WRC Rallye Monte Carlo: Stephane Lefebvre and Stephane Prevot - Q&A

Stephane Lefebvre and Stephane Prevot reflect after taking the WRC 2 victory on Rallye Monte Carlo in their Citroen DS 3 R5...

Q:
Congratulations on the first win of the 2015 season in WRC 2! How does it feel to take a win in Monte?

Stephane Lefebvre:
Yes, it was a very great result this week. It was my first tarmac rally in the DS 3 R5 and I am very happy to win this week. The rally was very, very difficult, but I made no mistakes and won.

Q:
You had a great battle with Martin Koci throughout the weekend until he suffered problems last night. Were you feeling pressure from Koci?

Stephane Lefebvre:
Yes! Yesterday there was big pressure from Martin. After his problem, I don't push, but before it was not easy.

Q:
Was this the toughest event of your career?

Stephane Lefebvre:
This was the most difficult rally of my career so far, but Stephane explained these conditions very well and I have to say thank you to him. It's really easy to make mistakes on this event.

Q:
Did you have any problems at all during the weekend? How did the car perform?

Stephane Lefebvre:
I am very happy with this car. Before [the event] I want to make one podium and for that I am very happy.

Q:
Stephane, congratulations on the win in Monte, it has been a very successful weekend for you both! How do you feel?

Stephane Prevot:
I am very happy with this result. Everything can happen in these conditions. I was a bit worried before the event and I said we needed to get some mileage in the car. Most important was to finish, but after stage one we were leading. Okay, we were in a good position to do a good result. It was difficult to find the right balance in the battle with Martin and to make no mistakes.

Q:
You've sat next to some very impressive drivers, how does Stephane compare?

Stephane Prevot:
I am very impressed with the maturity we see this weekend. It's not easy to tell a young guy to go slow and use the mind when all they want it to use their own pace and not think about the others. It's not easy when he wants to show his potential, but he's been really good with no panic. It's been quite an easy job for me, not having to tell him to slow down or think about this or that.

Q:
It must give you confidence for the rest of the season?

Stephane Prevot:
Yes, of course. But it's Monte Carlo, which is really a different event. Next time is the first time on snow and these tyres, then gravel and more rallies. The first four or five will be new and different. The plan will be to find a good set-up on gravel for the next events and keep the championship in mind - then we can look a little further.

Q:
Have you won here before Stephane?

Stephane Prevot:
I won here 21 years ago in the class, but now I am really pleased. This is a mega event and from this afternoon, I receive 50 or 60 texts from Belgium. This is the first time that happened since five or six years ago, when I was with Subaru in the World Championship.