14. Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2017
9. 3. – 12. 3. 2017, León • gravel 370.46 km - (cancelled 74.58 km) • total distance including road sections - 897.68 km • Other years • Other years
31st Rally México
Info
SS19
"I got caught out on a bump after the jump. I'm a lucky, lucky boy. That's one way to finish the rally but we didn't need that..."
"It's been a strong performance. We did what we could, we have to be happy with that. It has been an important result."
"I can only say I'm happy for the whole team, they kept pushing me. Thanks to them for sorting the car so quickly after the first day. I'm happy to be here."
"A bit of drama early on cost us the chance of a podium. After that the car felt better and I really enjoyed it. We will keep going and I'm sure we will be on the top soon."
"We've had technical issues which have meant we couldn't do much today. The bad luck continues..."
"Our engine guy has done a good job with the software here - the car felt the best it has all weekend. I pushed hard. Let's see if it is good enough for Power Stage points - we have to remember every single point counts at the end of the year."
"A lot of problems during the weekend. Some unbelievable weather, some bad luck here too - we had problems with the windscreen wipers on the first stage today."
"Overall we have to be pretty happy. Valuable mileage. Here we tried to be neat and tidy, but quite a bit of oversteer. We tried."
"The rally didn't start in the best way but we learned a lot. A bit unlucky in places, and not the best way to get used to this car, but my times have improved."
For sure being unwell didn't make it any easier. Before and after the stages the feeling hasn't been that good - but on the stages it was okay. It has been a tough weekend."
"Not a bad result. I would like to test the car before the next events but a perfect debut result for the championship."
"A good weekend."
"A great battle and a great rally. Everything has worked well today. Perfect. A great start to the season."
"It was difficult this morning. We didn't recce these stages and I had a wet set-up which wasn't correct. I'm a bit sad. I'm happy to be second but we wanted to win. A good progression though - we are happy about the speed."
SS18
“The plan was to save the tyres and I’m faster here because the stage is drying. I’ll try as much as I can in the Power Stage.”
“It was raining heavily before the stage, but not too bad in the stage. I have to look after the tyres for the Power Stage. Some points would be nice.”
“There are various conditions in the stage and there were some parts which were quite loose, so I have no idea what it will be ike for the other cars when the stage dries.”
“The stage is shit. We have an issue. I dont know whether it’s the car or the driver.”
“I tried to be smooth and not brake late. It’s not the ideal time but I’m happy. It was a good clean run, with good rhythm. We’ve been in the top five in the stages all rally, so we should be in a good position for the Power Stage.”
“I was quite unlucky, just before I started the stage it began raining and immediately the driver’s wiper was lost and we had to drive through the stage without that wiper. But I think we will be able to fix it before the Power Stage.”
“The car is working well. It was quite tricky in there. Slippery in places and I tried to look after my tyres. My strategy for the Power Stage is that I need to consolidate my position in this rally.”
“Nice stage good grip. Not so fast. Why should I not go for it on the Power Stage?”
“It was a good stage but I stalled 8km before the end and I lost some time – maybe 10 seconds. I don’t think team orders will come into play.”
“It was quite difficult. It was quite slippery. I’m feeling a bit better. If I can pas Jari-Matti. If I am allowed to.”
“Because of the rain, the grip is gone in every corner.”
“I have a cracked windscreen. It is right in my line of sight. It really put me off in the stage, but I’m going to push in the Power Stage.”
“At this stage all is very good for me, very nice stage and a good tyre choice.”
“We thought it was going to be worse in this stage, but i was dry. So we went on four soft tyres.”
SS16
"I tried as much as I could most of the time today. Unfortunately the spin cost about 10 sec. Without that I would be a bit closer, but that's rally and it's not too bad to be where we are. Still two stages to go - one with some important points. We will try to catch some."
"Rain again. Tricky on the hard tyres and we lost maybe a couple of seconds. A better day than yesterday."
SS14
"Good for both of us that were are not relaxed. We enjoy it."
"We tried what we could today but Kris was too fast and we couldn't match him. if I finish this rally in second place then that would still be very positive."
Accident
SS13
spun and puncture
"I knew this would be a decisive loop. At one point I was going to have to take hard tyres. This was a decisive stage for me with hard tyres at the front and softs at the rear. A good time but still a long way to go."
"Really slippery and we spun on a hairpin near the end. A slow spin, but it cost us ten seconds."
"We got a flat front tyre on the road section, when we arrived at the start we had to change it for a worn tyre. We were very rushed."
"I had a good stage. Tried to be clean and smooth. I'm not pushing"
"Not the best tyre choice."
"The beginning of the stage was good, but at he end it was more polished and slippery."
