Petter is still working ”flat out” regarding the 2009 season. Today was the closing date for entries in Rally Norway, but Petter confirms that the organisers today gave him a new due date for entering Rally Norway. The new closing date is January 13th. – I am very happy for the new date, but there is still a lot of work to do before we are there.
The city of Hamar is hosting Rally Norway, 11-15 February.
“Petter Solberg and Subaru have agreed that Petter Solberg is free to enter any brand of the car he elects for participation in the WRC in 2009 and beyond.
Petter Solberg will use the nearest future to sort out the possibilities to re-enter the WRC for 2009.”
We are still talking to both Subaru and Prodrive, but we have not concluded on anything yet. At the moment nothing is decided for 2009 and further. However, it is not likely that Petter will be in Ireland in the end of January 2009, due to tight schedules.
Petter will do his best to sort something out as soon as possible, in order to be back in the WRC.
More information will be published as soon as we have any news.
- I am still working flat out. But I’m not panicking for next year, I want everything to be right before I decide on what to do. Still hoping to have some new information over the weekend.
Swedish TV talks to Petter on the phone.
Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan has decided to withdraw from the 2009 World Rally Championship.
– I got information about the decision earlier today and need to evaluate the situation before I make any public statement. I understand that media and the public would like to have answers to all their questions right now, but I ask you all to be patient and wait until tomorrow, says Petter Solberg.
Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan has decided to withdraw from the 2009 World Rally Championship. – I don’t know what will happen now, Petter said on the phone today.
_1.JPG "PG Andersson, Monte Carlo 2008.")
Suzuki Motor Corporation has decided to suspend the FIA World Rally Championship activities from 2009. The company made the 2008 season entry with two SX4 WRCs.
A good fourth place for Petter in Wales. Sebastien Loeb won the event, just seconds ahead of Latvala who ended second. Dani Sordo is third, and PG Andersson drove into fitfh place.
15 of 15 events in the 2008 championship are over, and again Sebastien Loeb is the world champion. Petter ended sixth with 46 points.
Overall classification Wales Rally GB 2008
1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen
2. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford +2,7
3. Dani Sordo, Citroen +1.10,6
4. Petter Solberg, Subaru +1.49,6
5. PG Andersson, Suzuki +3.54,1
6. Francois Duval, Ford +4.57,8
7. Toni Gardemeister, Suzuki +5.15,0
8. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford +5.28,8
Day two in Wales are over, and today it was about grip – or lack of grip. A lot of ice, both over and under all the mud, has made this rally a real challenge for the drivers so far. But the weather has been brilliant today, the sun has been shining all day, and no rain.
Jari-Matti Latvala is still in the lead when the second day in Wales are finished. Latvala will be first on the road tomorrow, while Loeb, who is second, will have the advantage of following Latvala lines. Dani Sordo is third, and Petter has climbed up to fourth.
Petter pushed from the start today, and the first splits on the first stage were fantastic. – The first half were good fun, but on the second half I lost both the grip and the feeling, and it got a lot harder, Petter explained after the finish. – But this was a good time, and I will keep pushing.
But Petter was not the only one who were pushing really hard on the Resolfen stage. Dani Sordo ended with a time so fast that we thought it was something wrong with the timing-system. Sordo said they spent a lot of time on the recce marking exactly where the ice was, and that explained the stage win on SS9, 18 seconds ahead of Hirvonen. Sordo also had the advantage of following the other drivers lines and could see the breaking-marks. Mads Østberg, who were 4th on the first day, got engine problems on the same stage and lost some time. In the afternoon he went off the road on SS14, and had to retire.
Chris Atkinsons crash last night, made us all a bit shaky, and looking at the car today it seems they were extremely lucky that they were able to just step out of the car afterwards. The car were damaged so much, that there were no chance of a restart today. – We went straight out of the road in the first corner on the stage, Chris explained earlier today. – The stage was so icy that we had no chance.
Wales Rally GB continues Sunday with the final 4 four stages.
