With weather conditions expected to remain dry and hot throughout the whole weekend, dust will continue to be a problem while drivers’ concentration will be tested to the maximum as they contest 130.74kms of special stage action.
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Matthew Wilson said: “It has been a difficult first day of the rally for us. Obviously we had our problems this morning when we lost hydraulic pressure and the paddle gear shift. That put us on the back foot. But everything went fine this afternoon on the second pass, although it was difficult on the last stage as the rough conditions affected the tyre wear and the car was moving around a lot. We also struggled to make pace notes on that stage during the recce so they weren’t precise enough. But we’re in a good road position for tomorrow. Those stages are also very difficult but we’ll just concentrate on having a good drive.”
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Henning Solberg said: “I am still trying to get the correct feeling with the car. There’s no major problem with it but I just don’t have full confidence at the moment. The stages are very difficult, narrow but fast, and you have to be committed and have a good feeling with the car to push hard on them. We changed the springs during the day which helped and we will also make some minor changes in service tonight. Nothing major but hopefully it will help me to push harder tomorrow.”
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson said: “It has been a difficult day for both Stobart crews today, but both cars are now in an ideal position to do well tomorrow, especially Henning. We have seen today that road position is quite important so hopefully it’ll help both crews to be starting where they are tomorrow. Matthew suffered some problems on the first three stages today but he put that behind him and had a strong finish to the day. Both crews are currently in the points and they’re in a prime position to build on a good start tomorrow.”
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