24. Coates Hire Rally Australia 2015
10. 9. – 13. 9. 2015, Coffs Harbour • gravel 311.36 km • total distance including road sections - 1023.70 km • Other years
Info
SS17
"It's okay. I'm really happy for this event. Our feeling here is good. An interesting fight with Nasser. We will see how we go next year."
"Not an easy win but I'm very happy. The 25 points here will be very significant for the championship."
"So far an amazing season - the best I have ever done. And this rally win is very significant. For sure it was the most difficult rally to open the roads on. On paper it was impossible to win but I was determined. It's the perfect way to secure the title."
He's out of the car and hugging the bonnet of his Polo!
Quickest on the Power Stage, winner of the rally and now winner of the 2015 drivers' title!
"I'm happy to have been so consistent and to have made no mistakes. Maybe on Friday and Saturday morning I was missing a little spark to fight for the victory. It wasn't enough. Seb has done an amazing job. He has been better than me."
"An okay stage - hopefully we can get some points here. I'm happy with my performance. I think it was one of my best. We deserve more than fourth. It's not what we came for."
"I've enjoyed my weekend. It's been good to find the rhythm over a whole weekend. Everybody knows there have been a few mistakes creeping in recently, so I'm very happy. And hats off to the Volkswagens."
"We were a little bit lucky in there but it's been a good weekend. Okay, we didn't get the podium we wanted but we're happy with our pace. Some exciting times ahead and reasons to celebrate tonight with the Kiwis and the team."
"We had some issues in the stage - the wipers wouldn't turn off - but we got through okay. Two nearly perfect days and today was all about the points. We're closing on Mads in the title race."
"We ran wide and clipped a bank here, but all okay. It's been a tough rally. My first time in this type of car here. For the future very important."
"I’m quite happy with my performance. It was difficult with the cleaning 1st 2 days and today it was just about keeping our position."
"I enjoy a lot. A very nice start but, okay, after that not so good. Now we wait for Corsica. A nice rally and one I like a lot."
"Really tough weekend. When we get back to the UK we need to understand what was wrong so we don't have another rally like this."
"I'm happy. A very good experience to make my debuts here on gravel. A big surprise to start the rally."
SS16
Jari-Matti is on his way to the Power Stage. He in confident that his car is back to full health now it has a new alternator belt.
He stopped on the road section after SS16 and has replaced the alternator belt.
"A great stage for me. The conditions are much hotter and the tyres are suffering so I tried to preserve them."
"A good stage. A good rhythm. Not nice for a guy to get a penalty, but that's the race. We'll just bring it home and get the podium."
"Really frustrating to get that after a great weekend - but it's not over yet. I try but it's a lot to take back."
"I'm surprised to see that time. I was taking it easy to save my tyres and trying a few different things with my driving."
"Really tough on the tyres. I tried to be as careful as possible but the line was much cleaner than we had expected."
"I don't know what Dani is playing at."
"Much more grip this time. A very nice stage. Great to drive. Getting better and better."
"Not really any more confidence or feeling."
"Better on the second pass. Not perfect but my pace notes are much better."
"Much better than the first time. Not so much cleaning."
SS15
"I need to get the car turning in better. I'm forcing it a bit. It's not impossible [to catch Ogier] but it's so difficult to make up time when the cars are so equal."
"I just do what I can. We're not in the same cars. I'm happy - I'm just doing the same job. The reality is a bit depressing."
'A perfect morning. Very pleased with my drive. This one was very fast - a lot of adrenaline."
SS14
"It looks good. Another good stage. A clean drive. I'm sure we can go faster on the Power Stage. With Jari-Matti pushing it looks like I will have to enjoy the speed until the end."
"If I can win some tenth, I will be happy but I don’t think I will win more. You know that I don’t give up!"
"No reason to push, I have important points to bring home."
"On some corners we had not the good pace note. Lost confidence in some places as is very fast."
"Some progress but still not where we want to be. Hard to read the road in that one - loose in places and hard-packed in others."
"I'm really happy. Our rhythm was better in this stage. There's more grip."
SS13
"Just a mistake at the end, I miss a junction and a hairpin and lost a second. But still a good time."
"Happy with that stage, this is where we had a big crash last year, so nice to get through with a good pace. Car feels really good again."
"I don't have any road advantage. I had a nice stage, the perfect rhythm. I'm still trying."
"I did what I could and I had a good run! Really attack that also the windscreen is broken (following compression)."
"Not perfect, but ok. Not pushing to the extreme. We will see what we do for the next stage."
"Not taking any risks, we want to bring home the points for the team."
"I had a good stage but didn't take major risks. It's quite dusty with limited visibility."
"A lot of dust coming into the car from somewhere. Other than that it was OK."
