Stage 5 - Thursday 24 April 2008 | Veszprem - Veszprem
- Connection 11.0 km
- Special 157.0 km
- Connection 0.5 km
- Connection 35.0 km
- Special 54.0 km
- Connection 61.0 km
- Total 317.0 km
Interviews
Francisco Lopez – KTM – After the 1st special - 010
“Right from the start, I concentrated on navigating and reading the road-book, because several of the waypoints had been modified or removed and I really didn’t want to miss any of them. But, apart from that I didn’t have any problems. On the contrary, I even really enjoyed myself, because the bike was running like a dream. Just like the rider with the navigation. All in all, it was the perfect package. I’m very satisfied”.
David Casteu – KTM - 003
“I gave myself a big fright on the first special when I took on a lot of water, so I really wanted to do better on the second special, especially to catch up with “Chaleco” (Francisco Lopez). So, at the start, I told him, “I’m going to eat you alive”. He’s a very quick rider who is used to this type of terrain, because where he comes from there isn’t much desert or navigation. He’s a very good endurance rider. We’ve known each other for a long time and we get on well. But when we’re on the track it’s a battle between friends for us. So, I went for all out attack, but still made sure I concentrated on my road-book. Above all, I really enjoyed myself. It was a wonderful day”.
Cyril Despres – KTM - 001
“It was a real pleasure to spend a lot of time on the bike today, even if I took the day in a fairly laid-back way. There are days when you feel on top form to attack and others when it’s better to concentrate on riding. The gap is so big in the general standings that it would be stupid to take a risk today. You never know how a race will turn out when you’re packing your bags at home. You can set yourself a strategy, or have an idea of how you’re going to handle it and then you have to cope with breaking your milometer on the second day, then another again today…That’s life, you just have to accept little things like that… But still, I’m happy”.
Alain Duclos – KTM - 014
“I’m quite satisfied, although a little surprised, because we all had trouble navigating today. All in all, it’s a good omen, even if I’m not letting myself get too excited because it’s only a provisional third place on the podium. In terms of pure speed, I know that Cyril Despres is quicker than me, so I’m especially keeping my eye on Spain’s Pellicer. A lot could still happen tomorrow. It will be vital to avoid mistakes, because there are two or three riders fighting for third place who are only separated by one minute. But the most important thing is that I really enjoyed myself in the specials today. I let the bike do the talking and it was very quick. I had a great time”.
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Robby Gordon – Hummer - 212
“It was a really great special for me today. The route was perfect for our Hummer and I went on the attack from start to finish. I wanted to make up for our poor showing in yesterday’s stage, when we had problems with the brakes. I managed to do that and I really enjoyed myself behind the wheel too. Of course, it’s going to be difficult to make up the 2’58” difference between us and Carlos Sainz at 12 seconds each time, but we’re going to give it a try. We have to believe in ourselves!”
Stephane Peterhansel – Mitsubishi (after the first special) - 200
“The track on today’s route was very well signposted, unlike yesterday. Otherwise, as far as we’re concerned, it was not a good day, because we got a flat tyre 30 km from the finish, and had trouble changing it. The new wheel wouldn’t fit properly, and as a result we lost at least 3 minutes. It didn’t really help us in terms of the general standings. Without the puncture, we would have probably finished a short way behind Sainz, and not have lost the lead, so it’s a real pity. That said, we hadn’t had any problems since the start of the rally, so I suppose it was our turn. That’s just part of racing, you have to accept it”.
Stéphane Peterhansel – Mitsubishi - 200
“On the whole, the day wasn’t really all that good for us because after the flat tyre this morning, we had a gearbox problem this afternoon and we couldn’t get any lower than 3rd gear. That meant we lost time again, around 4 minutes in total for the day, so it’s a bit frustrating. Now we’re back to where we started. There are two days of racing left and a 25-second gap between the first two positions, which is absolutely nothing, especially when we know that it’s Carlos Sainz behind us and that on this type of track, he really does know how to drive a car! The rally is very open so we’re going to try and hang on and hope that this day will be the only one where we have problems. Now we know what type of special stages lie in wait for us tomorrow, we’ll try and make the most of it and go on the attack”.
Carlos Sainz – VW - 201
“Now the gap between us and Stephane Peterhansel is very small. I’m very happy to have been able to claw back the time after my problems on the second day, when I lost more than 8 minutes, and to still be in contention for the fight for victory. It’s going to be very close, except if one of us gets a flat tyre. So, I’ll have to be very careful to avoid that, but we’re obviously going to try to win. It’s true that the conditions are very different from the WRC: there are lots of tricky sections and holes to avoid so it’s easy to make mistakes. We’ll have to be very careful, but go on the attack as well. We’ll have to see what happens”.
Luc Alphand – Mitsubishi - 202
“We had a long discussion with Dominique Serieys yesterday evening, because even when we drive as fast as we can, if our rivals are quicker, then they’re quicker. So, he asked us to remain calm and not to try and force the issue because the road to the finishing line is still long, and he was right: look at what happened to Giniel de Villiers and Robby Gordon. It’s true that the pace is very fast and as a result competitors are being eliminated special after special, so we have to be careful and concentrate. In fact, the pace was fairly fast today, apart from Stephane who really went on all out attack this afternoon, but we’ve no need to be embarrassed about our day. It was a good stage for us. We took risks of course, but not stupid ones. We didn’t give ourselves a fright and we used the car’s potential well. Now there are two days left and we’ll have to stay focused right to the end, because the slightest puncture or the slightest mistake can have serious consequences”.
Hans Stacey – MAN - 400
“I’m really happy and proud, because it was me who designed this new truck along with MAN and today it worked like a dream. We altered the suspension again and the way it’s set up now is excellent: I was able to attack from start to finish. In fact, I attacked so much that I missed a junction and had to reverse, but it wasn’t a serious problem. I pushed the truck almost to the limit today and it proved itself to be perfect, although I didn’t drive it so hard that I risked breaking something. In any case, I’m delighted because we have a formidable machine. Mind you, I’ll still be watching out for Ales Loprais, because he was very quick today and the slightest mechanical problem could put everything in the balance”.