"Our 40th WRC win was certainly hard work..." - Sebastien Loeb.

Sebastien Loeb [Citroen Total WRT]:

"Our 40th WRC win was certainly hard work. The weekend was very frustrating at times, especially because of all the 'road sweeping' that had to be done, but we managed to hold on to a big enough lead to finish on top. There was little more we could have done: we didn't make any mistakes and our C4 performed absolutely perfectly. Not to have won would have been a huge disappointment, so I'm very happy, not only for us but also for the team and for our situation in the two championships. The weekend showed once again that our car is competitive over this sort of terrain, and that's encouraging for the coming rounds."

Mikko Hirvonen [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:

"The first stage this morning was great but I went off the road briefly on the next about 1km after the start. I hit a rock and didn't know what damage I had done so I knew I had to ease off slightly. I thought I had a puncture but Pirelli's tyres are strong and the rubber stayed inflated. At one point I was worried I wouldn't make the finish. This afternoon I started to go flat out to try to take time from Loeb, but I realised it wasn't going to happen so I decided not to take any more risks and dropped my pace. Jari-Matti's split times were good so I couldn't ease off too much. I needed more speed on Friday but apart from that, this was a good rally. If I continue to lead the championship and be first in the start order, then I need to find more speed on the first day when conditions are slippery. I'm a little disappointed but if I can't win, then I need to take second and that's what I did here."

Jari-Matti Latvala [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:

"It's been an eventful rally. On Friday I would have been happy to finish in the top five, so third is fantastic and gives me a big confidence boost. If I hadn't made the mistake [in SS2], who knows what the outcome might have been. Yesterday was amazing and I literally pushed my hardest all day. This morning I had a big fight with Mikko and I should have driven better. I had a good road position for two days and today I didn't. I didn't have the same confidence because the roads were slippery and there wasn't the same flow. I saw that I couldn't catch Mikko. I was tracking Mikko's split times during the last three stages and followed his pace but I didn't want to take stupid risks to try to pass him - I saw that I couldn't catch him by the middle of stage 16 so I started to ease off. Mikko won the fight on the morning stages and second belonged to him. I said at the start of the week a podium was what I was aiming for, and I've achieved that - the job is done."

Gigi Galli [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"It's been a good finish to my home event. I was a bit disappointed on the first day after the puncture but Malcolm Wilson told me that I could still be fourth and the Chief was right. For the rest of the rally we set a good pace with consistent times and I just wanted to put in a good performance for all the Italian fans on the stages. We have now found a level that I am happy with and I am much more comfortable with the car. It was important for me to finish well here and do a good job in front of my fans and my sponsors."

Daniel Sordo [Citroen Total WRT]:

"I didn't succeed in really upping my pace. We tried several solutions, but I failed to find a set-up that allowed me to make the most of our C4's potential. I'm a bit disappointed, but I'm still pleased with our performance on the first day and with the points we have scored for Citroën. There is still a long way to go this season, and there will be other opportunities to finish on the podium."

Chris Atkinson [Subaru WRT]:

"OK, it's good to get more points and to still be third in the championship, but it's definitely not been an easy weekend. I drove the best I could and made no mistakes, and that's it."

Henning Solberg [Munchi's Ford WRT]:

"I never really quite got into this event and struggled for most of it to discover a good setting for the car. I couldn't find a comfortable rhythm on the stages as they are extremely difficult and there are so many rocks at the side of the road to catch you out. So for me it was important to not make mistakes and get more experience of the car on gravel roads. We don't get a chance to test so the time on the stages is vital to get a good feeling and with Greece and Turkey so close after this rally, I wanted to get finished here with no problems and take the information on our set-up to help improve our pace on the next rally."

Urmo Aava [PH Sport-Citroen C4 WRC]:

"I'm pleased as we wanted to learn here and we scored a point. I was not able to keep up with Henning Solberg and so I just want to keep my position."