"We're not taking any big risks, but the feeling was okay in that one. There'll be some fast times behind, but not a bad start."
"It's difficult. Our rhythm wasn't very good. I hope it will be better in the next one. It's very fast!"
"Disappointed for yesterday, now we just have to sweep the road this morning and try to enjoy more in the afternoon."
SS12
"We knew it was going to be hard this afternoon. I'm pretty happy about how the day has gone."
"Disappointing to have lost some time today but tomorrow I'll fight with Thierry."
"Today the car has been fantastic to drive and I’ve been really enjoying it - much better than yesterday."
"The car got away from me in sixth gear. It was a massive moment and we were very lucky to get away with it."
"With the dust it’s really tricky. Will be difficult for the guys behind."
"Did couple of mistakes & lost a bit of time there. I have to be more consistant tomorrow. Will fight for the victory for sure."
"Didn't find optimal rhythm. Didn't want to take full risk w
"It's an enjoyable stage, my first stage in the dark on gravel. A great atmosphere!"
SS11
Yazeed's gone straight on in a corner into a field and rolled. Crew OK!
"I lost the tyres 15km from the end after it was difficult to control the car."
"I'm being careful not to overstep the mark. I felt comfortable but I had no idea whether it was a good time."
"I just can't get comfortable this weekend. Tried to relax but it's just not coming. Don't think it's anything with the car, just me."
"It's like driving into a wall (problem with dust) ."
"It went pretty well. We changed the settings and now the car is much better."
"Didn’t lost a lot of time, we are still in the game & still fighting. Can’t find the perfect rhythm in this SS but not bad anyway."
"It was difficult. I tried hard but I suffered from a lack of grip in the wide section. Maybe I tried too much and I was sliding too much"
"Much better in the second pass. The grip is changing all the time. It's very difficult."
SS10
"Very good but I'm still hesitating in places. I need to trust my pace notes. I can do better."
"We still have the brake problem and the tyres are worn after Nambucca."
"I think we have only rear-wheel drive. Something is wrong with the drive-shaft maybe. We also have a misfire in the engine. Now we will take a look in service."
"My confidence with the car is much better than yesterday. Over-driving a little bit maybe. We're trying to make the most of our road position. This afternoon I'll have to push harder to to get the times."
"The brake problem was down to a caliper that was disconnected."
"A really good run. Pushing quite hard. The car is definitely better than yesterday evening."
"The tyres don't have much left but I was happy with my stage. Okay, I'm still leading - if only by a whisker. I'll drive my rally and see what happens."
"Today has been better as a whole [than yesterday] but that wasn't a great run to be honest. The long run through Nambucca this afternoon should sort us out."
"It's really close. In this stage I've never been particularly fast so this time I gave it a good push. I had to swerve to avoid a rock but otherwise good."
"After the last stage I had some inspiration to do well in here. I had some attack."
"We'll try to push more on the second pass."
"I tried to push. When the conditions are good it's okay but I still find it difficult to balance the car in the slow sections. We still have work to do."
"Really happy. I think we did a good loop again and a good tyre choice. It feels good to be so close to the lead. I hope that Stéphane can help me this afternoon and sweep the line for me."
"It was very good. I made only one pass of this one on the recce so my pace notes were not so good."
Service : "I'm feeling much more comfortable and confident than I was yesterday. I can drive the car how I like to. Without as much of a road position advantage this afternoon we're going to have to find lots more speed. I'm still braking too early sometimes and over-driving in others. There's more to come."
Service : "It's difficult to be 100 per cent confident on our first time here in a World Rally Car but I'm feeling quite good. Keep improving."
Service : "I struggled a bit in the loose conditions on Nambucca. The car wasn't working properly in some places. I lost a bit too much time in there for sure. We will lower and stiffen the car to help us better place it on the road."
Service : "Soft tyres weren't the right choice, but it wasn't a complete disaster because we are still leading. My only option to win this rally was to make the perfect choice and gain 15-20 seconds. It has not been a perfect morning. Now, in my position, it's like being chased by a pack of wolves. I'm being realistic. We know the speed of those guys when it's a level playing field."
Service : "The tyres were right today but after first 20kms on Nambucca I lost the feeling a bit and wasn't pushing. I got it back at the end but for some reason I didn't have the spark to fight."
Service : "The line from Stéphane is helping me a bit. I hope on the second loop, now he has checked his notes, he will be more on the right line. After a day and a half being this close to the lead is more than I was expecting. If I can maintain this gap then tomorrow we can really start the fight."
"A pretty fun stage. One small spin to keep the crowds happy."
"That's good but I'm not happy for Nasser that he has a problem. We had one moment in there but we are still here."
SS9
"It was a stupid accident really. We cut on the entry to a corner and hit a hole. The car took off and got beached off the road. It took us 10 minutes to get back on. The car is okay."
