News and quotes SS 6 (Col de Jan 2)

Ogier and Rovanperä – these are the match winners of the Col de Jan stage in the Czech Republic. The longest stage of Friday once again proved to be the section where the wheat was separated from the chaff. Sébastien Ogier’s strong 12:12 min. run at the start was later beaten by his Finnish teammate by 1.5 seconds. All other drivers followed at a respectful distance. In the overall standings, the duo is now also pulling away from the rest of the field: while only 2.4 seconds separated the two before Stage 7, third-placed Ott Tänak is already half a minute behind Ogier.

#17 Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Vincent Landais (FRA), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

“The first part was not easy, but toward the end it became more and more fun.”

#33 Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

“The second run wasn’t any easier. I did what I could. We couldn’t do much to the car in the Tyre Fitting Zone.”

#69 Kalle Rovanperä (FIN) / Jonne Halttunen (FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

“The conditions seem more consistent now. Sébastien also had dirt on the road this time. After the gravel crew, the road was quite clean. At the beginning of the stage, I lost time in the mud.”

#8 Ott Tänak (EST) / Martin Järveoja (EST), Hyundai i20 N Rally1

“We managed to improve a little, but we’re still too far off. In the next stages, we can definitely make up some time.”

#1 Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL), Hyundai i20 N Rally1

“After about 400 meters into the stage, the hood came up. That was quite scary. When you’re driving through the forest at 200 km/h and can only see on one side… if the hood flips up, you can’t see anything at all. The mistake on the jump in the first run cost us the day.”

#18 Takamoto Katsuta (JPN) / Aaron Johnston (IRL), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

“Still very difficult. There was still a lot of mud on the road, and it hadn’t dried out.”

#16 Adrien Fourmaux (FRA) / Alexandre Coria (FRA), Hyundai i20 N Rally1

“I really have trouble steering the car. We have no stability, and I’m fighting all the time. It’s really difficult. But that’s part of the game – you have to be fast in all conditions. We still have a lot of work ahead of us.”

#5 Sami Pajari (FIN) / Marko Salminen (FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

“I felt a bit better in the second run, but it was still not great. We have to analyze where I can still improve.”

#20 Oliver Solberg (SWE) / Elliott Edmondson (GBR), Toyota GR Yaris

“I was flat out everywhere. In the hairpin in the forest, I spun briefly and lost two seconds. The next stages are like proper racing. I like roads like this where you have to take some risks.”