KJD Mk1

iTrader: (3)

Solberg delighted with own team



Petter Solberg said the formation of his own World Rally Championship team is the realisation of a dream - although he admitted that the circumstances were not ideal.
The 2003 world champion lost his drive when Subaru withdrew from the WRC in December, but from his home rally in Norway next weekend onwards he will drive a 2006-specification Citroen Xsara under the Petter Solberg World Rally Team banner.
"This is a dream come true," said Solberg at a press conference to launch the team in his home town of Spydeberg in Norway.
"I have wanted to put together my own WRC team for a long time, but I must admit I had not planned for it to happen in exactly these circumstances or in this timeframe. But we are ready now and I am looking forward to this weekend's test and Rally Norway."
A number of former Subaru personnel have joined Solberg's team, who will be led by ex-SWRT logistics manager Ken Reese.
"I have been working flat out, and I'm really proud to the present my new team today," said Solberg.
"I have a lot of brilliant people around me, and they have all been working 24-hour shifts for me the past weeks. Without them and my sponsors, this would not have been possible."
Solberg will test the Citroen in Norway for the first time this weekend, and expects to contest the remainder of the 2009 championship with it.

wrx,sti

iTrader: (2)

well i never

valley commando

iTrader: (1)

go on boy sort it out

Silver Scooby Sport

iTrader: (15)

I wonder if he does hospitality

KJD Mk1

iTrader: (3)

Your not the first to ask that question

lukebry88

go on petter boy

"Taylor"

iTrader: (2)

Excellent news! Good on him!

KJD Mk1

iTrader: (3)

I think the new car looks good and wish him all the best, he's a very nice bloke to talk to loves his fans and always makes an effort with them.
A lot of the team are ex Prodrive so it good to see them back in work as well.

Shame its not a scooby but up wards and on

KJD Mk1

iTrader: (3)

How to win Rally Norway

Mikko Hirvonen, Rally Norway’s most recent winner, tells us how it’s done:
Flat out from the start
“Yes you’re on snow, but in many ways the approach is almost like any other event - you have to go flat out from the start. On snow you’ll move the car around more, and spend more time sideways than you would on gravel, but if you’re on deep snow you really need to trust your tyres and let them do most of the work. Use the snow banks too, to slow the car down and guide you around the corners. Snow driving is easy when you know what you’re doing.”
Don’t worry about the grip
“If there is lots of loose snow on the road then it’s going to be quite slippery, but what makes it easier to cope with is the fact that the grip level will be constant. Whether you are on snow or ice, even if it’s slippery, you know the grip will remain the same all the time. Grip levels change frequently on gravel rallies and ever more so on asphalt. It’s actually easier to go flat-out on snow and ice because you know how the car is going to work.”
Attack hard
“Two years ago it was quite a close fight against Marcus [Gronholm] and Sebastien [Loeb]. I wasn’t too far ahead, but everything just worked out because I was attacking all the time. It’s really not that different from a normal rally.”
Study the road ahead
“Some drivers use yellow glasses but personally I’ve never found them a big enough advantage. I think it’s just something you get used to. I can see braking places, ruts and the differences between snow and ice better without glasses. But I’m sure plenty of drivers would say the opposite. The fact is, sometimes you see what’s coming up - sometimes you don’t.”
Make the most of your road position
“There is always a performance difference if you’re running as first or, say, fifth car on the road. This year’s new tyre is going to exaggerate that difference. The previous narrow tyre performed a little bit better that this year’s on loose snow or slush, but was about the same on a cleaner line. This year we’ll see a bigger difference depending on where you are running. Basically, if there’s fresh snow around then running later is going to better.”

KJD Mk1

iTrader: (3)

Shakedown times.

