“How would you sum up your performance?
I am very happy because it was my first participation in this event, I had to take all the notes in reconnaissance, I was discovering the terrain and I did not have a very good position on the road because I found myself third after Tänak retired (from SS2). Where we still lose a little time is on the second pass in the specials, on which I did not manage to find the right settings to go fast in these “rails”. I fumbled a little, I have to win in these conditions, we will work on that so that it does not happen again.
It’s a great podium. In Sweden (3rd, 47”9 behind the winner, Esapekka Lappi), we drove well on Saturday but we managed on Sunday. In Kenya (3rd, 2’25” behind Kalle Rovanperä), it was an intelligent podium, without taking any risks at the end of a waiting race. But there, we played for the podium from start to finish (he was in the top 5 from one end of the rally to the other). It’s not a podium of a catch. We’re doing a great rally, we’re 0”15 per kilometer behind Rovanperä, who wins the rally. I wouldn’t have believed it before, I was expecting double. We showed that we were there, it’s super positive. It’s the first time that I’ve set a really big pace over three days.
How do you explain this?
I am really happy with the chassis of the car, the set-up was very close to the one I had done on the simulator for fast rallies, which proves that the simulator also works in rallying. The car gave me confidence, I found something in the way of driving it, I also gained confidence in my note-taking. I understood things. Maybe I had a lightbulb moment, I don’t know. It will be interesting to see Latvia (July 18-21), where apart from (Martins) Sesks (5th for his first rally in the premier class) who has done it eleven times, we will all start from zero in terms of knowledge of the rally.
“You have to believe in it and I’m starting to look at this first step (of the podium)”
Do you now consider yourself capable of winning a rally?
I think so. Friday, being third on the road we finished the day fourth, fourteen seconds behind the leader! One day, it will smile! We have to believe in it and I am starting to look at this first step. I have been progressing gradually since last year, it continues this year, it is going in the right direction, without burning any stages. And it is working.
There are times when I think that maybe I should stop scoring points and start last on the next rally (ironic). Maybe in these conditions, I would win races! We start to ask ourselves questions and it’s frustrating because we, the full-time drivers, are seen as a bit of a joker when these guys finish ahead of us. Maybe we should force them to start in front of everyone else, because there’s no reason why they should benefit from better conditions than the others.”
