Canarias post-event press conference

The top three overall crews on Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés, round two of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge, attended the post-event press conference in Las Palmas today. A transcript follows.

Question to Juho Hanninen

Congratulations Juho on your victory. How difficult was this rally with such a close battle?

JH: “Difficult and difficult. It was a very good fight starting from the first stage to the last one. It was rally as it should be with all the top guys having no problems and really just fighting to see who is the fastest.”

Question to Mikko Markkula

What memory will you take away with you from the Canary Islands – was it the thousands of spectators cheering you on?

MM: “In some corners and some junctions I could see the fans but in some corners it was so twisty and fast and not easy to see the fans. To compare it to another rally is difficult because all rallies are unique.”

Question to Jan Kopecky

You won last year but not this year. What are your feelings now?

JK: “We are very happy. Okay we won last year and this year we were second only 1.5s behind Juho. It was a good result for us and this can be some good points for the championship. The car was completely perfect. I tried to change the set-up a bit but it didn’t help so much. My driving was not good enough to beat Juho.”

Question to Petr Stary

There were new stages for this year’s rally. Did you prefer the route last year or this year?

PS: “This year is much better than last year because they’re quite technical stages. For me it’s good this year.”

Question to Thierry Neuville

A great performance from you Thierry but before the start did you really think this result would be possible?

TN: “I couldn’t imagine we would do so well on these types of roads but we did a good job me and Nicolas and pushed a lot. When we saw the times at the end of the first real stage we thought we would be 10 or 12 seconds slower than the others but when we were saw it was two seconds, we were amazed. We knew then it was a possibility to push and have a big fight with the Skoda guys.”

Question to Nicolas Gilsoul

How strong was the competition in your view?

NG: “The level is very high for me. We were very fast all the weekend, really incredible. Of course we are very happy.”

Question to Joan Vinyes

You must be very pleased with your performance, winning the IRC 2WD Cup and scoring good points in the Spanish championship?

JV: “I am very happy scoring those important points. That was the objective and I am very pleased for my team and for my sponsors.”

Question to Jordi Mercader

It’s your birthday so this must be a good way to celebrate it?

JM: “We’re very happy with a good result and some good points.”