Rally Japan, 26. – 28. October 2007

We are ready for the 14th event of this season, Rally Japan. 27 stages on gravel roads are waiting to be tested, one of the stages will even be run 5 times. Since we are in the heights of the typhoon season, we can expect rain every day, and night-temperatures below zero. Quite a change from the warm temperatures in Spain and Corsica.

The rally are taking place at the island Hokkaido. The biggest city on the island is Sapporo, and the city Obihiro is hosting the rally. This is the fourth time Japan hosts a rally.

Ceremonial start is on Thursday evening at 1930 and thousands of spectators are expected to be there. In 2006 there were 52.000, while 200.000 were attending the rally during the legs.

Petter and Phil won here in 2004, and ended 7th in 2006. In 2005 they had to retire from the rally on the final stage, after hitting a rock.

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Medlemstreff i PSSC.

Petter inviterer alle medlemmer i PSSC til medlemstreff under BIL 07 som arrangeres på Norges Varemesse, Lillestrøm.

lørdag 10. november kl 1100. Møt opp hos SUBARU senest kl 1045.

Vi gjør oppmerksom på at det kun er medlemmer som har adgang. Vårt medlemstreff er selvfølgelig gratis, men alle må kjøpe inngangsbillett til selve messa. Nytt i år er at man må melde seg på, slik at vi vet hvor mange som kommer. Dette gjør du ved å sende en mail til

info@pettersolberg.no

Oppgi navn og medlemsnummer og at du ønsker å delta på treffet.

Petter gleder seg til å treffe dere alle, og kanskje har han noen overraskelser på lur!?!

Battle for seconds at Corsica

- It has been fun today and the car has been easy to drive. Still more to come on the speed so I didn’t manage to get Latvala, but it was fun fighting with him today.

But the excitement before leg 3 started Saturday evening. After having problems with his gear-box, Duval had to retire and handed his fourth position over to Latvala. Later that evening, Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen was excluded from the rally, when the stewards found his car underweight. Mikkelsen was 11th after fantastic driving on leg 1 and 2. With Duval out, Petter had only 7 seconds between him and Latvala, and a thrilling fight were waiting.

Only 4 stages to go on the final leg of Rallye Corsica, but with two of the stages being the longest for the weekend, 31,8kms. Petter started with third fastest time on SS13 and stole some seconds from Latvala. They continued with almost identical times on SS14, before Petter again took some seconds on SS15. But on the final stage of the rally, Latvala drove in to 3rd fastest time on the stage and secured his 4th position. Petter ended 5th.

Winner of Rally Corsica were Sebastien Loeb, with Finn Marcus Grønholm 2nd. Dani Sordo ended 3rd after having set the fastest time on 3 of todays stages. Henning ended 9th.

Next event is Rally Japan, 26. – 28. October.

Overall classification Rallye de France – Tour de Corse

1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen 3.28.31,5
2. Markus Grønholm, Ford +23,7
3. Dani Sordo, Citroen +44,3
4. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford 2.30,5
5. Petter, Subaru +2.42,1
6. Chris, Subaru +3.53,8
7. Jan Kopecky, Skoda +8.02,9
8. Xevi Pons, Subaru +9.34,2
9. Henning, Ford +10.12,2

29. Kollevold, Mitsubishi

Rally de France Day 2

When Leg 2 of Rally de France are completed Petter and Phil is in the 6th place. Today has been a competition between Petter and Latvala,and at the end of the day Petter are only 7 seconds behind Latvala.

Petter have struggled with understeer earlier today. However,he reached 3th place on Stage 12,and says that the car works better now. Petter and Phil says that they will do their best tomorrow.

Rally de France continues with 4 more stages on Sunday, with the first car starting at 0853.

Overall classification leg 2
1. Loeb, Citroen
2. Grønholm,Ford+27,5
3. Sordo,Citroen+1.00,6
4. Duval,Citroen+2.21,5
5. Latvala,Ford+2.23,9
6. Petter,Subaru+2.30,9
7. Chris,Subaru+2.49,3
8. Pons,Subaru+4.08,2
9. Kopecky,Skoda +5.52,9
10. Henning, Ford +7.07,6
11. Andreas Mikkelsen,Ford+7.56,1

Rally de France Leg 1

Stage 1 Monti Rossu-Pila C were cancelled this morning. The Safety Helicopter rapported that it was a lot of spectators out there,and the Race Control decided to cancel it.However,the spectators got the chance to see the drivers anyway,as they came back for SS 4.

