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Official news, Rally Mexico | Sun 07th 2010

On the podium – Rally Mexico!

- I am absolutely mega-happy right now, I’ve been controlling this the whole weekend. I were not afraid to be first on the road on Saturday, even though I knew I were going to loose half a second per kilometer. It were my choice, and I knew I could still be top three, which were the main target for the weekend. There will be some strategic thinking before Jordan, but I must say this looks good for the rest of the season!

An amazing weekend is finished her in Mexico, with the Petter Solberg World Rally Team on the podium. It was a thriller to the final end, but Petter and Phil just got the second place in front of Sebastien Ogier who ended third. Sebastien Loeb won the event.

Overall classification Rally Mexico 2010

1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroën
2. Petter Solberg, Citroën + 24,2
3. Sebastien Ogier, Citroën +25,3
4. Hirvonen, Ford +1.47,5
5. Latvala, Ford +2.15,1
6. Henning, Ford +2.48,0
7. Villagra, Ford +10.13,4

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Official news, Rally Mexico | Sun 07th 2010

Rally Mexico day 2

Day 2 in Mexico is done, with Petter and Phil still on the podium. Sebastien Loeb is in the lead, Petter is second and Sebastien Ogier is third.

Being the rally leader after day 1, also means that you have to be first on the road the next day, which in Mexico is not an advantage. – It’s been so slippery today. All that sand and gravel were a real challenge, said Petter Solberg after the final stage of the day. – Even on the second run through it was slippery. But, we are doing really good, and have been on the pace today anyway, so I’m very happy with the day. The car feels good, so will push real hard tomorrow to keep my second position, and to get some more fighting.

Only 3 more stages to go tomorrow, first car will be on the road from 0843 (local time). 4 stages were scheduled for tomorrow, but SS20 is already cancelled due to bad road-conditions.

Overall classification Rally Mexico day 2

1. Loeb, Citroën
2. Petter, Citroën +55,5
3. Ogier, Citroën +58,2
4. Latvala, Ford +1.43,9
5. Hirvonen, Ford +1.59,9
6. Henning, Ford +2.25,2
7. Villagra, Ford +9.11,8
8. Prokop, Ford +16.28,0
9. Pons, Ford +16.32,8
10. Araujo, Mitsubishi +18.04,7

Official news, Rally Mexico | Sat 06th 2010

13 of 22 stages

- The day has been exactly as planned. It’s much more tricky and slippery compared to yesterday, and we expected a loss of about 40 seconds. Still more stages to go, nothing is final yet. I’m very happy with the car.

Overall classification 13 of 22 stages
1. Loeb, Citroën
2. Petter, Citroën +17,8
3. Ogier, Citroën +19,9
4. Latvala, Citroën +1.20,7
5. Hirvonen, Ford +1.31,0
6. Henning, Ford +1.42,2
7. Villagra, Ford +6.33,4

Official news, Rally Mexico | Sat 06th 2010

Petter in the lead – day 1 Mexico

Petter and Phil had a fantastic day here in Mexico. With the fastest time on 5 of todays 9 stages, the Petter Solberg World Rally Team is now the overnight leader of Rally Mexico. Sebastien Ogier is second, 15 seconds behind, and Sebastien Loeb is third.

- Today has been good fun, Petter says. – Of course our road position was a good advantage, but still we have been fast. It will be more difficult tomorrow being first car on the road, but I will keep on enjoying the driving and the fight.

Together with the afternoon stages, came the questions about tactics and if Petter would drop down on the classification to avoid being first on the road tomorrow. – I have no reason to play tactics, Petter said. I’m here to drive as fast as possible not to play. We have no plan, no strategy, just to take it as it comes.

Rally Mexico continues with 8 more stages Saturday. First car will be on the road at 0754 (local time).

Overall classification, Rally Mexico day 1

1. Petter, Citroën 1.23.39,9
2. Ogier, Citroën +15,0
3. Loeb, Citroën +27,5
4. Sordo, Citroën +40,8
5. Latvala, Ford +1.01,2
6. Hirvonen, Ford +1.31,5
7. Henning, Ford +1.37,5
8. Wilson, Ford +2.47,2
9. Villagra, Ford +4.19,8
10. Block, Ford +4.33,3

Official news, Rally Mexico | Fri 05th 2010

Overall classification, 4 of 22 stages

- It’s been a good morning, says Petter Solberg. – Had a good road position, but still we have set some good times today. It’s been very slippery conditions, but I have tried to push and times have been good. We will see more tonight after the second run the stages.

Overall classification, 4 of 22 stages

1. Petter, Citroën
2. Ogier, Citroën +17,1
3. Loeb, Citroën +26,1
4. Sordo, Citroën +29,1
5. Latvala, Ford +40,3
6. Hirvonen, Ford +55,2
7. Henning, Ford +1.01,8
8. Wilson, Ford +1.28,2
9. Block, Ford +1.45,6
10. Villagra +2.26,5

Official news, Rally Mexico | Thu 04th 2010

Shakedown Mexico

Petter and Phil were fastest at todays Shakedown in Mexico. They did 5 runs through the 5,15km long stage, and the fastest time came on the final run. – We drove slowly on the 4 first runs, especially trough the water-splash, but on the final run we went flat out, said Petter Solberg after. – We found a good set up during the test, which worked well today.

