25. Kennards Hire Rally Australia 2016
WRC #14 • WRC2 #14 • WRC3 #14 • Australia #8 • Australia 2WD #8 • New South Wales #6 • Australia 2WD Classic Rally Challenge #8 • Australia 4WD Classic Rally Challenge #8
17. 11. – 20. 11. 2016, Coffs Harbour • gravel 283.36 km • total distance including road sections - 1038.64 km • Other years
Info
SS23
"It's been such a perfect end to the season. I had nothing to lose. All this year I drove for the championship but here we just went for the win, to see how fast we were. We challenged the four-time champion and we won fair and square in the same road conditions. It's just sad to see this team and the car come to an end. I will miss them. It's very sad."
"An enjoyable stage like all the others. I just tried to enjoy it. It's been an amazing year. Thanks so much to the the guys for everything, I will never forget it. Hopefully I'll see you again in Monte Carlo."
"We had the speed all weekend and I'm happy to get this result. After some difficult times, this year we're doing great. We have shown that we are the guys to have in the team and we're looking forward to next year."
"The team deserves this - as do we. Okay, we've had some bad luck this year but we end with four wins in a row. Nothing is certain about next year - but I hope we will be back in a WRC car."
"A difficult weekend, we wanted more, but I'm focused now on the future and coming back stronger next year. I promise you, you will see a different man next year."
"I drove it well. Fourth or fifth place are the same to me. Okay, I'm disappointed about the penalty on day one. I want to say thanks to the team and I'm looking forward to 2017."
"I'm glad to be back fighting with the guys ahead. A close rally. Next year? It's 2017..."
"For sure its been a really nice year, working with DMACK tyres we made some big steps. We've had some nice wins but also some big losses together. I'm thankful - they've done a great job. Let's see what next year brings. I'm looking forward to it."
"Unlucky today, but okay, we get a point. A mix of happy and disappointed. Definitely you will see me again next year."
"More difficult here than this morning. Not easy to find the grip. Maybe not enough the win the Power Stage but we had a try. And next year? Nothing at the moment but I hope to have something..."
SS22
"All good. A bit more grip but still some slippery dust. Now the Power Stage and I'm going to enjoy my last ride in the Polo."
"A clean stage. No mistakes. I'm just managing the gap now. One stage to go and we are close to our objective. I don't need to push on the Power Stage. If it stays like this I get a podium and second place in the championship."
"Very tricky. Inconsistent grip. Less grip than before I would say. I don't know how that's possible."
"Now we have to finish this rally. That's the priority. It would be stupid to try and fight him on these stages."
"Surprisingly slippery. Difficult to find the grip. Worse than this morning I'd say. Maybe it's the temperature but the road seems polished."
SS21
Rolled.
SS20
"All under control. I was very, very slow here, cruising in the bad places, avoiding the big rocks. I don't feel any pressure, I just want to finish - so I'm a bit tense, that's all"
"We had a good stage. Not perfect, but I pushed hard. That was all we could do. It's not a comfortable lead though. I need full concentration right to the end, but I have confidence in this type of driving now. It's a special weekend."
"I spun. It's okay but we lost maybe 15 seconds. That's part of the game."
"Nothing to say. We went wide, touched a bank and pushed the tyre off the rim."
"I had a little problem with my brakes - the same overheating issue as yesterday - but all okay. Now I just want to get through the rally and complete my season."
"Crazy dust. We must have been catching Lorenzo - it was blind all the time. We tried a mixed tyre set-up but it's hard to say how that worked."
"We have a broken rear diff. Just front-wheel drive now. Nothing we can do."
"A good run overall. A nice stage, but some very slippery sections after the 20km point, very dusty there."
SS19
"We are attacking at the maximum. Absolutely flat out. No mistakes. Now we must continue."
"It's good to be in front of Hayden. Of course I want to grab the win - that's what I'm here for - but for now it's good to stay ahead of the Hyundai."
"The guys behind are going to be pushing and so was I. Okay, probably over-driving a bit in there, but these things happen when you try."
"I had a spin in a very fast section. There was so much dust in the car and I was distracted. I stalled the engine and it would not restart straight away. That cost me about 10 sec I think."
"I had no grip at all and in the fast places I was not able to be fast enough. We'll try to do better in the next one."
"Quite okay. One mistake in there, when my pace notes were far too fast on one corner. Otherwise a good start to the day."
"My notes are not very good that's why I was very careful on this first pass. There was a lot of dust during the recce."
"A bit dusty but nothing too bad, The grip was quite okay. It's really fast between the trees. A bit nasty in places."