1. Sébastien Loeb F Citroën C4 WRC A8 1:59.3
2. Mikko Hirvonen FIN Ford Focus WRC A8 1:59.7
3. Daniel Sordo E Citroën C4 WRC A8 1:59.8
4. Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Ford Focus WRC A8 2:00.0
5. Petter Solberg N Citroën Xsara WRC A8 2:01.1
6. Henning Solberg N Ford Focus WRC A8 2:02.1
7. Matthew Wilson GB Ford Focus WRC A8 2:02.8
8. Urmo Aava EE Ford Focus WRC A8 2:03.0
9. P-G Andersson S Škoda Fabia WRC A8 2:03.3
10. Anders Grondal N Subaru Impreza WRC A8 2:03.7
11. Sébastien Ogier F Citroën C4 WRC A8 2:03.9
12. Conrad Rautenbach ZW Citroën C4 WRC A8 2:04.5
13. Mads Östberg N Subaru Impreza WRC A8 2:04.9
14. Evgeny Novikov RUS Citroën C4 WRC A8 2:07.8
15. Andreas Mikkelsen N Subaru Impreza STI N4 2:08.8
16. Patrik Flodin S Subaru Impreza STI N4 2:09.0
17. Patrik Sandell S Škoda Fabia S2000 N4 2:09.7
18. Martin Prokop CZ Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX N4 2:11.1
19. Andis Neiksans LV Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX N4 2:11.8
20. Bernardo Sousa P Fiat Grande Punto S2000 N4 2:13.2
21. Martin Semerád CZ Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX N4 2:13.3.
22. Eyvind Brynildsen N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX N4 2:13.7
23. Armindo Araújo P Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX N4 2:14.1
24. Jaromír Tarabus CZ Fiat Grande Punto S2000 N4 2:15.4
25. Toshihiro Arai J Subaru Impreza STI N4 2:16.4

KJD Mk1

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Solberg wins opening superspecial



Petter Solberg has made a dream start to the Rally Norway, his first event with his own team, by winning the opening stage and leading his home round of the World Rally Championship in his private Citroen Xsara WRC.
In front of 20,000 of his cheering countryman at the Oslo superspecial, Solberg posted a time six tenths of a second faster than his nearest rival, Ford's Mikko Hirvonen.
This is the first time Solberg has led a rally since Jordan last year, where he set a joint fastest time in stage one, and is the first time in two years that he has led a rally on his own.
Solberg missed the opening round of the WRC in Ireland earlier this month after Subaru withdrew from the WRC, forcing him to establish his own team to run a 2006-specification Citroen.
Stepping from the Xsara, the delighted Solberg acknowledged the fans and said: "We're back in business! It's just like the old days. Now we'll see what we can do tomorrow."
The only drivers to suffer any problems on the opening stage were Citroen's Dani Sordo, who stalled on the start line, and former Suzuki factory driver P-G Andersson, who stalled his Skoda Fabia WRC in a hairpin. They lie sixth and 22nd respectively.
Behind Solberg and Hirvonen, Sebastien Loeb (Citroen), Mads Ostberg (Adapta Subaru) and Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) complete the initial top five.
Patrik Sandell made the perfect start to his career as a Red Bull Suzuki driver, posting the fastest Production class time in his Fabia S2000.
The main action gets underway from Hamar, north of Oslo, at 9am local time tomorrow.

ianc61

What a great start, just hope the rest of the season is as good for him

KJD Mk1

iTrader: (3)

Loeb takes over Norway lead



Sebastien Loeb has taken the lead of the Rally Norway after Mikko Hirvonen lost time in the final stage of day one.
Hirvonen had continued to edge away from Loeb through the first three Friday afternoon stages, but dropped nine seconds in the second run through Kirkenaer and ended the day 2.6 seconds behind the world champion.
Although neither driver was keen to run first on the road tomorrow, Hirvonen was adamant that he had not deliberately dropped time.
"My rear tyres are completely finished," said the Ford driver. "I tried as hard as I could, but I couldn't do a better time. It's definitely not what I wanted to do."
Loeb said he was relishing the battle with Hirvonen and had been flat-out all day.
"It's really, really good fun to drive on these roads and have a real fight like this," he said. "I pushed really hard, took some risks sometimes, but at the moment we are here and in a good position for tomorrow."
Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala looked like he might make it a three-way lead dice when he closed on Hirvonen and Loeb in SS6 and SS7, but he lost ground in the next two stages and completed the day 26.2 seconds behind Loeb in third, and a comfortable 42.4 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Dani Sordo (Citroen).
Per-Gunnar Andersson was the star of this afternoon's stages. Competing in a private Skoda Fabia after Suzuki's departure at the end of 2008, the double Junior champion took shock stage wins in both SS6 and SS7, and was third-quickest in SS9. That performance vaulted him from an early 10th to sixth place - just 0.1 seconds behind Petter Solberg (Solberg Citroen).
"It's been really good, especially in the second time through the stages," said Andersson. "There's been fantastic grip and the car has been handling really well. I think fifth position is probably the best we can reach, but we have to look forward and I'll try my best tomorrow."
Andersson is now sandwiched between the two Solberg brothers, with just 7.9 seconds covering the trio in fifth to seventh. Both Solbergs closed on Sordo at the start of the afternoon then lost momentum - Petter struggling with tyre wear having taken just one spare, and Henning having to switch to manual gear-changing after problems with his Stobart Ford's paddle system.
Matthew Wilson finished the day in a strong eighth place for Stobart, having been fourth-fastest in SS9. He moved clear of Sebastien Ogier (Citroen Junior) and Urmo Aava (Stobart) when both had brief trips off the road in Kongsvinger.
Citroen Junior's Russian teenager Evgeny Novikov has also impressed on his debut in a World Rally Car, moving up to 11th place with a stunning second-fastest time in SS9.
Andreas Mikkelsen (Uspenskiey Subaru) closed to within two seconds of Patrik Sandell (Red Bull Skoda) in the Production fight, only to go off the road in SS8 and lose three minutes. That left Sandell with a commanding two-minute class lead over the battling Armindo Araujo and Martin Prokop.
Leading positions after day one:
Pos Driver Car Time 1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 1h13:41.7 2. Mikko Hirvonen Ford + 2.6 3. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford + 26.2 4. Dani Sordo Citroen + 1:08.6 5. Petter Solberg Citroen + 1:31.5 6. Per-Gunnar Andersson Skoda + 1:31.6 7. Henning Solberg Ford + 1:39.4 8. Matthew Wilson Ford + 2:03.3 9. Sebastien Ogier Citroen + 2:41.210. Urmo Aava Ford + 2:41.5