Per-Gunnar Andersson [Suzuki WRT]:

"It's been a very tough rally for us but a good one: the car has been perfect from start to finish and I have been very happy with it. We've had no major problems despite the extremely challenging conditions, which made it very difficult to judge the correct pace, particularly under braking. I hope now that we have got a good basis to work from for the future. I wasn't actually thinking much about points on this event: for all of us the priority was to get the car to the finish safely and I'm very pleased that we have been able to do that."

Petter Solberg [Subaru WRT]:

"There is nothing much to say. It has been really hard. I just hope that the new car will fit with our needs."

[Speaking on Saturday] "It's been a very, very hard day for us today. We tried but we just didn't have the pace today. We started with a good third position from yesterday, and we knew today would be tough, but even without stopping to change the wheel in stage eight, we just couldn't keep it. The car is not driveable - it is incredible."

Matthew Wilson [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"We've had a few different problems on this rally and it's definitely one we need to put behind us and move on. We just weren't able to get a good feeling with the car and in this sport once you lose time it is very difficult to get it back again. When we had no problems the times I set were pretty good and this is important for me to be able to take these positives to Greece and improve on our performance."

Conrad Rautenbach [PH Sport-Citroen C4 WRC]:

To follow...

Federico Villagra [Munchi's Ford WRT]:

"It has been a tough, but good, rally for us. This was the event where I started for Munchi's last year and on the recce we made all of our pacenotes faster, which just shows how much our pace has improved from last year. The car has been great on this rally and my main focus was to complete the event without any problems. The stages are very tricky and it's easy to make a mistake so we concentrated hard to get to the end with everything intact. So in the end we have achieved what we wanted and the confidence is good for the next event in Greece. Henning has done well and has scored more important points for the Munchi's team to keep us ahead of Suzuki."

Michal Kosciuszko [Suzuki Swift S1600]: [Junior WRC winner]

"It's been a fantastic rally and I am absolutely overjoyed to take my first Junior win! From the beginning my car was perfect: I think we had the best set-up in the service park. My only regret is that Martin Prokop had a problem on the final day, as I would have liked the fight to continue to the finish; but we had two days of really close competition and it was the most exciting rally of my career. Sometimes I was a bit too cautious, but we didn't have any big moments or punctures at all during the three days so it was the right decision. I'd like to thank all the Suzuki team: I don't think it is possible to have a better car in conditions like this."

Khalid Al-Qassimi [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:

"I didn't drive well this morning, the stages were narrow and I wasn't confident. Things were much better in the afternoon - I built my confidence up and started getting full sideways movement in the car. I went 50 and 27 seconds faster in this afternoon's stage 15 and 16 re-runs - I had a really good feel for the car and I wish the rally was starting now. Earlier in the event, some of the turns were so tight the car barely got through - it wasn't easy and driving in this rally for the first time with new pace notes has been a real learning curve. Before Greece I need to sit down with my mechanics and make sure these settings are now stored for future rallies - it's important to learn and absorb everything, from car settings to cornering techniques."

Notable retirements:

Khalid Al-Qassimi [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]: [retired from day 1 in SS4 - lost a wheel - re-started on day 2 under SupeRally]

"I tried to lift the pace - my confidence was high, I had good grip and things were going well. I entered a blind corner around 10km from the start that was hidden by a bush and saw this huge bedded rock - with an edge sticking out into the road - too late and hit it at speed. I damaged the front left of the car, including mechanical components like the driveshaft and steering arm. It was a bad corner and there was no way we could continue. I'm disappointed because I was gaining pace and time but this is part of the sport."

Toni Gardemeister [Suzuki WRT]: [retired from day 2 after SS11 - broken rear suspension - re-started on day 3 under SupeRally]

"I'm not really sure what happened, but we had a problem with the rear suspension on SS11 that badly affected the handling of the car. It was a pity, as up until then we had encountered no problems at all and enjoyed another really good day. This just goes to show that when the car is reliable, it can be very effective. We have been deliberately careful not to take any risks today, and I certainly haven't been pushing to the maximum. We'll see what we can do tomorrow, but this rally has been really important for us so far, as it was vital to achieve a basic level of reliability in order to move forwards."

