RACMSA Rally of Scotland – Pre-event press conference

rally scotland logo4 RACMSA Rally of Scotland Pre event press conference

PRE-EVENT PRESS CONFERENCE

Stirling, 19.11.2009

1300hrs

Drivers present:

Kris Meeke (GB), Peugeot 207 Super 2000, 2009 IRC Champion

Keith Cronin (IRL), Fiat Punto Abarth, 2009 British Rally Champion

Alister McRae (GB), Proton, 1995 British Rally Champion

David Bogie (GB), Mitsubishi Evo IX, 2009 Scottish Rally Champion

Guy Wilks (GB), Skoda Fabia Super 2000, 2007/2008 British Rally Champion

Kris, congratulations to you and Paul on a fantastic year for yourselves and the Peugeot UK team. As newly-crowned IRC champions, what are your first impressions of these classic Scottish stages?

KM:

I have been here on previous occasions with the Colin McRae Forest Stages event and the terrain is very similar, although Day Two of this event is in a completely new area. We did try to do the Colin McRae Stages Rally a few weeks ago but unfortunately the car gave us some trouble over the weekend. Some of the stages are incredibly muddy and the problem with the recce is that you only remember the really bad bits. But I have to say that 75 per cent of the rally is absolutely fantastic, especially on the second day. On those stages the only vehicles that have been on them in the last 20 years have been forestry trucks and they have given the tracks a really hard base. It is incredibly slippery and treacherous on 25 per cent of the stages and you could easily put the car off, even at recce speeds. Hopefully we can get through!

Both yourself and the 207 Super 2000 have performed well under a variety of conditions this year, particularly in the Azores which was as wet and windy as this weekend. Will you be happier in these wet conditions? You appear to cope better!

KM:

Today actually reminded me of the Azores! On the second day of that event the hurricane came in and some of the forests there were very similar to what we see here and it was very slippery. We had a lead built up on Day One and we had to manage it on Day Two. There was even some thick fog on the Azores which made it a very tricky rally. But having said that, the Peugeot has been fantastic for us all year and it hasn’t given us any trouble, with not one mechanical failure all year in the IRC, so hopefully that will continue for us this weekend. We had a good test in France a couple of weeks back which went well, so we are well set.

You beat the Italians on their home ground in Sanremo; will you be hoping to do the same to the Scots here?

KM:

I don’t know! I think this rally is very difficult for everyone in these conditions, especially with the amount of rain there has been. If we can have a clean run we can be fighting at the front but full concentration has to be given to having a clean run and I think in this rally it is so easy to pick up a puncture. At times you think you can stick a wheel in but all of a sudden it pulls out a rock and you pick it up and it gives you a puncture. With the reverse seeding, we are running back at car number 10 and there will be some obstacles in the way for us. But you have to deal with it, and all I will be doing will be concentrating on getting a clean run.

Is the contribution of the co-driver often undervalued? How much has Paul helped you in lifting the silverware this year?

KM:

As everyone is aware, OK the driver gets more credit but it really is a team effort and as I described before it’s like a long chain: one link missing and it’s broken. That goes right back to the mechanics and the logistics. If it all wasn’t there then it wouldn’t work at all. Paul is a very important part obviously working with myself in the car and it definitely takes a good team spirit and the guy’s really on top of his game at the moment.

David, congratulations on winning the 2009 Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship. You’re the only driver with recent experience of these stages after competing on last month’s McRae Stages and winning the event in 2007. Does this put you under extra pressure to perform well here?

DB:

I don’t think I’ll be under any extra pressure, no. I’ve done the McRae stages for a few years now and I do have experience of the stages. But conditions are that difficult out there that it’s not going to make it any easier.

It looks like being a very wet rally. Does that favour you?

DB:

I’m equally happy wet or dry to be honest. Our plan for this weekend is to just have a really clean run and to get the experience pitching yourself up against these boys here. I will see what the pace is like and just learn from it. The conditions are obviously very difficult, more so on Friday than Saturday. We are hoping to learn from it all and go away with some more experience.

All year you’ve been driving with the Championship in mind, but now you are off the leash...