"There was a lot of dust in there, I'm quite scared about the 30km stage."
"I enjoyed it. Not so bad. I expected worse but the grip wasn't so bad. For sure, early in the corner the car wants to go more sideways but the exits are fine."
SS16
"No problems. Everything is fine. I was expecting it to be harder. But it's not."
"We broke the rear anti-roll bar on the last stage so we didn't have that here. It was quite slippery and I was struggling with the grip. We don't have a lot of tyre left."
"Quite strange, I had no brakes - nothing at all for the first 4km. Very scary."
"The rear-right tyre has nothing, I think all the tread is gone. With these slicks I knew we'd lose time, so I'm actually quite satisfied"
"My tyres are completely destroyed and the feeling was really, really bad. In the first corner I went off a little bit. Let's see how the time compares with Mads"
"I'm trying to drive it really straight. Our tyres are worse than the others I think. My tyre management is better than before but still there's more to do. Andreas' problem keeps things tight. We won't give up until the end of the Power Stage."
"The clutch pedal and brake pedal are pushing down together."
"A good day for us. We are doing pretty well. A wrong tyre choice this morning, which cost us in the battle for third, but a good improvement here."
"Andreas is fast, he can hold his position, I've been trying everything I can since the beginning of the rally. I can't do more than that."
SS15
"I'm keeping a cool head. I liked this stage, the rhythm was good - not on and off the brakes."
"It's feeling better in the car. I tried to push but it's not easy to remember this stage - it's so long. Good training for next year."
"So hot it feels like a sauna in the car."
"We made a few changes to the set-up but they didn't work out. I couldn't keep the rear in the line - just couldn't find the traction. This was a very bad stage for us."
"They were completely finished near the end but overall we managed to do a good stage. We planned to push, calm down, push again and then see how the tyres were. But they were done. In some corners near the end we were just passengers."
"The balance was good. I lost a little time near the end when the rear tyres started to move around but the time was good."
"We always knew he would be on a mission here. We had a good stage. I was a lot smoother at the start and the tyres only went off near the end, so that was okay. If I had done much more maybe the tyres wouldn't have got us here. It's hard to find the balance."
"Seb told me he would help me get second place in the championship - it doesn't look like it! A good stage but it was hard to know how hard to push. I'm happy with my drive but I'm not sure how the tyres are for the next stage."
"To be honest, I drove very well. I had to back off at the end though because the tyres were beginning to lose their grip."
"I was really looking after them and they survived pretty well. A difficult stage. Let's see."
SS12
"I enjoyed the driving but there was quite a lot of dust near the end. I had to back off there because the visibility was quite bad."
"Right from the first corner we had dust billowing into the car. I was distracted in a few places but I just tried to forget about it. I thought maybe the rear door was open, but perhaps it's a hole somewhere under the car."
"I had four hard tyres here - I think that was the right choice although I felt a lack of grip. Not an easy stage. I'm happy with my stage. It wasn't perfect but it was okay."
"The hard tyres were right for me - the car was still moving like hell at the rear. It's getting cloudy too - I lost at least five seconds in the dust."
"It was not such a bad choice - the tyres look okay. I had to try something [different]. The hards wouldn't have been any better."
SS9
"Much better than the first pass. Not a bad rhythm. We struggled between the stages though - our [wheel] nut gun didn't work, so it hasn't been easy to swap our tyres around."
"No grip at all. We lost time but I'm surprised by how much seeing as this is the second pass."
"No drama at all. There will be a good fight tomorrow. The stages will suit me better and we'll be in a good position. I'm feeling very comfortable."
"Everything is fine but it's easy to make a mistake in such changeable grip."
"I tried to do my best. And to be in my current position feels quite good. For sure my car is not working as well as Seb's here."
"I pushed as hard as I could all day. I have nothing to lose, let's see what we can do."
SS8
"We lost a lot of power because of overheating - both the turbo and water temperatures are very high."
"I hit a wall. Something is broken. I need to go and fix it."
"So far a problem-free rally but there is still a long way to go. I hit a huge stick in here, it was on the road right on the line. Someone must have put in there - it hadn't fallen from a tree."
"The car is working better, but still feeling a bit nervous. It's hot, I'm not pushing too much."
"No, it's an okay time because our tyres are quite used. I used them too much in the first two stages."
"The balance of the car is much better now. No complaints. How are my tyres? Take a look yourself."
"My tyres are completely destroyed. Like slicks. Go off the line and there's no grip. I tried to be clean but it's difficult to keep up the speed like this."
"The tyres are really bad. I've pushed them too hard in the last stage and a half."
