Sebastien Loeb [Citroen Total WRT]:

[Speaking in the post-leg 2 press conference] "Today, I didn't have any particular problems. The tyres performed in a great way. There are five more stages to go, so you can never be sure, but with a margin of 37.8 seconds, I am quite confident that I will be able to claim my sixth victory here. As to Francois, I would rather have him in second place [laughs]. Concerning the championship, it is too early to say something. When the situation remains like this, I am eleven points down on Marcus, but there is still a long, long way to go."

"I pushed hard again this afternoon, basing my pace on the split-times of our rivals to stabilise the gap. I had a very good feeling with the car but I was extremely concentrated because the conditions were very tricky. Our lead over Marcus Grönholm is now 37.8s. Tomorrow's leg is quite short but it could still spring a few surprises. We will take it cautiously and do our best to take a sixth straight win Rallye Deutschland tomorrow in Trier."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "We saw on the Monte Carlo Rally that the Citroën C4 is very strong on asphalt. With the right tyres, it is an extremely quick machine. I felt totally confident and we were able to push hard to recover the lead at the end of the day's first stage. The loop began with fast, narrow roads which called for maximum concentration. We also had to watch out for the lingering damp patches on which it could have been easy to make a mistake. We were on our guards, too, over the Baumholder ranges in order to look after our tyres which were put to a punishing test over the camp's abrasive surface."

Marcus Gronholm [BP Ford WRT]:

[Speaking in the post-leg 2 press conference] "I am relatively safe in second place and my goal for tomorrow is to defend that position. Finishing second here would be great and in New Zealand, Séb and I can swap positions again [laughs]."

"It was an up and down type of day. I must have got out of bed on the wrong side because the first stage was terrible. The car and tyres felt soft and it was moving around a lot. I had no confidence and couldn't find any rhythm. But I fought back and settled for second at the end of the day. I have moved up one place on each leg so who knows what will happen tomorrow. I'm closer to Loeb than I have been in previous years but not close enough to challenge him in the morning. However, I can't relax because Duval and Mikko are close behind me. Duval will push hard so I need to keep pushing too. This rally isn't a favourite of mine but in good weather like we had today it's not so bad."

Francois Duval [OMV Kronos Citroen WRT]:

[Speaking in the post-leg 2 press conference] "Obviously, I had a bad start today and I lost quite some time. Tomorrow, I hope to repeat my performance from yesterday. But it is important not to take too many risks as Mikko Hirvonen is only five seconds behind me. A podium finish in this event would be great."

"The roads will be cleaner tomorrow compared to today. This will give me the opportunity to tap the potential of the Citroen Xsara WRC to the fullest. We will do our all to finish the rally in second place, just like in 2004 and 2005."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "Since we were leading on Friday evening I'm obviously not satisfied with the development this morning. We had the right tyres and the car was great, too. Now we will focus on second place since Loeb would have to run into really serious troubles for us to overtake him."

Mikko Hirvonen [BP Ford WRT]:

"It was a good day but it is hard fighting on these stages. Conditions were dry so it was easier. I will try to catch Duval but I have more to lose than him. I have had good speed here, better than in previous years, and I hope it's dry in the morning because those conditions are better for me. I want a podium on asphalt. It has been a long time since I had one."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "Halfway through SS10 I went wide on a fast right corner that was covered in gravel and hit a big bale with the rear. It caused a lot of panel damage and I was lucky it wasn't a hinkelstein. I normally like Baumholder more than the country roads but I didn't have a good feeling. There was more gravel than we thought from the recce and maybe I should have taken it a little easier because I started to lose grip towards the end of Panzerplatte,"

Jan Kopecky [Czech RT Skoda Fabia WRC]:

[Speaking after SS14] "I overheated the tyres and brakes and had to back off."

[Speaking after SS10] "SS10 was very tough on the tyres. We are still having engine problems at lower revs."

[Speaking post-SS9] "I think we have problems with the engine, there are strange noises. I am a bit worried. Sometimes we are running on three cylinders only. We will have to check it.

Toni Gardemeister [Astra-PH Sport Citroen Xsara WRC]:

[Speaking at the end of the day] "I had oil leaking out of my front right shock absorber for the last nine kilometres on SS14."

[Speaking after SS11] "We lost a little bit. It looks as if Jan is going very well here. I will try and push a little bit more."