KJD Mk1

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Loeb leads in Norway after day two



Sebastien Loeb will take a 15-second lead over Mikko Hirvonen into the final day of the Rally Norway after further stretching his advantage.
Although Hirvonen trimmed just over a second from Loeb's lead in SS15, the world champion was slightly faster in each of this afternoon's other three stages.
Loeb had been concerned that running first on the road would be a greater disadvantage in the repeated stages than it had been this morning, so was relieved that Hirvonen hadn't gained on him.
"That was really hard," said Loeb after SS14. "There's a lot of snow, we have to clean a lot now. Now the road position is not so good. But right now Mikko's not doing so well behind."
Hirvonen was frustrated that Loeb's Citroen continued to edge away no matter how hard he pushed.
"It's still game on, but I'm pushing so hard that it's so easy to make small mistakes and sometimes you can lose a little bit of time when you hit the snow bank," said the Ford driver. "I can't go any faster. I'm absolutely on the limit. That's all we had."
But he was not willing to concede defeat yet, especially as Sunday is the rally's longest leg at 126 kilometres.
"It's not over," said Hirvonen. "There's still a long day tomorrow."
Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala took two stage wins this afternoon after making a set-up breakthrough at the lunchtime service. But with Loeb 43.2 seconds ahead of him, third-placed Latvala admitted he had missed his chance to fight for victory.
"Now it's going well. Unfortunately we found the right set-up a little bit too late," he said. "We went to softer springs in the service and that's really given me traction and made it easier in the braking points, so I should have taken them much earlier.
"It's not over, but it will be very difficult to catch those guys. But you never know what will happen."
Henning Solberg (Stobart Ford) has now moved up to fourth place - overhauling Dani Sordo by winning Mountain 2, and then continuing to pull away from the Citroen number two despite overshooting a junction and having to reverse back onto the course in SS16.
His elder brother Petter had a bad afternoon, though, losing over a minute with a severe misfire in Mountain. A gearbox oil leak also gave him cause for concern later in the loop, although he was able to move back past Matthew Wilson (Stobart) to regain sixth in his self-run Citroen Xsara.
Wilson is set to come under pressure from his teammate Urmo Aava tomorrow morning - the Estonian having picked up speed this afternoon after realising that his pace notes were too conservative. The gap between the pair is now down to 25 seconds.
Mads Ostberg remains ninth in the Adapta Subaru, despite power steering failure adding to his dramas in SS16, while Sebastien Ogier has returned to the top ten for Citroen Junior due to his teammate Conrad Rautenbach losing time in a snow bank in SS15. With his earlier alternator glitch having dropped him out of the points, Ogier is now just focusing on learning the stages.
"Everything is fixed so now we can finish," he said. "We can't get a result, but we're here so we'll get experience."
In the Production category, Patrik Sandell remains on course for a dominant victory - currently leading by over two minutes in the Red Bull Skoda.
Leading positions after day two:
Pos Driver Car Time 1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 2h22:11.1 2. Mikko Hirvonen Ford + 15.0 3. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford + 43.2 4. Henning Solberg Ford + 2:41.3 5. Dani Sordo Citroen + 2:53.3 6. Petter Solberg Citroen + 4:50.9 7. Matthew Wilson Ford + 4:53.2 8. Urmo Aava Ford + 5:18.5 9. Mads Ostberg Subaru + 6:57.810. Sebastien Ogier Citroen + 9:10.2