"I'm surprised by the times, I don't quite understand why we're so far off the pace. We're trying a few different things to try and improve the situation."
"Not good on the soft tyres. We expected rain, but the rain never came. Not a nice feeling at all. We are experimenting, trying things but, it is very difficult."
"The grip is really, really low. We struggled a lot in there, the car started moving around very early on."
SS12
"Everything is going well, but maybe I went a bit too hard on the tyres early on."
"He's pushing for sure. For me it was a good stage. There's not much more to say. I want to finish this rally with no damage. Let's see..."
"I lost a tyre at shakedown with a puncture so had to manage my allocation. Okay, lets see for the next stages but I will have more tread with these tyres."
"I did everything I could. A really clean drive, pretty much on the limit."
"If it's true, then thanks to the organisers. A 10 minute penalty was not fair."
"The car was sliding quite a lot. The time is not so bad. Okay, the hard tyre would have been better here my choice is a compromise for the whole loop."
" I got some medication in service and the feeling is a bit better now."
"There are a lot of different choices for tyres here, and probably no perfect solution. We have two hards and three softs, and the softs should better suit the next stages."
"The car is okay now, getting better and I'm understanding more about it. A small issue with dust, but it's okay."
"We tried to collect data, that is the most important thing. A little bit of experimenting too - especially how to save the tyres."
"A lot better than earlier. It's a strange loop, and I thought this one would be hardest on the tyres. A little bit of tyre management here but it wasn't too bad."
SS11
damaged rim and puncture
"We struggled a lot with the brakes today. We can do only one stage before we need to bleed them."
"I lifted a bit over the jump but it was okay. I don't feel as fast as I usually do. I hope the afternoon will be better."
"It was a strong attack this morning - good pushing - I am very happy."
"It's my first time to drive here and it's tough event. We have good pace notes now and maybe on the second pass we can be faster."
"Today it felt good. A tough afternoon ahead."
"Not so bad. For sure we would always like to do a bit better but we had a clean loop."
"We're trying a few set-up things. On speed alone I can't catch the guys ahead but I can keep the pressure on."
"On these wider roads I'm really happy. This was fast and flowing - a great stage."
"We slid wide on a right-hander two kilometres before the finish and hit a rock. Instant puncture. Otherwise a good stage. We will be quicker on the repeat."
"I tried to attack here, because so far things haven't gone so well. I used the whole road, slid wide near the end and touched a rock. I lost only two seconds at the end."
"Very loose out there, one of the worst of the day. It will definitely get quicker."
SS10
"I've lost a bit of the rear wing and the car is sliding now in some of the fast corners. No risks though. The time is not so bad."
"A good stage, good rhythm and I'm enjoying it, but I can't catch the guys ahead unless them make mistakes."
"Not so bad but not yet a perfect car set-up and I'm not fully confident."
"Very, very slippery. The road is quite loose, I was struggling for grip and sliding around a lot. For sure it will clean off. A bit of mud in the middle, which was a surprise, but the grip was okay there."
stopped
"Slippery and wet in there. The engine is fine but I'm losing the brakes when they get hot at about 20km. The pedal feels fine - but there is no friction."
"We rolled in a slow hairpin and broke the windscreen. We will wait other cars to pass before finishing the stage."
"Not so bad. Very wet half way through though, which was surprising. Quite mixed for sure. The last part was sandy and the car was sliding a lot at the rear - just the conditions I think."
stopped
SS9
"We overheated the brakes for the last six kilometres so we slowed down to be safe."
"This stage was very good but we lost all the brakes, they got very, very hot. We are trying to learn, step-by-step."
"That's very good. Why? Experience, a good recce, good relationship with my co-driver, a good set-up, good car..."
"No, just very careful. We will do this stage and then see what the situation is on the next one. There is more pace to come if I need it."
"To be honest I started a bit too carefully. I'm not used to having a clean line and getting grip. But my approach is not all or nothing - it's just to keep going. There is a lot happening here, it's a rough rally. My car is fine."
"I tried to drive well. The grip with this car in the fast sections is unbelievable. The car is working very well. Okay, very disappointed about yesterday - but that's life."
"The car is working well, so I hope we have identified the problem. The guys did a good job and the the car feels comfortable. Sometimes my notes we too slow, but no problems."
"Quite okay. The feeling is not so good for myself but the car is working very well."
"This is a hard stage for the tyres but mine look okay. The car is running a lot better than yesterday - compared to then it's perfect!"
"At the moment the guys have done a good job and the problem seems to be solved. The car feels comfortable to drive. Just managing the temperatures here and there."
"In some places my pace notes were too slow, but for my first pass here it was okay."
"There was a misunderstanding on the starting list for the second day. Whether we would start at the front or the rear."
