Elena: “It feels like it’s become a little too serious”

Ranked 5th after leading a time during the Rally from Mexico, daniel helena accompanied the flamboyant return of Sébastien Loeb at the global level and confided in CARhebdo on his pleasure of co-piloting his Alsatian colleague and friend.

Happy with your rally?
Yes, we had a great weekend! We really had a blast with some beautiful passages, great sensations. We found the team again, made no mistakes, proved that we are still here despite six years of absence (their last full year was in 2012, their last rally WRC at Monte-Carlo 2015). The only disappointment, it's having changed a wheel...

Didn't you tell Sébastien that he shouldn't stop and continue?
No ! I think we got too old and wanted to do the right thing by being too cautious. We may have missed information regarding these new tires. Knowing this, we wouldn't even have asked the question and we would perhaps be 2nd today.

The next challenge, it’s the Tour de Corsica. Does tar fundamentally change things?
No, because I think Seb will use his WTCC experience (two seasons between 2014 and 2015) to properly exploit the aerodynamics of the C3, particularly on braking. He also changed his lines for certain corners, so we'll see, but that bodes well.

Don’t you wish there were other rounds?
I am dependent on what Sébastien wants to do…

Did you feel how happy the WRC world was to see you again?
We are a bit like the two gypsies or the two clowns of the rally. I always had a little laugh. Now, I feel like it's become a little too serious. We showed that you can run a race and set times while laughing without worrying. No need for a “handsome attitude” to go fast!

>>> Discover the interview with this legendary co-driver in full as well as 18 pages of summary on the Rally of Mexico in AUTO N°2156hebdo, on sale at newsstands and in digital version. <<