[Speaking after SS10] "We lost the hydraulics approximately 15 kilometres into the stage. It is not good at all. I stated to notice immediately as the steering was affected."

Petter Solberg [Subaru WRT]:

"This afternoon was better than the morning, that's for sure, but we still have a problem somewhere that's affecting the steering, but that's just how it is. We'll see if the guys can do something with it now - it could be from the impact yesterday when we bent the steering, we'll see. I'm pleased that Chris is showing what the car is capable of, and from that perspective it's been a good day for the team. I'll try my best tomorrow."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "We are heading for fifth place overall today which I am fighting hard for. We have climbed two places from ninth this morning after losing time yesterday and I hope we can continue this. I haven't been completely comfortable with the feel of the steering this morning, but for sure I will keep pushing and think that we can keep climbing up the overall standings."

Xavier Pons [Subaru WRT]:

"This morning wasn't so good because I had a spin into a grassy field and, as it was wet, it took a lot of time, and some spectators, to get it back. But okay, this afternoon it was good, the times are coming I'm more comfortable in the car, and I'm happy. Tomorrow I hope to continue in the same way, getting more used to the car and trying to improve a little more with every stage."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "I am currently lying eighth after this morning's stages, which was my target for this rally so overall it is good. The Baumholder stages today have been challenging. I had expected more grip from the asphalt, but the surface is so slippery with all the dirt that was dragged on. I had a spin towards the end of SS7 this morning as the tyres were not quite up to temperature, but I am looking forward to re-running the stages this afternoon."

Jari-Matti Latvala [Stobart M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"In Erzweiler this afternoon conditions were quite good and our splits showed that we were going well but in Panzerplatte we lost grip with the tyres after 20 kilometres, I think I was driving a bit too aggressively for the conditions, the roads in Baumholder are very abrasive."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "The tyres felt good but I did a small bit of damage to the car when I touched a bale on the inside of a fast right-hand corner. Then also on a slow corner I was a little to close to the inside and we touched a small stone wall with the wheel, I just changed the wheel to be on the safe side. Unfortunately on the last stage I didn't have enough time to check the tyre pressures and because of this the tyres heated up quite a lot and we had to drive very carefully for the last five kilometres of the last stage which lost us a bit of time."

Chris Atkinson [Subaru WRT]:

"We've been fine-tuning the set-up on the car today and concentrating on learning - after losing time yesterday that's all I can do. I keep making improvements to my driving, I'm still making mistakes here and there, but there's a lot to learn - this is only our second asphalt rally on BFGoodrich tyres - but obviously we're not learning too slowly. I'm very pleased with the speed today. We were consistently fast, which is pretty cool. Two years ago I did my first asphalt rally, and it was never going to happen straight away, but it's pretty good to be doing these sort of times now. Tomorrow I'm going to drive just the same, there's no reason not to. If we can do some more quick times that it's good for Subaru."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "This morning has been good overall for us. I made a small mistake on SS7 on cold tyres, overshooting a corner and losing some time, but on SS8 we were fourth fastest. I am happy with our pace on SS9 and SS10, as they are difficult stages and Baumholder was very with lots of loose gravel, but we were third fastest on both. It shows that we should be fighting for a podium here. We made a small change to the rear of the car last night and in SS10 we were only a couple of seconds off Loeb over the 30km. The conditions were not easy this morning and it was hard to get enough temperature into the tyres, but we came here with high expectations and our individual stage times are meeting those."

Matthew Wilson [Stobart M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"The second pass was much better, we made some changes to our notes and they worked well; we were receiving excellent information from our safety crew which made it easier to push harder. We had a front right puncture which slowed us down with five kilometres to go on the second pass of Panzerplatte."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "Our tyre choice was correct this morning but it was quite damp under trees so I had to be careful on these slippery sections. We lost a few seconds at the end of stage 7 with a small spin when the car snapped away on an open hairpin. Our notes were slightly too ambitious on the last stage and it was an extremely difficult surface, much more slippery than I'd imagined."