Toni Gardemeister [Suzuki WRT]: [retired from day 3 in service G]

"It's not been a perfect rally for us, but the most important thing is that the team has completed lots of valuable development work on the car and proved with P-G that we can have a good level of reliability. It's always tough in your first year, but I think now we are really beginning to turn a corner and make some solid progress. I have always said that when the car is running reliably it can be a good package, and I think we have shown some potential on this rally. Of course there is plenty of work still to do but we are definitely on the right road."

Team principals:

Olivier Quesnel [Citroen Total WRT - team principal]:

"Given the challenging context in which it was obtained, I am very happy with this result which is a fitting reward for the good work put in by everyone at Citroën Sport. Sébastien and Daniel fully deserved to win because the parameters were very complex. We challenged for victory from start to finish and I believe that says a great deal about our domination. Being in the lead all the time meant that we spent the weekend sweeping a cleaner line for our competitors, but Sébastien and Daniel managed to overcome that handicap and went on to notch up their 40th world class win with Citroën. They also scored maximum championship points which is good for their title chances.

"Dani and Marc put in a strong run, too, although their mission was complicated by the 'road sweeping' they had to do on Day 2. The points we have scored in Sardinia mean that the gap at the top of the Manufacturers' championship has stabilised, while Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk (8th) and Conrad Rautenbach/David Senior (13th) also put in good runs with their privately-entered C4 WRCs tended by PH Sport with the support of Citroën Technologies technicians."

Malcolm Wilson [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - team director]:

"We decided that it wasn't realistic to catch Loeb and our drivers were happy to settle for their positions. Yesterday was very special, and I'm not sure anyone has taken that kind of time out of Loeb in a single day when he was fighting for victory and that bodes well for the future. Road position was more crucial here than we thought, and that was a surprise, but our cars ran reliably all rally.

"Mikko's managed to keep his lead in the championship and we'll happily take the fourteen manufacturers' points. With lots of strong rallies left - in Finland, New Zealand, Japan and Wales - the second half of the championship should have plenty of excitement."

Mark Deans [Ford of Europe - motorsport director]:

"Despite a truly committed charge to secure the win, the significance of maximising our points in the manufacturers' championship wasn't missed by the drivers and as a result we've maintained our seven point lead in the standings. That's a reassuring position in which to be as we head into the tough rallies in Greece and Turkey."

Malcolm Wilson [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT - team boss]:

"It has been a very positive end result for the Stobart team especially now they have closed the gap to Subaru in the Manufacturers' Championship. It's also been a great personal performance by Gigi and he has found a really comfortable, fast pace and has much more confidence with the car now. Matthew didn't have the best of events but I know he is able to put this behind him and focus on the next rally in Greece."

Andrew Tinkler [Stobart Group CEO]:

"We have seen another great drive from Gigi and a really concerted effort after dropping time on the first day. His energy and passion for the sport shone through and to climb back up to fourth topped off a fantastic performance. Matthew and Scott had a steady drive and I know they struggled with the set-up. But it's a great result for the Stobart team especially now we have closed the gap to Subaru."

David Richards [Subaru WRT - managing director]:

"It's been a disappointing rally but in spite of the setbacks both Chris and the team retain third place in the championship. We must now focus all our attention on ensuring that we arrive in Greece with an improved setup for the conditions we are likely to encounter there."

Paul Wilding [Suzuki WRT - team manager]:

"This has been a very satisfying rally for us as we achieved a lot of what we set out to do: to try to get the cars to the finish despite some very rough and challenging conditions. It's just a pity that we couldn't achieve this with both SX4 WRCs, but we will be analysing what happened with Toni's car very carefully, and I'm confident that we'll keep learning and improving into the future. I'd like to thank all the team and drivers for a great job throughout the weekend."

Mario Isola [Pirelli - rally manager]:

"In a rally that is notoriously tough on tyres, the Scorpion rubber had no particular problems, and nearly all of the punctures we encountered were down to driver error or accidents. We're particularly pleased by the comparatively modest amount of wear and excellent traction demonstrated by all the leading cars, on a surface that is as demanding and rough as that of Sardinia. This performance makes us optimistic about the next two rallies of the World Championship in Greece and Turkey, which will be just as challenging for our products."