Date: Friday, September 13 th
Day: 2 Flash N°: 5
Special stage: Içmeler 2 Distance: 24.80 km
Weather: Hot and sunny, 29°C
Road conditions: Dry, abrasive and dusty
Three-minute intervals – possible thunderstorms now forecast from 16.00hrs
Car 1. OGIER/INGRASSIA
“It was okay. Now we have to hope that the rain is really coming….”
Car 3. SUNINEN/LEHTINEN
Front aero damage. “It felt good but it was incredible rough. We need to wait for the whole
loop to compare the times. It’s about the tyres.”
Car 4. LAPPI/FERM
“I never even last year saw this kind of stage. I had maybe 50 huge hits on the car. I did
not know whether I had punctures because my display has gone. Okay, we are here. It is
impossible to avoid all the rocks.”
Car 5. MEEKE/MARSHALL
Stalled on the stage, lost a few seconds and still managed to stay on a faster pace than
the top three in the title race. “I stalled the car and stopped for five or six seconds at a
hairpin. Maybe that concentrated the mind, but okay.”
Car 6. SORDO/DEL BARRIO
“It’s unbelievable. It is very easy to puncture everywhere. I need to keep these tyres for
the longer stage.”
Car 7. TIDEMAND/FLOENE
“In the beginning of the stage we had a warning for a puncture, but there was no puncture
and we kept going.”
Car 8. TÄNAK/JÄRVEOJA
“A lot of loose rocks. It’s not as rough but it’s not nice.”
Car 10. LATVALA/ANTTILA
Bumper off and damage to the Yaris with a tyre off the rim. “We had a problem with the
rear boot. I did not know if it was open. We had a bad noise and I did not hear the notes
very well and there was a rock in the corner. The biggest problem was the rear boot.”
Car 11. NEUVILLE/GILSOUL
“Obviously conditions are completely different and the car is behaving better. We don’t
know what tyres the others have and there might be a surprise with the weather. We will
have to see.”
Car 89. MIKKELSEN/JAEGER
“No drama. Just very rough. You can try and go flat and have a great time and destroy
some things, But, for me, that (caution) was the right thing to do.”
Car 22. GREENSMITH/EDMONDSON
Puncture and tyre off the rim at stage finish. “It’s just a joke. The car is good but….”
Car 23. KOPECKÝ/DRESLER
Dropped 24 seconds to Greensmith in WRC 2 Pro. “The puncture can happen
everywhere. I think these stages should be run only once. It is a Dakar car now!”
Car 41. KAJETANOWICZ/SZCZEPANIAK
“It’s hard to drive because it is not normal rally driving. It’s like a slalom on a straight
road..!
Car 51. GILL/MACNEALL
Stopped 4.4km into the stage