DB:

Yes definitely. This year we have been focusing on the Championship and to have won it now means that we have come here with no pressure. We will just enjoy it and aim for a steady result.

Alister, welcome home to a rain-soaked Scotland! It’s just about summertime in Australia now… a good decision to come here?

AM:

Yeah but it’s good to be back in the rain. I’m feeling at home already!

Homecoming Scotland has all been about bringing Scots back home and in your case its been a 10,000 mile trip via China!

AM:

I had to travel 24 hours to get to my home event! It doesn’t really sound right, does it?

Your car this weekend is the best Proton has produced according to reports but we’ve heard there has been some drama over its preparation for this event. What can you tell us?

AM:

We were testing yesterday after the recce finished and the car felt very good. We were making progress with the set up and then a small electrical problem developed which stopped us testing. We had to make sure that everything was 100 per cent sorted for this morning, so we postponed the Scrutineering time. But the car is good, she’s ready for the run and I’m really looking forward to the event.

Your father Jimmy is driving a course car this year. Will you be phoning ahead at stage ends to see if he will give you any clues as to what to expect…?!

AM:

No, he’s too fast! The last time he was in these stages on an event was in a Porsche, so I’m not going to listen to him.

Keith, newly-crowned 2009 British Rally Champion in your Mitsubishi, and in your maiden year - what a year! What have been the highs and lows for you and why the change of car?

KC:

S2000 seems to be the future of rallying in the IRC and I just wanted to get some experience in one of the cars. I’ve been driving in Group N now for three years and I wanted to make a change, so I thought why not do it here. If we can get it together here then surely we can do it anywhere.

How much of a deciding factor is the weather likely to be on this rally? We’ve heard there are some pretty serious storms coming…

KC:

This whole event is new to me; the car is new and so are the stages. It’s all about learning. The conditions are tricky and I think if we can get a good clean run without making any mistakes it will be a good weekend. We had a very short test and even after that I had to make some changes to my pacenotes compared to when I was in the Group N car. It’s going to be a big learning event for me but I’m looking forward to it.

Guy, you’ve pretty much seen and done it all! What are your thoughts for this event? Looking forward to it?

GW:

Obviously we haven’t done the event in terms of stages but everything beforehand looks fantastic. The event definitely has its own character and as Kris says the second day’s stages are very technical and very tricky – almost like a mini-Finland which I’ve never seen in the UK before. It’s good that the rally has its own character. In terms of organisation, the officials have had to deal with a lot, particularly the weather and it’s doing its worst at the moment. But as a driver, you just have to deal with it and it looks like the organising team are coping with it too.

The Skoda has won three previous rounds of the IRC and impressed many. You have already tested the car prior to this event – what have been your thoughts? What are the car’s strengths?

GW:

It has a lot of strengths. It is a very good car and when I jumped into it straight away I was feeling confident. It has a lot of grip and obviously it has been well-engineered and proven with the results it has had this year. So we definitely have the tools for the job and I think it is going to be a very tricky event and not as plain sailing as it might look from the outside. There are a lot of things to judge such as the surface and the objects that will be placed in front in terms of what the other cars pull out on the road.

This year’s event is very much a battle of the Brits! How confident are you for a podium place in your first competitive event in the Skoda?

GW:

Yes absolutely. You have two manufacturers from this country and Skoda UK have come to the party spoiling for a fight, shall we say. They should be commended for that because it is a very brave decision and a very good one. Hopefully this isn’t a one off!

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR:

Eric Briquet, Auto Hebdo

A question for all; this rally of Scotland is so-called RAC, like the fabled rally of the past, so is it for you a special feeling to do the RAC Rally in Scotland?

AM:

I remember doing the RAC when it was called the RAC Rally! It was a great event but to come back now and do the so-called “RAC” in Scotland is a great feeling. Obviously the last time I competed in an International event in Scotland we were doing the British Championship in the late 1990s. So it’s great to be back here and I hope its the first of many good events here in Scotland.

GW:

I’m going to be controversial here but I think it’s great to be doing a rally outside of South Wales! It’s great that rallying is going to other parts of the United Kingdom and I think the organising team should be credited for putting on such a great event as part of the IRC. The Championship is well supported and I think this rally is doing a great job to add to that.