07 Feb 13
Mads
Mads
Ostberg:
Q & A
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
StumpledUpon
Google BookmarksQatar M-Sport World Rally Team’s Mads Ostberg delighted his Norwegian fans who made the short journey over the border by finishing second in qualifying for Rally Sweden this morning.
Afterwards the 25-year-old, starting the biggest year of his career so far, shared his thoughts with wrc.com:
Q: Mads, you finished second in qualifying, are you happy with that?
MO: "Yes, I’m very happy with that. I wanted to do a good qualifying but I didn’t want to win either, so second was the best position I could have."
Q: You say you didn’t want to win. What’s the thinking behind that?
MO: "I think selecting the starting position in conditions like these is a little bit difficult. I know which place I would have wanted, but it depends a lot on what the other drivers do as well so I don’t have everyone behind me. It’s difficult with the splits if it’s like that, so I need to consider everything."
Q. When you choose will you follow what Ogier (fastest in qualifying) does, or if he does something you don’t expect will you go your own way?
MO: "It depends on what he does. To some point I will follow him, but it really depends on what he does."
Q: Qualifying was the third pass through the stage, what were conditions like by then?
MO: "There was still quite a lot of ice and snow, so it looks good for the rally."
Q: Conditions on the stages are good generally?
MO: "I would say so. During the recce, it looked better than I expected. The organisers have done a good job with the roads and also the last snowfall on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday has been good, so it has turned into a proper winter rally."
Q: People have said the snowbanks are small and soft and after a couple of cars have touched them, they could suck you in. Is that how you see it?
MO: "Yes, I need to be aware of that, but it’s no drama. It could be tricky but when you drive on gravel there are no snowbanks, so it is just the same."
Q: How much would a win here mean to you?
MO: "It would mean a lot. I’m fighting for my first proper win and I have a good chance here. I’ll fight as hard as I can to be able to do that. We’ll see at the end of Sunday, but it would mean a lot. If I get that first win it would be easier to repeat it."