M-Sport: Went off the road and got his Fiesta R5 stuck, moving again.
"We did it well. We had a good set-up. I think we can do more."
"I had to stop for one or two seconds, so not so bad. A good stage for us."
"We had to stop 10km before the end because there were cows on the road!"
"From the beginning we have an engine misfire. The engine temperature is okay, and the the misfire went away for a while but then it came back. I think something is wrong with the electrics. I hope to get the car back to service."
"At the start I didn't find the rhythm but it got better in the second half. But this is a long stage and I'm an old driver - my back is aching now."
"We had a pretty good run. Heaps of people out on the stages. Great to see."
Stopped at the 19km point. He restarted today after losing a wheel on day one.
"The [hard] tyres were the right choice. A much better feeling. It's not over yet."
"I don't have any rear brakes. I lost them soon after the start."
Engine problems
"The rhythm was good at the start but we were more cautious in the forest section because we don't know this stage."
"We took a a big gamble here [softs] and it looks like we made the wrong choice. To be honest we should have taken more out of Mikkelsen - 15 or 20 seconds."
"It has definitely started a lot better. In the narrow section in the trees I felt the car move a lot. There didn't seem to be a lot of grip after that."
"It was okay, Some cleaning but less than yesterday, I pushed in a few sections quite hard. The shadows made it hard to see the road in the final section."
"A good stage for us. Happy with my drive. Hard to do more. Not bad. Not bad!"
Tracking system shows his car stopped 17.3km into the stage.
"We had hard tyres. The beginning was very good but then it was a bit slippy and I took it maybe too carefully & lost time at the end."
"For sure it was not a bad choice because it's so slippery. Lefebvre's lines were a little bit of help, but it's his first time here, so I couldn't follow them all the time. Better than nothing."
"A big moment for us to open the road for the first time. I opted for four soft tyres, but it wasn't easy."
SS8
"No confidence to drive, there is something wrong but I don't know what it is."
"A lot of dust, we didn't take any risks - it was easy to make a mistake."
"The dust is hanging. I had a good day, I'm very happy."
"Car is not completely ok, need to look into this at service."
"We had a small transmission problem in this stage, I was losing a bit of traction. Luckily it's the last stage of the day"
"I knew I would loose on this one. I attacked earlier & then tyres were a bit more used. But all ok, happy with the afternoon."
SS5
"We had a good rhythm. We have to protect our tyres for the next stages."
"Feeling a bit more relaxed in the car now. Made some minor set-up changes and it feels like it's heading in the right direction"
"I think conditions are even worse than this morning. Really good stage, happy with my drive and the car, but I can't find any grip"
SS4
"I've never had such an undriveable setup, this long stage was a nightmare."
"It's my least favourite stage so we just wanted to get through it. We will make some changes in service"
"This one is very difficult, with different surfaces. It's not perfect. No risks."
"Stalled the engine in a hairpin which cost me some time."
"A little bit of dust. For one moment, I though I had a puncture. I'm happy with my morning."
"We had a rear-left puncture. Touched a bank and had a spin so might have come from that. Tough morning. Need to reset this afternoon."
rear left puncture
"I tried to drive well but I struggled a bit.I missed speed in some corners but overall it was OK"
"I was hoping conditions could be better for me here but it wasn't the case. Still very slippery & cleaning. Even pushing I'm 8th overall"
"Took it far too carefully at the start cause it was a new section but I’ve lost time there."
SS3
"The car is almost undriveable, we have a lot of understeer. We are on hard tyres but the proble is not there."
"Nice stage! When I took my pace notes it felt really good and now times are OK. I feel very happy."
"Good rhythm is this nice stage. We'll see the tyre wear. I'm happy with my morning so far."
"These aren't the times we want to be setting. I'm still struggling and just haven't got the feeling."
"A lot of cleaning, very difficult conditions for the guys in the front. We have to manage the tyres."
"Slippy on the top but on the ground it’s ok so, of course, you are loosing when u are on the front."
"The stage was really good again, I'm happy with my drive. I push and try my best. We try to minimize the consequences of sweaping"
SS2
problem with suspension, retired for today
SS1
"Happy with the first stage, we tried something different with the tyres and it felt ok actually. Lets see."
"Very very loose in there, not sure how the tyres look like."
"Happy with the set up of the car. It was a new stage for everyone."
"Difficult to get the grip. Not the perfect rhythm."
"I had a good run, quite slippery in some places and tricky. Difficult to beat guys in front."
"It was quite loose so I tried to drive cleanly but I was just way too cautious. We need to push harder for sure."
"Really good stage. I'm happy with my drive but it's very difficult, very slippery. For sure we will lose some time here"
"Not so easy to make the difference in a so short stage."