KJD Mk1

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Loeb stuns Ford with Norway victory



Sebastien Loeb has resisted huge pressure from Mikko Hirvonen to win the Rally Norway - and deal a significant blow to Ford's title hopes.
Ford had dominated recent snow rallies, while Loeb had only won on that surface once in his career (in the 2004 Swedish Rally) and crashed in the last Norwegian event.
But even though he ran first on the road all weekend, Loeb was able to match Hirvonen's pace from the start, and then edged away on Saturday.
Hirvonen closed dramatically in the final loop of stages this afternoon and started the deciding Budor test just 7.7 seconds adrift. The Finn had declared that he would take an 'all or nothing' approach, but despite his best efforts, Loeb was actually 2.1 seconds faster through the stage, giving him his 49th World Rally Championship win by 9.8 seconds.
"Mikko has done a really great rally and I had to push on the limit from the first to the last stage," said Loeb.
"Finally, we've done it. It's been very difficult mentally to keep pushing to the end and know that you could lose everything at the last corner of the last stage. It's a lot more exciting when you win with a battle like this."
Hirvonen admitted that he had mixed feelings after one of the toughest fights of his career.
"I'm sad that we came second, but I'm glad we finished," he said. "It was a really, really big and close fight. He was faster yesterday, and that was it. I'm glad about my speed today - I managed to push him really hard."
Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala, winner of the last snow rally in Sweden a year ago, took a low-key third, having only sporadically matched Loeb and Hirvonen's pace.
"It's been a frustrating weekend - not all that I was hoping for," said Latvala, who escaped a minor error in the very last stage. "But at least we got a third place."
Many had tipped Henning Solberg (Stobart Ford) for a podium or possibly even a victory in his home rally, but he lost touch with the leaders on Friday. Set-up changes improved his pace later in the rally and allowed him to charge past Citroen's Dani Sordo and repeat his Rally Ireland fourth place.
Although Solberg's younger brother Petter got his career as an owner/driver off to a fairytale start by winning Thursday night's rally-opening superspecial, his 2006-specification Citroen Xsara could not match the factory cars in the fully-fledged stages. A misfire on Saturday was particularly time-consuming, but Solberg still took sixth place after winning a late battle with Matthew Wilson (Stobart Ford).
"It is a dream," said Solberg. "I never thought this was actually possibly to do in three weeks. With a new team, new mechanics, friends and family, anything is possible. I just have to say thank you to everybody.
"I was so afraid earlier because I had a clutch problem for two stages, I was very, very scared of breaking the clutch, so I'm very pleased to come to the finish."
Wilson's teammate Urmo Aava claimed the final point.
The Adapta Subaru team had a highly frustrating rally, with myriad mechanical problems and some errors consigning Mads Ostberg to a distant ninth on a weekend when he had hoped to star. His teammate Anders Grondal dropped out of contention with a trip off the road on Friday.
Various technical problems and driving mistakes left Citroen Junior's Sebastien Ogier, Conrad Rautenbach and Evgeny Novikov back in 10th to 12th places, but the inexperienced trio showed flashes of promise - with a shock second-fastest time from teenage WRC debutant Novikov on Friday afternoon, and Ogier briefly running in the top six.
But the greatest disappointment of the weekend was surely the clutch failure that ended Per-Gunnar Andersson's rally at half-distance. The Suzuki refugee took two stage wins and held a remarkable fifth overall in his private Skoda Fabia before having to retire.
Patrik Sandell took the first Production victory for an S2000 car in his Red Bull Skoda. He was handed a huge lead when his Friday sparring partner Andreas Mikkelsen went off the road, and then hung on to win the class despite a quick excursion of his own this morning.
Leading finishers:
Pos Driver Car Time 1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 3h28:15.9 2. Mikko Hirvonen Ford + 9.8 3. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford + 1:21.8 4. Henning Solberg Ford + 3:33.5 5. Dani Sordo Citroen + 3:52.0 6. Petter Solberg Citroen + 6:25.4 7. Matthew Wilson Ford + 6:35.6 8. Urmo Aava Ford + 6:49.1 9. Mads Ostberg Subaru + 10:00.510. Sebastien Ogier Citroen + 12:49.8

L55 REP

iTrader: (1)

what a great guy i met him at the autosport show an got him to sign a picture of me driving my old sport around castle combe the year before and he was genuinely intrested and asked me a few questions about me and the car,
its a pitty he didnt choose to go down the impreza car route but i guess hes limited to money an resources now and has to choose wisely.

i wish him all the best and hope he can make an impact this year and in the future,