Petter Solberg and Phil Mills are still on a high from finishing second in Rally of Turkey in April as they arrive for Rally New Zealand which runs from 6 to 9 May. Photo Credit: Petter Solberg World Rally Team / Tony Welam

Kiwi fans of Norwegian rally driver Petter Solberg will be delighted to see the effervescent 2003 world rally champion in action on our roads during Rally New Zealand when it fires up in Auckland on 6 May.

“With Petter Solberg second in the drivers’ standing for the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship as the series heads to Rally New Zealand, most Kiwis will simply be pleased to see such a popular and talented driver doing well,” says Rally New Zealand’s general manager Paul Mallard.

“Petter’s many years of success behind the wheel of a Subaru played a role in his appeal to Kiwis, given Subaru’s unquestionable link with rallying and our own Possum Bourne,” says Mallard.

“With Petter now piloting a Citroën C4 WRC car – a very similar car to that driven by six-time world champion Sébastien Loeb – many Kiwis will still be cheer for the driver known as ‘Hollywood’ due to his trademark grin.”

The Petter Solberg World Rally Team was launched by the now 35-year-old Solberg in February 2009 with Ken Rees, formerly a key member of the Subaru World Rally Team, taking on the role as Solberg’s team manager.

Martin Holmes, author of the highly-regarded Pirelli World Rallying annuals, says: “Few teams have been born out of sheer determination and hard work the way the Petter Solberg World Rally Team has been. It was conceived the moment Subaru announced that their world championship team would cease to operate at the end of 2008.”

The privately-owned Solberg team ran an older Citroën Xsara WRC car in all but two of 2009’s twelve events to achieve a hugely credible fifth place in the WRC drivers’ championship. Off the rally stage, another milestone was achieved in September when Solberg secured a C4 WRC car from Citroën. He used the much newer C4 for the first time in Spain, finishing fourth and commenting: “Do I need to say any more? I’m back!”

“Petter and his long-time Welsh co-driver Phil Mills both said that fourth place was the biggest moment in their careers since some successes in 2004,” says Mallard. “When you see the sheer amount of hard work Petter’s whole team is putting in with what is, in WRC terms, a very modest budget, you can see why the Spanish placing was such a significant moment for them all.”

Rees described the Spanish success thus: “We never did doubt that Petter would adapt to the car quickly as he did with the Xsara at the beginning of the season. But he did exceed our expectations and felt very confident in the car by the end of day one. He started day two fully confident and was straight on the pace, setting fastest time in the afternoon on the longest stage, and continued this on the third day with three fastest times. The team, as usual, worked exceptionally well and we are very pleased with both the car and the performance.”

For 2010’s campaign with the newer C4, due to his privateer status Solberg benefits from advantages such as being allowed greater freedom in matters like pre-event testing and the quantity of available parts.

Regrettably the 2010 season didn’t start the way Solberg wanted with spins and off-road excursions meaning he could finish no better than ninth in the snow of Sweden. But a hard-fought second place in Mexico, third in Jordan and second in Turkey – all tough, rock-strewn events where Solberg was trading stage times with Loeb and Ford’s best – see Solberg arrive in New Zealand second on the leader-board, behind Loeb.

Mallard says rally fans and commentators alike are now saying it’s only a matter of time before Solberg wins a WRC event again.

Solberg says Rally New Zealand has always been one of his favourite events. “I really look forward to arriving there soon with my own team. I really think the stages around Auckland will suit us perfectly and we’re definitely aiming for another podium.”

Holmes says Solberg has lost none of his driving flair despite the constant pressures. “After all, he’s the most recent Nordic driver to be the sport’s world champion. But nothing relieves the pressures of being the team proprietor and the driver for this enormously popular competitor. For personality and determination Solberg is most definitely a world champ; all he needs now are top podium finishes to prove the point completely.”

And that’s a sentiment that Kiwi fans of Petter ‘Hollywood’ Solberg will surely endorse.



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