When Leg 1 of Rally de France are completed Petter and Phil is in the 5th place. Petter says that he has better grip driving on the old asphalt then on the new asphalt.

Rally de France continues with 6 more stages on Saturday, with the first car starting at 0858.

Overall classification leg 1
1. Loeb, Citroen
2. Grønholm,Ford+4,8
3. Sordo,Citroen+18,5
4. Duval,Citroen+57,8
5. Petter,Subaru+1.03,1
6. Latvala,Ford+1.06,4
7. Chris,Subaru+1.20,6
8. Pons,Subaru+1.58,0
9. Kopecky,Skoda +2.47,4
10. Henning, Ford +3.35,7
11. Andreas Mikkelsen,Ford+3.40,4

Rallye de France – Tour de Corse 2007

Another tarmac-event coming up – Rally Corsica, the birthplace of Napeloen. Only one day resting for the drivers before they start recce on Corsica. The rally is placed in the beautiful capitol Ajaccio. The surface is tarmac, as in Spain, but at the same time very different. The tarmac in Spain in new and smooth, whilst in Corsica it’s more abrasive as the tarmac is older.

The rally is nicknamed the rally of 10.000 corners. It will be pedal to the metal acceleration away from one corner, before braking in for the next after only 100 mtrs. The g-forces generated in the corners are the highest in the WRC, 1,5G! Getting the right line here is crucial – with sheer rock face on one side and steep drops in the other.

The Corsican weather can also be dramatic. Within the hour the beautiful sunshine can change into heavy rain as the warm sea-air meets the cool mountain-breeze.

Petter and Phil won here in 2003, while Sebastien Loeb has won both 2005 and 2006. In 2005 Loeb set the fastest time on every stage.

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A step forward in Spain

- This weekend was a big step forward for us. The team has worked really hard, and we are hoping for even better results next weekend.

Petter maintained to keep his 6th position on the final leg of Rally Spain. Frenchmen Sebastien Loeb was the winner, with his team-colleague Dani Sordo in 2nd. Marcus Grønholm ended third.

The teams are travelling to Corsica tomorrow for the 13th round of the 2007 championship.

Overall classification Rally Spain 2007

1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen
2. Dani Sordo, Citroen +13,8
3. Marcus Grønholm, Ford +39,8
4. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford +1.25,8
5. Francois Duval, Citroen +2.28,7
6. Petter, Subaru +2.54,1

10. Henning, Ford +10.32,2
12. Thomas Schie +14.55,2

End of leg 2 Rally Spain

After day 2 of Rally RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada, Petter and Phil keep a steady 6th place over all.

-The car works well and we can keep a consistent pace on every stage. Our feeling is good and we will try to keep the speed on the four remaining stages tomorrow. The stages have been really good today and one of them was like a high way. The weather has also been very nice today allowing a lot of spectators to enjoy the action out there.

Top ten looks exactly as yesterday with the only difference being an increased time gap between the crews. On the 14 stages of day 1 and 2, Sebastien Loeb has used 2 h 30 min 45.5.

Petter and Phil are 2 min 38.8 sec a draft of leader. There are four stages Sunday of a total of 85.64 kms.

Results after day 2

1. Sebestien Loeb – Citroën 2.30.45,5
2. Dani Sordo – Citroën +12,9
3. Marcus Grönholm – Ford +43,6
4. Mikko Hirvonen – Ford +1.12,5
5. Francois Duval – Citroën +1.58,1
6. Petter Solberg – Subaru +2.31,8
7. Jari Matti Lattvala – Ford +2.58,6
8. Chris Atkinson – Subaru +3.27,2
9. Xavier Pons – Subaru +4.19,0
10. Henning Solberg – Ford +8.04,0

12. Thomas Schie – Ford +11.52,4
25. Eivind Brynildsen
32. Andreas Mikkelsen