Notable retirements:

Henning Solberg [Stobart M-Sport Ford WRT]: [retired from leg 1 in SS5 - lost a wheel - re-started on Saturday under the SupeRally]

"We made some suspension changes in service today and they really improved my feeling with the car on stage 4 and my confidence was much higher. Then on stage 5 we were braking for a slow corner quite close to the start of the stage and there was a small bang and immediately I knew we had damaged the front suspension. I am really disappointed as it means we have lost some mileage on tarmac but hopefully we can re-start tomorrow with the same pace as this afternoon. I set some good times today though and I was very pleased with the changes we made during the service today. Tomorrow I will concentrate again as I still think points are possible here."

Daniel Sordo [Citroen Total WRT]: [retired from event in SS6 - engine problems]

No comment.

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "I based my pace on the split-times of my rivals and posted some quick times. I succeeded in keeping to the plan established before the start, finishing the first loop ahead of Marcus Grönholm and just 8.5s behind Seb."

Manfred Stohl [OMV Kronos Citroen WRT]: [retired from event in SS9 - engine]

"This is really tough. Things had started out much better today and I had been convinced that we would be able to make up several places. Now it is over and all we can do is stand at the sidelines. But if you have so much bad fortune then good luck is bound to return someday."

[On the next event in NZ] "That is my favourite rally and I hope that we will find our way back on the road to success there."

Henning Solberg [Stobart M-Sport Ford WRT]: [retired from leg 2 in SS13 - hit a rock - will re-start again on Sunday]

"On Erzweiler, I was coming out of a slow left-hand corner and the car went sideways on some loose gravel and we spun and hit the back right-hand wheel on a large rock and broke the suspension. This rally is so difficult and the surface changes so much that it makes it very difficult to learn how to drive on asphalt."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "This morning has been good and I'm trying to concentrate again after yesterday. We are still learning the car on asphalt. The surface in Panzerplatte was quite good for us, I think the cars before had cleaned the road surface a bit, there was still some gravel at the cuts but generally conditions were quite good. Again we are trying some suspension changes at service for the second pass this afternoon."

Khalid Al Qassimi [BP Ford WRT]: [retired from leg 2 after SS13 - engine stopped and would not re-start]

"We went through the usual start procedures but when I released the handbrake the car stalled. We tried to get it going again with the help of our engineers on the telephone. After eventually completing the stage we retired from the leg to allow the team to resolve the problem so that we can return tomorrow. Things do not always go as we hope and I have to accept this as part of the sport."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "It's difficult to predict the grip, it's so inconsistent. If I drive cautiously I lose time but not as much as if I drive too fast and hit trouble. Finding the balance is the key."

Team principals:

Guy Frequelin [Citroen Total WRT - team principal]:

"There is still one more day to come. Seb and Daniel put in an excellent run with their Citroën C4 today and they have succeeded in pulling out a small gap over Marcus Grönholm. Even so, I don't feel totally reassured. How could I? The weather here can change in an instant and there will be two tyre choices to make tomorrow; an error is always possible. The vineyard stages are also very hazardous and a mechanical problem cannot be ruled out. If Seb and Daniel manage to hold on to their lead, it will be fantastic for everyone in the team and a major exploit for Citroën. In terms of the Drivers' championship, François Duval is just 12.6s behind Marcus Grönholm with his OMV-Kronos Citroën Xsara. He's got one more day to bridge that gap, which isn't impossible!"

Marc van Dalen [OMV Kronos Citroen - team principal]:

"One mustn't forget that this is only the second WRC rally this year for Francois. Additionally he has to compete with the works teams in a private car. This third place cannot be valued high enough."

Richard Taylor [Subaru WRT - managing director]:

"Chris has had a really excellent day. He's broken back into the top ten at the finish, but really his pace over the whole rally, with the exception of one stage, has been podium-pace without a doubt. We're very pleased with him and he's done a great job. Petter had a slightly difficult morning but has been able to improve his pace this afternoon. He's still in a battle for fifth place, and there are another 63km tomorrow where he can try and work his way up the leaderboard. Xevi has also done very well. He's been in a battle of his own for a points-scoring position and has pulled away consistently this afternoon. Certainly we're looking forward to having at least two cars in the points at the end of tomorrow."

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

"This is proving to be a very difficult rally. All the drivers have said that experience of this event is crucial but they have learnt a lot today and especially about preserving tyres and staying out of trouble in Baumholder. The good thing is that both Jari and Henning can both finish in the points tomorrow and it would be good to see Matthew get back into the top-ten. His splits have been good today and he's showed some good speed and a good performance on the stages."