Welcome to the pre-event FIA press conference.
Guy Fréquelin - Citroën Total World Rally Team
Federico Villagra - Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team
Mark Higgins - FIA Production Car World Rally Championship
Spyros Pavlides - FIA Production Car World Rally Championship
Q: Guy, welcome. With Seb and Citroën behind in both Championships, how hard will you need to push here; more than usual? Is it a situation that worries you? Seb said before Sardinia that his aim was to head into the summer break leading the series: do these objectives have to be re-considered now? Seb has been very good in the past at bouncing back from his rare disappointments: do you expect him to win here? How disappointed was he by Sardinia?
Guy Fréquelin:
We know that it’s very difficult situation for us, but we don’t want to change something about our philosophy. We must try to win some rallies and both championships are not finished for the moment. We have eight rally more after this one to try to come back on Ford and Marcus. That’s not really finished, but we know it’s a difficult situation. I think probably that he will sleep a little less than he thought before in the summer time and in his holiday. But, me also! It was very disappointing at the end of Sardinia. Now he’s okay, he knows he must push very hard. We also know it’s very important to finish the rally. It’s very rough in places.
Q: Federico, welcome. Sardinia was your first rally with the Munchi’s Ford team and the Ford Focus WRC06 – what did you think of it? How hard was it for you to change from the Group N Mitsubishi you have been used to driving in the past? What was the most difficult thing to get used to? You also had to work with a new co-driver: how is that going? Is your aim to stay competing in the World Rally Championship for the future, or is this just a one-off deal for this year?
Federico Villagra:
It takes a while to get up there. It was my first experience of a WRC car. I was used to taking care of the car a lot, but with this one you have to look more at the road. I need to get used to the power. The car always feel fine, but when you are in the stages, you can lose time – maybe spinning too much. They are very nice cars to drive, but you have to learn them to get the best. Like all new relationships, it needs time. We went well in Sardinia and I’m looking forward to this event. We will try to do all the races and hopefully next year we can keep doing them again.
Q: Guy, there has also been speculation about your retirement, after a very successful career at the top of Citroën Sport. How long do you think you will remain in charge? What will you do next? Will you still keep any role or interest in rallying? Who could replace you? Just a quick word about Dani Sordo, who was on the podium in Sardinia – what do you expect from him here? Will he be another podium contender? Do you see Dani winning an event before the year is out?
Guy Fréquelin:
I don’t know. It’s nothing decided for the moment. I have to try to win the championships with the team and it’s more important for me to think about this. The objective is to try and score maximum points, but it’s difficult to say with the drivers in front. We will see after one day, two days and three days. It’s very hard to say before the rally about Dani.
Q: Federico, what do you think of the stages on this event? What will be the biggest risk here, that could catch people out? Do you have any experience of this rally? Is it the sort of event where experience helps? How well-prepared do you feel you are for this rally? Will it be a big step into the unknown? What do you think the weather will be like: were the stages damp during the recce? Will that be a problem?
Federico Villagra:
It’s my first time here. For me, it looks like some stages are very rough and will get very rough on the second time. It’s going to be hard on the tyres. It’s good to be here for the first time. I’m trying to learn from every stage and make miles, so we’re not pushing very hard. I can keep the car in one piece if I don’t push too hard.
Q: Mark, it’s been a very busy time for you this year as you’re doing the British and the Irish Championships this year, as well as the FIA PWRC. Are you match fit and ready to go on this event? It’s a bit of a contrast from your last rally – the all-asphalt Jim Clark event in Scotland last weekend – that you scored maximum points on. How easy is it for you to adapt yourself from one event to another?
Mark Higgins:
I’m definitely match fit, we’ve been driving a lot of the time. Things are going really well, we’re getting a lot of time in the car, but they’re very different: we have a World Rally Car in the Irish Championships, a right-hand-drive car in BRC and then a left-hand-drive Group N car here. It’s definitely a contrast. This is more similar to Mexico, but a lot rougher and hotter. On tar you drive at 100 per cent, here we have drive at a lot less to get to the finish. We made the plane with five minutes to spare. We dived off the ramp in Edinburgh, but everything’s gone well. Now I’m just looking forward to the stages tomorrow.
Q: As a Cypriot, do you have good experience of driving on these sorts of roads – or are the stages here completely different? Are you at least used to competing in the heat? What will be your approach to this event – is it one where you feel you can challenge for the podium and a win? Your co-driver is the vastly-experienced Denis Giraudet: what does he bring to the car and in which ways does his experience help you?
Spyros Pavlides:
People might think they’re completely different; it’s a slightly different event, it’s rough, but quick rough. Here if you cut a corner you’re more likely to damage your car than in Cyprus. Like Mark said, it’s a different event, you can’t go flat out, you have to pace yourself and hope you don’t superally. Even today we said it was very comfortable. The last event for me was the Middle East in Jordan, with 37 degrees – this is like Sweden in comparison! It’s the first year in PWRC. The aim for this year is to get the knowledge. We have a very good co-driver, he’s helping a lot. The aim is not to superally. These guys are so fast: it’s finding a pace between not breaking the car and keeping a reasonable pace. How can you quantify 25 years of experience? As a co-driver and character, Denis is encouraging and very competitive. If you lose a superspecial, trust me, he’s not happy about it.
Q: You won the last PWRC round you entered, in Mexico, your first win at WRC level in the category. How much more confidence does that give you? Is that result going to influence the way you drive here? You’ve taken 10 points out of two rounds: how does that put you in the Championship, bearing in mind that some drivers have contested more events than you? Is it realistic to hope for another win here?
Mark Higgins:
I think quite a bit. It took us three years, we had a lot of nearly wins, but a lot of dramas. The team, me and Scot are working very well. If we can get a podium, it’s good enough to keep the championship going, but a win would be nice. Mexico gives me confidence. We need to get out and do the job, you don’t think about things like that during the rally. After Sweden it was a downer, but it all turned around. Even though we didn’t do Argentina, it turned out well for us. Toshi [Arai] is a real threat, he’s got a lot of points, but nobody is isn’t in quite such good shape. We have a good feeling from shakedown and we’re not here to come second. Let’s see what happens.
Q: What do you think of the level of competition in this championship Spyros? The Acropolis has a very tough reputation: how difficult will it be to avoid punctures, given that the PWRC crews are not allowed to run with anti-deflation mousse? Is there a particular tactic with which you approach this event? How much experience do you have of the Acropolis Rally?
Spyros Pavlides:
We’ll find out. Yokohama have produced a tyre which is much, much harder and more tolerant to this condition. It’s going to be a balance between performance and not having punctures. I’m very confident that the tyres will be resistant to punctures. I’m not saying we won’t have a puncture, but it’s going to be interesting to see the compromise. The guy who wins this rally will be a clever guy who can judge the pace. Definitely, we’ll keep a moderate pace for the first day and see what happens. If we lose time on the first day, then it’s not good. It’s only my fourth event in the car, so we still have to find out what the car can do. We’ll push harder on the second day.
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