"The car is running quite okay, no issues, I tried to push a little bit, but of course we are still on the safe side."
"Just the usual really, loose in places but clean enough. No problems. No issues with overheating today - as we would expect in conditions like this."
SS6
"I hit the sidewalk, it was very slippery. I'm really angry."
"A bit slippery in the tunnel but the time was okay. I'm sad because of the issue with the new car."
"Everything went well today. Okay, we are 10th on the road and we have to do well from that position. My mistake cost me eight or nine seconds but otherwise I'm happy."
mechanical problem
"I have to push here - I want to try and get third place for tomorrow's road position [from his team-mates ahead]. Tomorrow should be a better day, the guys will work tonight to check the engine and I have learned a lot about how best to use the diff."
"Not perfect, but the roundabout made me feel dizzy and I don't want to take risks on this sort of stage, there is a long rally in front of us!"
"It has been very difficult today on the gravel. We should be a lot faster tomorrow. We have an idea of what we need to do."
"It looks like everyone had overheating today and I'm sure the team are looking at ways to fix it. My engine feels fine, for sure there should be no damage."
"We hit problems on the first and second stages and I had to drive many sections in road mode. I think the team has a solution."
SS5
"I think the front-left and rear-left dampers are broken. On the high speed sections I have movement in the steering."
"Some brake problems on the first stage, I used them too much - completely my fault - but we sorted that. This stage felt good, a bit slippy and low power but I enjoy. Now the confidence is coming back."
"I stalled - twice - in an uphill section. I lost eight or nine seconds in the same place! Then I felt something very strange about the car in the last five kilometres."
"Really, really, really slippery. The overheating is better."
"It's really difficult to find the balance with the tyres. Very easy to make a mistake. I'm sticking to my plan: no mistakes, just drive in the middle of the road."
"Towards the end I was sliding too much on the tyres. I tried. I can't explain my time on the first stage - I drove well but I must have lost a lot of power."
"Not so bad. For this one I put on four soft tyres and it was better."
"We lost a lot near the end when the car was moving around a lot."
"At the start the car felt unbelievable, really good, but I made a small mistake near the end, so the time is nice surprise."
"Okay, now we know the [high temperature] issue from the previous stage, we were able to drive a bit quicker here. For sure, we need to find a different set-up."
"Better than the first stage. I'm happy to be here and with what we have done - it looks like other drivers have more problems."
"The stage is okay, but we're still having problems with the engine temperature and I have to drive without anti-lag. I hope to get back to the service."
SS4
Stopped
"We had to stop because we had a very high temperature alarm. We had no radio signal so we stopped and waited 30 minutes to get a signal. Then we continued with the safer mode."
Retired after SS4.
Retired before SS4.
problems with brakes
"Ahah, best time, Yes !! Not easy on this stage but really happy!!"
"We benefited from a clean road. A demanding stage, boulders to drive around, but I'm happy."
"We had a water temperature warning in the slower sections, we had to turn off the ALS. I don't know what the problem is."
"Really, really difficult. We were in safety mode for the first half - we just had to manage things. It's the first time here in these new cars and we have things to learn. The tyres were tricky too. Now the softs at the rear are too soft and the hards are too hard. There is no perfect choice."
"I was in trouble with the power. I have a small issue which we will solve now. Overheating."
"I lost the power steering a bit and I think the centre diff is over heating."
"We had a lot of alarms early in the stage. It wasn't so bad in the faster section near the end. We turned everything down and took it cautiously."
"We have a problem with the engine. No anti-lag at the end, we were in safe mode. I lost a lot of time."
"For the first 30km or 40km we had high water temperature - 120 degrees all the time. The car is driving strangely, the dampers overheating perhaps, very strange. I was in and out of stage and road mode."
"We had an engine alarm for most of the stage - overheating. Maybe not the optimum. [All] softs would have been better, but this was the safer option."
"The engine is running far too hot, we had to run in road mode. I think the centre diff is too hot too, and we had no proper brakes for half of the stage."
Stopped
SS1
"Much better than my first pass. Fantastic for my first two stages in an R5 car."
"It's a lot of fun when you get to do donuts in the centre of a city. Two clean runs, I'm happy with that."
Had to reverse.
SS0
" More grip than I expected."
"Now the rain is really coming down and making it very, very slippery. Unbelievable."
"Tricky stuff - and to navigate as well. It was hard to see the barrel we were to donut around."
"Horrible, a lot of rain just before my start time. I need to work on my notes."
"Completely wet and quite terrible. I'm hoping for a good clean run this week. Let's see. I'll always try to win."
"The engine died on the donuts - a big mistake that cost us some time."
"It started to rain for the last four or five cars. It was slippery but I did what I could."
Engine changed - 5min penalty