Overall Classification day 2 Wales Rally GB
1. Latvala, Ford
2. Loeb, Citroen +7,3
3. Sordo, Citroen +27,9
4. Petter, Subaru +52,5
5. Andersson, Suzuki +2.06,1
6. Henning, Ford +2.09,3
7. Duval, Ford +2.29,6
8. Gardemeister, Suzuki +3.33,0
Latvala is in the lead when the first day of Wales Rally GB are finished. Loeb is second and PG Andersson is third. The Norwegian Mads Østberg is fourth, while Petter is fifth. Chris Atkinson rolled off the road on SS7, Chris was airlifted to hospital, but SWRT says it is just to be on the safe side. Mikko Hirvonen rolled on SS5, managed to get the car back on the road, but lost more than four minutes. Henning Solberg has reported gearbox problems. Heavy rain also made it difficult for the drivers to see anything.
Last night the organiser decided to shorten the six first stages of the rally, due to difficult conditions. This morning they decided to cancel SS1 and SS4 for the same reason. The stages were all very icy, making it dangerous to run in competitive speed. All in all the drivers have only competed for about 50kms today, not 123kms as planned.
Wales Rally GB continues tomorrow with 7 more stages.
Overall classification day 1 Wales Rally GB
1. Latvala, Ford
2. Loeb,Citroen +12,9
3. PG Andersson, Suzuki +22,5
4. Østberg, Subaru +24,0
5. Petter, Subaru +27,4
6. Sordo, Citroen +32,2
7. Duval, Ford +52,0
8. Ogier, Citroen +54,8
9. Henning, Ford +1.04,7
Petter ended with the second fastest time at shakedown this morning. – The car is running well and feels good, Petter said just before he left for the FIA pressconference in Cardiff. Petter did three runs this morning.
Six of tomorrows eigth stages are shortened due to safety reasons. The itinerary will be as scheduled, but with less competitive kilometres. The cars leave the servicepark in Swansea at 0600 for a 3 hour drive up to the first stage. After three stages there will be a remote-service, before the second loop in the same stages. Then they head down to Walters Arena for two short stages and will be back in Swansea at 1800.
Shakedown times;
1. Mikko Hirvonen 2.25,6
2. Petter Solberg, 2.26,5
3. Sebastien Loeb, 2.27,0
4. Dani Sordo 2.27,2
5. Jari-Matti Latvala 2.28,3
6. Francois Duval 2.29,0
7. Chris Atkinson 2.29,2
8. Matthew Wilson 2.30,2
This weekend we are ready for the 2008 season finale – Wales Rally GB. Petter and Phil are back to where they won their first event in 2002, and together they have won the Wales Rally GB 4 times. – Rally Wales will always be special for both Phil and me. We have several good results in the past, but this is also Phils home event, and a little bit home for me as well, Petter says on the phone from Wales.
The keyword for Wales is traction. The surface is gravel, but rain, fog and even snow might make the conditions a bit trickier. And with only a remote-service on Friday, keeping the car on the road could be crucial. You don’t have access to all the spare parts you might need.
There are more Norwegians on the entry list for the weekend. Henning will be there, of course and also Mads Østberg and Eyvind Brynhildsen. Eyvind got a new codriver for the event, Glen Macneal. Glen use to codrive for Chris Atkinson. Eyvinds regular codriver, Denise Giraudet, is replacing Pivato for Duval. Pivato is still recovering from an accident in Japan.
Petter has won this event 4 times, from 2002 to 2005. Mikko Hirvonen is last year’s winner, while Marcus won this event in 2006. Sebastien Loeb has never won Wales Rally GB.
MSN Norge og Petter Solberg med Rally-satsning på nett og mobil
MSN Norge og Petter Solberg inngår nå et samarbeid for å styrke tilbudet innen Rally-underholdning på mobil, Windows Live Messenger og portalen MSN. Avtalen innebærer i første rekke lansering av spillet Petter Solberg Rally – Mobile Edition, samt opprettelsen av en egen Rally-seksjon på portalen MSN, som vil følge sporten fra innsiden.
Petter Solberg Rally er det første spillet som utnytter samspillet mellom mobil, web og messenger for å skape en mer sosial og engasjerende spillopplevelse. Det gjør at man enkelt kan utfordre andre direkte via Messenger, men selv velge om racet skal kjøres på en vanlig web-side i MSN-portalen eller direkte på egen mobil. Tider over hvor raskt man kjører og rangering i forhold til andre spillere, gjøres tilgjengelig uansett hvilken plattform du velger å benytte – fullt synlig for andre spillere.
