“This Sunday you won a 6th victory in Portugal and the 60th of your career…
These are still nice numbers (after his 100th podium during his victory in Croatia). The 6th here took a long time to come, since the previous one dates back to 2017. Since then, I have heard every year about Markku Alén’s record (the two were tied with 5 victories). It was definitely a challenge to do it but maybe because it was so difficult it makes it taste even more special. You never know when it will end, that’s why you have to cherish every moment, especially the victories.
How do you judge your performance over the whole rally?
It was a solid weekend with perfect management, I attacked when necessary. I stayed in a position to be there for the victory without taking all the risks when I wasn’t comfortable. I’m happy to score good points for the team even if we’re losing ground in the Constructors’ Championship even though we won the rally… Another proof of the stupid points system. But hey, there’s no point saying it anymore. I am the best performer (more scratch time) and the winner but not the one who leaves with the most points…
“I think we will be better in Sardinia”
The rally offered a variety of challenges throughout the stages.
There were difficult situations every day with the grip, the tracks, the fog this morning (Sunday)! We took the opportunity to make a difference in the only places where it was possible with the new special stages. It seems like I’m still pretty good at taking notes. So much the better because on the new roads, that’s where there is room to make deviations.
Ready now for a third consecutive rally in Sardinia?
We are in a good period. Quarantine hasn’t hit me too hard yet so we have to continue like this. We will come back in three weeks with the goal of doing it again (winning). I think we will be better there because we were able to test there. Here, we saw on the first day that we weren’t necessarily doing well. Whereas Saturday and Sunday where the profile of the specials was closer to what we find in Sardinia, it was not so bad. We are in a good position for this rally. »
