It’s going to be a challenge, Are you ready for that?
CB: I think so. Honestly, there is not so much that you can do to be fully ready. You can go in a sauna. That’s as much as you can do. The guys have tried to do the best they can in the short time between Portugal to try and insulate the car from the heat a little bit better. This morning didn’t feel too bad but the air is a little bit fresher closer to the sea. Obviously it was earlier in the morning and not as many kilometres. It will be interesting to see what the weekend will be.
How did the car perform on shakedown this morning? Are you happy with it?
CB: Yes, honestly, I was reasonably happy. I felt good with the car early on. We didn’t do a test for the rally, so the last time I drove the car was the last days in Portugal. That was only a little over a week ago. Everything feels good. I didn’t make so many changes. It will be interesting to see how the stages develop as the weekend goes on. I haven’t done the rally here for a number of years but, from what I can see, it is a big challenge but we have prepared the best we can. I feel confident, so let’s see.
Do you feel any disadvantage because you haven’t competed here in the last few years? But you did the recce here last year, right?
CB: Yes, I did the recce last year and the last time I competed here was in 2018. But, if you let that enter your head, it’s something that holds you back. We see now with Mister Loeb that he can just land back and do things like magic. So, I think you have to leave the excuses behind now and do a good recce, commit to the pace notes and do the job.
Dani Sordo seems to be able to do that as well. He comes back
and gets on the podium?
CB:
Dani can drive with a bit more confidence because he’s such a good-looking man that he can always fall back on the looks, the model looks! He drives with less pressure than us.
Talk about the stages themselves. You mentioned the narrow nature of them. Does
Saturday stand out a bit more because there is no mid-point service?
CB:
Obviously, we saw that in Portugal as well. A day without a mid-point service always makes it a bit more tricky. To be honest, all the stages here are narrow and tricky and there are places to catch you out. Saturday will be a difficult day. Trying to manage it without the service and trying to manage the heat. The stages are not crazy long and we won’t have anything like we had in Portugal but the average speeds will be a lot lower. That’s a strain, not just for us inside the car, but for the components and everything. We have done as much as we can to prepare for it and we will suck it and see now.”
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