A lot of drivers got into trouble today, caused by high speed into the water-splash. The road down to it were quite steep, and when hitting the water it went straight into the cooling system. When the road in to a water splash is more flat, the car just flows over the water without any damage.

Rally Mexico starts Friday morning (local time).

Shakedown times

1. Petter, Citroën 2.51,7
2. Sordo, Citroën 2.51,8
3. Ogier, Citroën 2.51,9
4. Loeb, Citroën 2.52,5
5. Räikkönen, Citroën 2.54,2
6. Hirvonen, Ford 2.55,3
7. Henning, Ford 2.56,2
8. Villagra, Ford 2.56,4
9. Wilson, Ford +2.59,9
10. Latvala, Ford +3.00,1

Official news, Rally Mexico | Mon 01st 2010

Rally Mexico 4 – 7 March

It’s rally-week again, and we are ready for the second event on the 2010 Championship – Rally Mexico. From the very winterly Sweden, we have now moved overseas to the sun in Mexico. We are in the city of Leon, which is the biggest city in the Guanajuato district, with 1,2 million inhabitants.

The Petter Solberg World Rally Team came to Mexico last week, and have done a two days test during the weekend. – It’s been two hard days, but I think we now got most of it in place for the rally, says Petter Solberg, who won this rally in 2005.

35 cars are on the entry-list for the rally, and they will compete a total of 348kms and 22 special stages during the weekend. Rally Mexico kicks off with a fantastic ceremonial start on Thursday evening, whilst the first stage is on from Friday morning.

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Official news, Rally Mexico | Fri 19th 2010

Next up – Rally Mexico

In just a few days time, the Petter Solberg World Rally Team heads overseas to Mexico and the second event in the 2010 championship. A two-days test is planned the weekend before the rally starts. Containers with all the long-haul equipment sailed off from Europe in January, and the rally-car will be air freighted early next week.

- We have put Sweden behind us now, and are fully focused on the upcoming event, says Petter Solberg. – I’ve always liked the roads in Mexico, and I’m pretty sure we will have some fun there! Petter and Phil won Rally Mexico in 2005.

Rally Mexico starts March 4th.

Official news, WRC | Mon 04th 2010

WRC 2010 season kicks off in Sweden

Petter Solberg, Wales 2009. Photo Tony Welam.

Another season coming up, 13 events is on the calendar and it all starts in Sweden in the middle of February. Bulgaria is new on the calendar, and Rallye de France has moved from Corsica over to Alsace on the mainland. Jordan and Finland starts their rally on a Thursday and finishes on Saturday.

Rally Sweden 12 – 14 February
Rally Mexico 5 – 7 March
Rally Jordan 2 – 4 April
Rally Turkey 16 – 18 April
Rally New Zealand 7 – 9 May
Rally Portugal 28 – 30 May
Rally Bulgaria 9 – 11 July
Rally Finland 29 – 31 July
Rally Germany 20 – 22 August
Rally Japan 10 – 12 September
Rally France 1 – 3 October
Rally Spain 22 – 24 October
Wales Rally GB 12 – 14 November

Official news, Wales Rally GB | Sun 25th 2009

Rally GB 2009

Petter Solberg, Rally GB 2009. Photo Tony Welam

- I am very pleased with the result here. The car worked good, and considering I didn’t test in wet conditions, the weekend has been fantastic. I’ve been improving the whole weekend, and we had some really fast splits at the end. I want to thank Citroën for giving me this opportunity, and my fantastic team for their effort. It was too bad we were so unlucky yesterday, and I tried really hard today to beat Sordo, but it just wasn’t enough, said Petter Solberg after the finish.

It has been a thrilling weekend here in Wales, with Petter and Phil in a C4 on gravel for the first time, chasing manufacturer points for the Citroën Junior Team. The weather conditions have been typical Welsh, with rain, wind and fog on the stages, causing very muddy and slippery roads. A problem with the windscreen wipers cost them some time on Saturday, along with a couple of driver mistakes, but yet they managed to end the rally in fourth place.

The winner of Rally GB is Sebastien Loeb, who then became the World Champion for the sixth time. Mikko Hirvonen has been fighting with Loeb this weekend for both the Championship and the rally, but had to let it go on the final stage when the bonnet came loose on his car. Dani Sordo ended third.

The World Rally Championship 2009 is now completed, and the next season kicks off in Sweden in February 2010.

Overall Classification Rally GB 2009

1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroën
2. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford +1.06,1
3. Dani Sordo, Citroën +1.07,1
4. Petter Solberg, Citroën +1.28,1
5. Henning Solberg, Ford +6.28,0
6. Matthew Wilson, Ford +7.46,0
7. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford +12.11,9
8. Conrad Rautenbach, Citroën +14.27,8

Petter Solberg, Rally GB 2009. Photo Tony Welam.

Petter Solberg, Rally GB 2009. Photo Tony Welam.