Vincent Landais: “In Mexico, we are here to give everything”

What does the rally from Mexico ? What state of mind are you in?

I've never done it and I'm really looking forward to it. For me, it's a myth. I always saw him on the calendar, I looked at the images very often hoping to have the chance to compete with him one day. I find it super exotic and with this trip in mind, I documented myself, I watched lots of videos, photos... It's a bit like Japan, beyond the ordeal , you really take a journey, you get out of your basics…and I really appreciate this aspect.

How did you prepare for your rally?

I have already watched the specials at least once and I have copied quite a few notes from previous years. I think it fits well. It's quite simple to remember, because there is a beautiful rhythm, a permanent flow. I love these times which are quite fast by no means nothing. I think it won't deteriorate too much, which will be nice for both^es passages. In order to protect myself from any unpleasant surprises, I arrived very early so that I could carefully study the connecting routes.

From your workstation, do you find that the notes for these specials are difficult to take and dictate?

No, it's the opposite. We are coming off two asphalt rallies where the pace was quite high. For me, I find that the tarmac is harder than the dirt to announce and there is also the parameter of the openers to manage. There, the little that I saw of it and even if it is always simple behind the screen, Mexico seemed “easy” to me. The altitude phenomenon should also slow down the cars so we should go slower and the pace of the notes will drop.

Last year the Rally1s proved to be demanding for the crews with high temperatures in the cabins. Did you do any more specific preparation for this?

A little more indeed, with a few saunas, but I'm lucky to have endured Sardinia well last year. I had no alert. Mexico might be a step above what we did, but I have no worries. I arrive there well rested after having been able to recharge my batteries.

You had a lot of pressure in November in Japan for your first race with Sébastien Ogier. There was still some during the Monte-Carlo which is one of your driver's favorite rounds. What about Mexico?

 I think that the pressure that Sébastien puts on himself, the pressure he puts on me and the pressure I naturally impose on myself is part of success. Above all, we must not relax. After the Monte-Carlo scenario, with the victory, the podium... everything, I just want to relive it all. We are in a dynamic that is working and I do not want it to stop. I am keen to do even better, to go further into detail so that we can achieve another good result.

Sébastien Ogier has 6 successes in Mexico so the pressure will definitely be there, right?

In fact, he has often performed well there so the goal will be to do as well. In any case, with a partial program like we do, the objective is not to hide. We are here to give it our all. There is no championship to manage.

Has it been a long time since Monte Carlo?

I'm lucky enough to always take care of my driving center in Lapland, which helped pass the time during the Swedish rally. It's certain that seeing the other crews on TV was a little frustrating, but it ended up going quite quickly.

How was your test day in Spain?

Everything went well. We worked on the reliability of the car by simulating altitude and power loss as well as cooling. On gravel, there is so much less grip that you feel less power, but there, during the first runs, I was surprised by the behavior of the car. Since it was really pushing less, it gave the impression that it was broken! This allows you to measure how intelligent you will have to be with the use of the hybrid which will be able to compensate for the loss of horsepower. We were last, so the other three crews had already done a lot of work. It was positive, Sébastien seemed satisfied.

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