"It felt really bad in there to be honest, oversteer and understeer in every corner. Then I got a water bottle stuck between my feet. I managed to catch it in one corner - but that was scary."
"The road is cleaning and the car is working better now there is more grip. I think I pushed my tyres too hard. Ogier is driving very well."
"The tyre wear is extremely high. It's really, really hot now. I hope the loop will be okay but my tyres look very worn now."
SS6
"A good run. This is what we should have done on the first pass..."
"Very slippery again. I think I need to be softer on the set-up. That could be better for the next stage."
"The car is the opposite now, we have understeer, but we are closer. I'm happy."
"A good stage and a better feeling but I didn't manage to take full advantage of the higher grip."
"The stage was not so bad. Better grip. On hard tyres I think it was a bit better."
"The stage is quite hard on the tyres - even the hard option. Happy enough with my driving here."
"Going really well so far. The grip level is very different this time, there's still some cleaning. We tried to adapt as quickly as possible."
"I have to go too sideways if I want to keep the speed in the corners. We are losing time like that. Not so nice. I can't follow Seb's lines - it's impossible."
"The conditions are better that this morning for sure, but the road will continue to improve I think."
SS5
"It's definitely been tough. I have pushed as hard as I can this morning."
SS4
"We had more time on the road section to fix it this time. In stage we still had to be careful not to destroy it. The plan is to get to service and keep going. I'm surprised how we've managed to keep it together."
"Completely different to the other stages, with the trees everywhere. It was very special. We didn't really push this time. Generally it's going better than I expected."
"A spin. Some confusion in the notes and we got lost in the dust - I couldn't find the road. Also the throttle is sticking. It's difficult."
"A bad stage. No rhythm in the car. Not good. We lost a lot of time. I'm not happy."
"A big problem having soft tyres at the rear and hards at the front. I couldn't drive the car straight at all. A few near spins, we hit the banks a few times."
"A good morning. I think we're doing a really good job from our position of third on the road. A good run here but it's very loose."
"I try to do well but my time is not good. Probably a lot of tyre wear too. We had a lot of wheelspin. We have to keep the pressure up. We are going to do our best. "
"All okay. We have been on the limit all the way through today. Okay, we're far back, which is frustrating, but I did all I could. I have not so much hope for this afternoon, to be honest."
SS3
"My tyres are destroyed. I struggle with the rear - I have no grip at all. I'm on the limit."
"I managed some repairs but the faster I go the more I risk losing the whole [left-rear] wheel. I could go faster but I have to drive smoothly."
"That's good news. We changed something on the car and it's better."
"It's difficult to understand what's happening - it's not working at all. Very strange. I tried a lot of things but it feels horrible. There's no balance."
"So slippery and very difficult to have good rhythm. I feel I'm fighting all the time to keep the line. I struggled in the second half because my tyres are overheating - I was a bit too keen early on."
"There is a line, but it's not super clean. On the soft tyres there's not so much grip. Hard tyres would have been better, I think."
"When it got tight and twisty near the end we struggled for grip and turn-in with the hard tyres at the front. It wasn't too bad. I don't think there's an optimum tyre choice here. The hard feel a bit too hard, the softs a bit too soft."
"We try to cut where we can. There's so much cleaning it's amazing. It will be difficult to fight with the guys behind."
"I have to drive sideways everywhere to get the grip. There is a small advantage in following Ogier's lines."
"I take all the risks I can - I try. I have nothing to lose."
SS1
"I just want to keep some rhythm and speed - make it enjoyable. I more or less had that in here. I'm not pushing at all."
"Very slippery like last year. I'm struggling to find the right set-up. A strange surface."
"Not really happy. Not a good stage. That's life."
"No grip in there. Obviously the hard tyre is not great here. Hopefully we can change something - this set up feels a bit like a rear-wheel drive."
"That's very good. It was very slippery but I think more for the guys ahead. A nice stage and I could go really wide - I enjoyed it."
"Broken suspension. My mistake. A little wide on a right-hander over a bridge and it touched the bridge."
"Maybe my tyres are a bit soft for this surface, but the balance of the car feels good. It's okay."
"I wanted to try something different and I'm pretty happy with the choice. Okay, maybe we lost a bit in the braking here, but over the rest of the loop, when things warm up, it should be okay."
"A good stage. I like this one. Now we have to keep on going. I have no choice than to try and win the event."
"It was hard to follow their lines in places but I tried. Okay, a similar time to Ogier - which is not so bad. I tried my best."
"Like expected very slippery but I'm happy with my stage. A good drive but not much we can do."