Cyril Abiteboul: “Big points for Thierry and the top step of the podium with Dani and Esapekka”

Are you satisfied with the way you prepared this rally ?

I think we tried to carry out our tests in the most comparable conditions possible, knowing that this remains limited. Ultimately, it is only when we arrive here that the altitude, the stones and the temperature will allow us to see whether we have worked well or not.

What state of mind is your team in after a rally in Sweden marked by a double podium?

I find that the crews are quite confident. I think there is a good atmosphere. Our Monte-Carlo was a bit complicated, but in Sweden the competitiveness of the car and the small changes that were made generated an interesting dynamic. The choice that was made to swap positions between Thierry and Craig also showed that we are capable of making decisions and working as a team...even if it led to something else. There are always detractors of this type of instruction, but I have the impression that we came out of it stronger than, on the contrary, fractured.

With Thierry expected to sweep, Dani who will have a good running order and Esapekka who is a bit in between, how will you approach this rally? What are the objectives ?

We all agree that we will first have to survive El Chocolate and Ortega on Friday morning… but we must survive quickly! The question will arise where to set the cursor in the attack level. Thierry is playing the championship and he must stay in the match with Kalle Rovanperä and Ott Tänak. He must manage to stay in this mode knowing that they will suffer more than him. It would be nice if he ranks ahead of them to benefit from a good road position on Saturday. His goal this weekend is to score more points than his rivals. We are really in this construction with him as we have shown and we will continue to do so. Dani and Esapekka are in ambush and their position is interesting. EP was very fast during the shakedown and I think we can do something good. Dani is in a similar situation and we have no reason not to aim for the top step of the podium