- Årsaken til at jeg ønsker å samarbeide med nettopp MSN Norge, er våre felles forutsetninger til å utfylle hverandres kunnskap, erfaring og rolle i markedet. Norge er det første land i verden hvor Rally-samarbeidet innledes. Om lanseringen får tilstrekkelig gode tilbakemeldinger, vil andre markeder stå for tur, sier Petter Solberg om lanseringen.
MSN har muligheten til å formidle rallynyheter og spillglede til brede målgrupper.
- Som en av Norges største nettportaler med 2,3 mill. unike brukere hver måned, har vi forutsetningene til å skape bredt engasjement. Windows Live Messenger gir oss i tillegg det verktøyet som skal til for å skape en sosial dimensjon. Spillerne kan både utfordre hverandre og sammenliknet resultater direkte via Messenger, sier Toni Fadnes, som er leder for Microsofts forbrukerdivisjon i Norge.
Petter Solbergs egen involvering i utviklingen av mobilspillet fra begynnelse til ferdig produkt, har resultert i en spillopplevelse med bred appell. Egne erfaringer fra utallige VM-runder er overført til både bil og baner for å bidra til økt spillglede. For dem som ønsker å sammenlikne egne kjøreferdigheter mot Solberg selv, er det mulig å kjøre mot hans eller andre venners ”ghost-car” i spillet, som viser deres tidligere kjørte løp.
Spillet vil koste ca NOK 50 og kan lastes ned til alle utbredte mobiltelefoner. En komplett liste over telefoner finner man på MSN.no/rally. Flash-spillet på MSN.no er gratis for alle brukere. Windows Live Messenger kan nedlastes kostnadsfritt til både PC og Mac.
Kilde: Pressemelding
It wasn’t only the press who got a ride with Petter in Torsby yesterday. 12 year old Christer Handborg is a patient in the childrens ward at Rikshospitalet, and he was so lucky to get the ride that Petter donated to the ward. The other lucky man was John Richard Bjerkhaug, who donated a lot of money to the same ward, just to get the chance to have a ride with Petter.
They were both very excited before the jumped in the car, and even more excited when they got out. - This was so fun, said a smiling Christer when he climbed out of the car. - He is a good driver! John Richard, who almost couldn’t stand still waiting for his turn, were just a big smile after. - It was definately worth the cost, he stated.
A lot of action at Torsby Airfield today, when Petter and Microsoft introduced their new project; Petter Solberg Rally. Petter’s privat jet took the media from Gardermoen to Torsby, and outside the terminal a Subaru Impreza was waiting together with a 2kms Special Stage. Everyone could jump into the codriver seat for a unforgetable ride.
The new Petter Solberg Rally is available from msn.no/rally. In Norway you can also download it to your mobile. Read more about Petter Solberg Rally under ”Game”.
Next year’s calendar is official, with 12 exciting events. Compared to earlier years, there are a few changes. With 15 events this year, the FIA dropped down to 12 events next year. In 2009 Ireland opens the season, before we head on to Norway. A big change from when Monte Carlo used to be the opening event and Sweden the next. Cyprus is back on the list, while Poland is a new-comer. Australia is back and Wales is still the final event, even if it is earlier than before.
28 January – 1 February Rally Ireland
11 – 15 Feb ruary Rally Norway
11 – 15 March Cuprys Rally
1 – 5 April Rally de Portugal
22 – 26 April Rally Argentina
20 – 24 May Rally d’Italia – Sardegna
10 – 14 June Acropolis Rally
24 – 28 June Rally Poland
29 July – 2 August Rally Finland
2 – 6 September Rally Australia
30 September – 4 October Rally de Espana
21 – 25 October Wales Rally GB
Last week Petter and the team were in UK for Pre Wales testing. Steffan Williams was there, taking photos for PSSC. Petter said the test went fine. - I am so looking forward to be driving in Wales again. We have done a lot of improvements on the car since Japan, and everything feels good.
