Rally Sweden: Post-event press conference
Drivers / co-drivers: Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Motorsport), Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai Motorsport) and Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Floene (Volkswagen Motorsport).
Team principal: Jost Capito (Volkswagen Motorsport).
Press conference
Q:
Sebastien, what an incredible battle through three days of competition! Is this the hardest fight for the win you have ever had?
Sebastien Ogier:
It feels great of course. It's been a very, very exciting weekend. I knew I had to take some risks to be able to win so I pushed hard all the way.
Q:
The final stage is where we saw the rally won. What were your thoughts going into that?
Sebastien Ogier:
I've had some similar situations before, but today it was somehow easier to manage because I knew we had to go flat out. I drove as fast as I could, and of course I understand the frustration for Andreas but I'm sure his victory will come soon.
Q:
Did you enjoy this year's rally?
Sebastien Ogier:
It was a very exciting weekend, I'm sure for everyone. When we need to push like this we all love to drive. It's great for the show, it's great for the fans but I hope the next one is not like this!
Q:
Julien, congratulations - a tough challenge and a huge battle, how would you sum up the weekend?
Julien Ingrassia:
Of course it's the same thing from a co driver's perspective, no mistakes are allowed. But I had time to enjoy all the stages here in Rally Sweden.
Q:
Thierry, you leave Sweden with second position - but going into the final stage no one was sure which position any of you would walk away with. Happy with the result?
Thierry Neuville:
It's okay, it's a good feeling for me. We were very strong and they (Volkswagen) are hard to beat. I tried to avoid mistakes and I managed to only lose like 15 seconds on those mistakes the whole weekend.
Q:
At one point Nicolas, your co-driver, had to tell you to 'calm down a bit' - did you listen to him?
Thierry Neuville:
The conditions were horrible. I pushed very hard and Nicolas asked me to slow down not to make any mistakes.
Q:
We return to Mexico now where you picked up a podium last year - the same aim again this year?
Thierry Neuville:
For us it's a special event. It was our first podium in WRC so we're really looking forward to it.
Q:
Nicolas, what was the atmosphere like in the car? Are you happy with second?
Nicolas Gilsoul:
I'm very happy from the beginning to the end. We were lucky with our tyre plan, so we made some good decisions.
Q:
Andreas, you were leading going into the final stage but a mistake dropped you down to third. You gave it everything you had - what are your feelings now?
Andreas Mikkelsen:
I look at this weekend as a positive one. We had a gap but made a mistake. We tried to fight hard, Thierry and S?bastien were really fast. Coming into the day was really interesting. We decided to go maximum on the last stage, we knew we had to do it to be able to win.
Q:
Talk us through what went wrong in the last stage.
Andreas Mikkelsen:
In a left hand corner I got in a little too fast and the rear caught the corner and made us spin. Luckily there were spectators there to help us but of course I feel unlucky not being able to win.
Q:
There are huge positives to take away from this weekend, can you turn the disappointment of the final stage into something that can help you in the future?
Andreas Mikkelsen:
I think we learn a lot this weekend and hopefully we can take this with us into Mexico.
Q:
How did you find this weekend, how is it from your view?
Ola Floene:
I love the sport, but in a situation like this I hate it. But I still love it back here!
Q:
So many people were watching the battle this weekend. To have the interest back for the WRC, that's amazing, isn't it?
Ola Floene:
It's good for the sport and in this rally there's been so much interest for the sport and this event.
Q:
Jost, it's been an amazing fight, a showcase for the WRC.
Jost Capito:
It was an incredible showcase for the sport. A really fantastic rally and interesting for everybody. I think this can make for a great season.
Q:
What have you thought of Andreas' performance this weekend?
Jost Capito:
Andreas' performance was outstanding and to be in a lead like this was really impressive. If you end up in a snow bank you end up in a snow bank; sometimes you just have bad luck.
Q:
Seb said he was going to hunt the other guys down, and he did. What's your thought on our World Champion?
Jost Capito:
In the final stage it all comes down to mind games. They have shown they are really the right World Champions.
