He’s… unbelievable! PSRX star Solberg moves further ahead in World RX
News release
17.05.15
He’s… unbelievable! PSRX star Solberg moves further ahead in World RX
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, PSRX megastar Petter Solberg does something else extraordinary. And today’s World RX of Belgium delivered another heroic tale of the unexpected.
On the national day of Norway, Solberg recovered from being forced to take a second semi-final joker lap (a penalty for a jump-start) to finish in an unbelievable second place. He then came within an ace of winning his second World RX round in succession, but eventually settled for P2 and a further increase in his championship lead.
Solberg said: “What an incredible weekend. We go away from here leading the championship by 22 points after our third podium in as many races. Awesome!
“I can’t believe what happened in the semi and in the final. When I dropped the clutch and everybody else stayed where they were in the semi-final, some people thought my chance might have gone. But you know me: I am never giving up.
“ When I came back to the start, I focused on nothing but the road ahead – it brought out the rally driver in me again! I was just totally concentrating on getting every single corner perfect. It was fantastic to drive like that, everything was working so well; the car was just incredible, I was able to place it exactly where I wanted it on the circuit and be on the limit in all of the corners. It was so much fun. And I nearly won! I got too much wheelspin in the gravel and lost 0.8s there. Incredible.
“I was a bit more careful waiting for the lights in the final! And when they went out I was able to tuck right in for the first right-hander and come out in second place. I chased and pushed, but, at the same time, I was thinking about the championship and taking more points. A couple of times I had a look at [Toomas] Heikkinen, but I didn’t want to risk anything at all.
“Last time we were here, we finished third, this time we were second – maybe next year we can win this one!
“Again, I have to say a big thank you to the team. Now we have to pack the bags and head north to England and next week, where we will be looking for our 13thpodium in 16 World RX races!”
Solberg’s heroic driving was the talking point of the weekend, with few giving him a hope of making the final. In a truly epic Solberg story, the two-time FIA World Champion delivered in fine – and breathtaking – style.
Petter’s fellow Monster-based driver Liam Doran was out of luck again. The Briton suffered damaged steering on Saturday and missed out on a semi-final slot on Sunday. Doran will be more ready than ever for his home round next weekend.
The three-word weekend:
Solberg’s a hero.
The big number:
2 is how many joker laps Petter can do in the semi-final and still finish second! Granted, it might not be a big number, but our man’s mighty impressive.
Final result:
1 Toomas Heikkinen 4m02.117s
2 Petter Solberg 4m02.957s
3 Reinis Nitiss 4m08.822s
4 P-G Andersson 4m09.700s
5 Andreas Bakkerud 4m29.542s
6 Mattias Ekstrom N/A
Drivers’ championship positions:
1 Petter Solberg 82pts
2 Johan Kristoffersson 60pts
3 Toomas Heikkinen 57pts
4 Andreas Bakkerud 56pts
5 Timmy Hansen 50pts
6 Reinis Nitiss 48pts
Teams’ championship positions:
1 Ford Olsbergs MSE 104pts
2 SDRX 101pts
3 Marklund Motorsport 100pts
Next time out
Petter’s coming home. Sort of. Co-driven through his professional rally career by British drivers, the reigning FIA World Rallycross Champion has real affinity for competition in the British Isles. Kent’s on the other side of the country to Wales, but the welcome PSRX will receive in Lydden on Saturday will match anything he saw in Cardiff on Rally GB. And a win would go down very well this time around.
Almost finally, an answer:
We’re here… it’s Belgium that makes the most billiard balls!
Finally, a question:
Which driver has won Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship four times in succession?
Want to know more about your FIA World Rallycross Champion?
Per-Espen Lochen PR/Media Manager
+46 76 110 7 110
+47 952 43 245
pettersolberg.com
@Petter_Solberg
www.facebook.com/PetterSolbergWRC
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Sandra Evans
sandra@wordspr.com
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