didn’t work that well for me so we lifted the car for the last stages which helped a lot.


We have some small problems with the rear brakes, which we probably had before service and was why I was not 100 per cent happy with the car. We changed the set-up and it didn’t work out, so we changed it back again.


It has just not been perfect, and everything needs to be perfect if you want to do well on this rally. Unfortunately there have been a few small things that have made things a bit difficult. OK, it is not hopeless, but it is not perfect either.”



Jari Ketomaa, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (7th) said: “This evening’s stages have been much better than the other ones. The car is working fine and the set-up is much better so everything has improved a lot. Tomorrow we will just enjoy the stages and try as hard as we can to set some good times.”



Matti Rantanen, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (8th) said: “The last real stage [SS11] was really good for us, but still we lost quite a lot of time there and I don’t really know why. The other two [SS9 and SS10] were OK stages, but nothing special. I still don’t have much confidence in the rear of the car, especially on the wide roads where you can find your own line – it is difficult to trust the grip levels. Tomorrow we will just try to enjoy the last day.”



Martin Prokop, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (9th) said: “This evening has been a bit better again. We are improving with every stage so the last one [SS12] was quite good and we really enjoyed it. The speed was good and we’ve made up a bit of distance to the other guys – about a second per kilometre – so it is getting better, but still I am not happy with the speed.


I am happy with the car and our lines, it is just the pace we need to work on. We’ll try a few things and see. The changes we made in service worked well so the car is working much better for me now. We will just try to be better tomorrow.”



Ken Block, Monster World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (10th) said: “I was able to go a bit faster this evening. The grip was better and the stages were nice and swept so I had a lot more confidence. I really enjoyed it – they were some of the best stages I have ever driven in my life, and even one of the best Super Specials I have ever driven.


So I can honestly say that it was one of the best days of my rallying career as far as enjoyment goes. There were lots of jumps and turns over crests – really enjoyable stages. I like going fast and these stages are definitely fast!”



Craig Breen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (12th) said: “This evening went really well. Obviously Lappi fell into trouble which was a bit disappointing, but I am pleased with our position. I am just chuffed to get to the end of the day to be honest. We didn’t push the maximum, nowhere near the maximum anywhere really.


The speed is coming OK, and I think if we can keep at this speed and keep ahead of P-G [Andersson] I’ll be happy. I don’t want to have to go any faster because I am very much inside my comfort zone right now. We made some set-up changes on the car in service which has really helped. We were having a lot of trouble with tyre wear on the rears, so that has helped that out a lot.”



Karl Kruuda, Ford Fiesta S2000 (14th) said: “The stages were very rough and I think I have a problem with the rear differential, but I am not quite sure. There are some loud noises when I accelerate and take right corners. The first couple of stages were OK.

We almost got a stage win but in the end I spun, so I played that card out! The second one [SS10] was OK, but Lankamaa [SS11] I have never liked – that stage never really suited me. Tomorrow our main goal will be to get to the finish with the best time.”



Sebastian Lindholm, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (15th) said: “This afternoon was OK and I was very surprised that the stages were in such good condition. I expected that they would be in a bad condition on the second run because normally that is the case, but this year, not at all. I think it must be because of all the rain we have had – it has made the roads very strong!


The car is good, but tomorrow we have a long and difficult day. I know a little of the stages [tomorrow], but most are completely new to me and are driven in the opposite direction. They are really difficult stages with some really fast, narrow sections so a lot will still be happening!”



Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Ford Fiesta RRC (20th) said: “For me this evening’s stages have been really nice. I am learning a lot and trying to push a little bit. OK, the car is a lot softer after we made some changes, but I am really enjoying it. Tomorrow we will just try to continue the way we have been going, but the last stage is 32 kilometres. I hope everything goes OK and I clear that stage with no problems – but I am really looking forward to it!”



Edoardo Bresolin, Ford Fiesta RRC (23rd) said: “I really liked the stages. It is very difficult, but I am happy because the gaps [to the other competitors] are much smaller than they were yesterday. The car is fantastic. Our M-Sport engineer has been helping me with the set-up and today has been good.


I prefer rallying on gravel, but the gravel here is very different to what I am used to. In Italy the gravel is not so fast and here in Finland there are lots of jumps and the straights are so fast. For me it is a fantastic experience.”



Maciej Oleksowicz, Ford Fiesta S2000 (26th) said: “The last loop was very rough, but we are here and the car is ok. We just still can’t find the proper speed and we are just trying to find the problem. I hope tomorrow we will find the solution – the car looks OK, so maybe it is me!


Tomorrow we will start comfortably. It is hard to say that we will push because there is quite a big gap to the guys ahead, so we will just try to keep the rhythm and see what happens.”


Kari Hämäläinen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (32nd) said: “The car is much better now and this evening’s stages have been very nice and a lot of fun. The roads were not bad at all, and tomorrow we will be aiming for a good finish.”


Eskapekka Lappi, Ford Fiesta S2000 (50th) After loosing power-steering on SS10, Lappi went off the road. Making it back to service where the team could fully repair his Fiesta for the final day, the Finn will restart under Rally 2 tomorrow.

Anna Louise Rudd , photo M-Sport