Petter 4th in Poland

Rally Poland is finished and Petter Solberg ended 4th. Mikko Hirvonen won the event, and is now leading the championship. Dani Sordo ended second and Henning Solberg third.

Petter, who has been flat out every day trying to keep the same pace as the other drivers, got a surprise when the dip-stick for the oil suddenly came off. - About half way through the stage, we had to turn on the wipers to clean the wind screen for what we thought was water. Instead it was oil, and it made it almost impossible to see anything, says Phil Mills.

But the biggest drama came on the final stage of the rally, the 2,5kms super special. Jari Matti Latvala was second, and he just had to drive safely trough the stage and secure is place. Instead he hit a barrier, damaged a wheel and suspension, and had to retire.

- This has been an unbelievable fast rally. We have been absolutely flat out all the time and totally on the limit, but it was never enough. Our old car is lacking power, compared to the new ones and it is almost impossible to keep up with them on the fast sections, says Petter Solberg. And the oil leak costs us a lot of seconds, without it I’m sure we could have kept Henning behind us.

Petter gets 5 more points and is fifth overall. Mikko Hirvonen now leads the championship, but only 1 point ahead of Sebastien Loeb. Next event is Rally Finland 30 July – 2 August.

Overall classification Rally Poland 2009

1. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford
2. Dani Sordo, Citroen +1.10,3
3. Henning, Ford +2.05,7
4. Petter, Citroen +2.24,3
5. Matthew Wilson, Ford +4.17,5
6. Holowczyc, Ford +4.33,9
7. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen +19.15,1
8. Conrad Rautenbach, Citroen +19.20,6

Rally Poland day 2

- We are absolutely flat out all the time and really on the limit, we cannot go any faster. We changed to a different engine program for the morning loop, but went back to yesterdays for the afternoon loop. We also changed to stiffer springs, and it made the body more stable in the ruts. The stages are unbelievable fast, our average speed on SS13 were 116km/ph.

Petter is now fifth, 7 seconds behind Ogier who is fourth. Mikko Hirvonen is leading the rally. Sebastien Loeb, who had to retire yesterday, restarted today under SupeRally regulation and is now 15. Rally Poland ends with 5 stages on Sunday.

Overall classification day 2 Rally Poland

1. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford
2. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford +12,0
3. Dani Sordo, Citroen +38,5
4. Sebastien Ogier, Citroen +1.59,3
5. Petter, Citroen +2.06,7
6. Henning, Ford +2.08,0
7. Matthew Wilson, Ford +3.48,0
8. Holowczyc, Ford +4.13,3

3 of 6 stages day 2

Overall classification 10 of 18 stages
1. Hirvonen
2. Latvala +3,0
3. Sordo +19,5
4. Ogier +1.21,6
5. Henning +1.33,3
6. Petter +1.40,0
7.Wilson +2.43,5

- We are driving on the absolute limit all the time, says Petter. There is nothing else, but the lack of power.

The Hairy Bikers

The Hairy Bikers stopped by Petter Solberg World Rally Team today, to make sure Petter and Phil were fueled up for tomorrow. – They made us a Polish dish and it was really good, Petter said after the meal. It was with chicken, vegetables and sausages, cooked and served with lots of humor.

The show will be on “Dave” Sunday evening.

Petter 4th when first day in Poland are finished

First day is completed in Poland, and Petter is fourth. Mikko Hirvonen is leading the rally. Sebastien Loeb hit a tree stump 1,2kms into SS4 and had to retire with a damaged front right wheel.

- I am quite happy with the day, the car is working well but I couldn’t go any faster. It’s been absolutely flat out and we have been on the limit several times. Even with a full throttle we are 7-10kms slower than the rest, so fourth is just about what we expected.

Rally Poland continues with 6 more stages tomorrow, first car is on the road from 1014hrs.

Overall classification day 1 Rally Poland

1. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford
2. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford +8,9
3. Dani Sordo, Citroen +37,0
4. Petter, Citroen +1.14,6
5. Henning, Ford +1.21,5
6. Sebastien Ogier, Citroen +1.32,9
7. Matthew Wilson, Ford +1.56,5

3 of 6 stages done

Half way through the first proper day in Poland, Petter is fifth overall. Mikko Hirvonen is leading the rally. Sebastien Loeb went off the road on the first stage of the day.

- The day is pretty much as I expected. It’s flat out all the way, and we don’t have the same power. But, in tricky sections we are fighting. On the first part of the last stage this morning we had some really good splits and on the same pace as the others.

3 more stages to go today in Poland.

3 of 6 stages, day 1 Rally Poland

1. Hirvonen
2. Latvala +2,4
3. Sordo +14,7
4. Mikkelsen +34,1
5. Petter +40,0
6. Ogier +51,6
7. Henning +53,9

Fastest on the Super Special

Rally Poland started tonight with a Super Special just outside the servicepark, and Petter, paired with Henning on the stage, was fastest. After two rounds on the track specially build for the rally, he was just a big smile when he crossed the finish. – This is great, he said. – It was really slippery some places because of the rain, but I couldn’t get a better start. Gives us the good feeling we need before the weekend starts, as I am certain this will be our toughest rally this season.

Rally Poland continues with 6 more stages tomorrow.

SS1, Rally Poland

1. Petter, Citroen
2. Loeb, Citroen +0,3
3. Hirvonen, Ford +1,3
3. Mikkelsen, Skoda +1,3
5. Sordo, Citroen +1,4
6. Henning, Ford +1,6
7. Ogier, Citroen +1,6
8. Wilson, Ford +2,0

Shakedown

- The car was good, but it was hard to judge it as the road was very wet and the first cars on benefitted as it got wetter and slippier as each car went through it. We did 4 runs and then I stopped as the road was very slippy, and I was happy with the car.

Loeb and Hirvonen were both fastest on the 3,80kms long stage today. Rally Poland starts with a Super Special at 2000hrs tonite.

Shakedown
Loeb 2.13,5
Hirvonen 2.13,5
Latvala 2.14,5
Novikov 2.15,0
Petter 2.15,2
Sordo 2.15,8
Wilson 2.17,5
Henning 2.17,7

Ready for Rally Poland

The 8th event on this year’s calendar are coming up, we are heading towards Poland. A brand new event in the championship and the surface is gravel. Servicepark and Headquarter are based in the city of Mikolajki, 230kms north of Warszawa. 55 cars are on the entry list for the rally.

Petter Solberg arrived Poland Sunday evening, and spent the Monday testing his Citroen Xsara. - This is going to be an exciting event. Poland is very fast and I think we need more power to be able to push as hard as we want, Petter says.

Recce will be done Tuesday and Wednesday, and being a new event, good pace notes is important. - We drive through the stages only twice before the rally starts, and it is important to be accurate. If you want to fight for podium, you have to have it perfect, says Petter.

Rally Poland starts with a super special on Thursday evening, and restarts again Friday morning.

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