- 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 and Phil were fastest on several split sections today, but a few driver mistakes made them loose time. They had a problem in a hairpin and got stuck in a ditch once, and it took some time to get back in line again. A wiper-problem cost them time on the first stage of the day.

Rally GB continues with 4 more stages tomorrow.

Overall classification day 2

1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroën
2. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford +30,2
3. Dani Sordo, Citroën +1.20,1
4. Petter, Citroën +1.44,1
5. Sebastien Ogier, Citroën +4.21,6
6. Henning Solberg, Ford +5.22,8
7. Matthew Wilson, Ford +6.30,0
8. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford +8.02,5

SS11 Crychan 2
1. Loeb
2. Petter +1,5
3. Hirvonen +4,8
4. Sordo +5,8
5. Ogier +10,7
5. Henning +10,7
7. Wilson +13,7
8. Rautenbach +41,6

SS10 Rhondda 2
1. Loeb
2. Hirvonen +22,9
3. Sordo +1.09,9
4. Petter +1.37,9
5. Ogier +4.01,0
6. Henning +4.49,3
7. Wilson +37,1
8. Rautenbach +1.38,8

Overall classification 9 of 16 stages
1. Loeb
2. Hirvonen +25,0
3. Sordo +1.02,5
4. Petter +1.26,1
5. Ogier +3.44,6
6. Henning +4.27,0
7. Wilson +5.21,3
8. Rautenbach +9.02,9

SS7 Rhondda 1 – 35,72kms

1. Hirvonen
2. Loeb +2,4
3. Sordo +4,2
4. Latvala +17,0
5. Petter +24,7
6. Ogier +26,3
7. Østberg +47,5
8. Henning +54,4

Petter has had a trouble free day in his C4, and ended the first day in Wales third. – We have done some changes with the balance and the set up, but I feel it’s getting better and better.

A battle for seconds is going on between the top two drivers, as Loeb and Hirvonen are fighting for the championship. When day 1 is over, Loeb is in the lead, but only 5 seconds ahead of Hirvonen. Petter is third, with 40 seconds up to the leader.

Rally GB continues with 6 more stages tomorrow.

Overall classification day 1 Rally GB

1. Loeb, Citroën
2. Hirvonen, Ford +5,3
3. Petter, Citroën +40,5
4. Sordo, Citroën +41,6
5. Ogier, Citroën +2.41,3
6. Henning, Ford +2.50,1
7. Wilson, Ford +3.23,0
8. Rautenbach, Citroën +4.54,6

Shakedown times

Petter 3.16,4
Latvala 3.16,6
Ogier, 3.19,0
Henning 3.19,1
Loeb 3.19,6
Sordo 3.19,7

It is rally week again, and we are heading to Cardiff for the Wales Rally GB and the 2009 season finale. This year the servicepark is based in Cardiff, but the stages are the same as in 2008.

This will be Petters second rally in the new C4, and he is also nominated as a manufacturer driver for the Citroën Junior Team. Petter Solberg World Rally Team will run the car from our set up, but in cooperation with the Junior Team.

- Wales Rally will be extremely thrilling for me this year. All though we ended 4th in Spain, it felt more like a win, says Petter Solberg. – We have been testing in Wales for two days now and I must say, this car is awesome. – and fast. I want this rally to start now!

Petter and Phil have won the rally in Wales four times before, and ended 4th in 2008.

Wales Rally GB starts on Friday 23 October 2009.

Itinerary Wales Rally GB 2009

Friday 23 October
0923 SS1 Hafren 1 32,14km
1004 SS2 Sweet Lamb 1 5,13km
1022 SS3 Myherin 1 27,88km
Remote Service Builth Wells
1331 SS4 Hafren 2 32,14km
1412 SS5 Sweet Lamb 2 5,13km
1430 SS6 Myherin 2 27,88km
Flexi Service Cardiff

Saturday 24 October
0835 SS7 Rhondda 1 35,72km
1026 SS8 Crychan 1 14,99km
1054 SS9 Halfway 1 18,37km
Service Cardiff
1458 SS10 Rhondda 2 35,72km
1649 SS11 Crychan 2 14,99km
1717 SS12 Halfway 2 18,37km
Flexi Service Cardiff

Sunday 25 October
0828 SS13 Port Talbot 1 17,41km
0927 SS14 Rheola 1 22,51km
1056 SS15 Port Talbot 2 17,41km
1155 SS16 Rheola 2 22,51km
Service Cardiff
Podium

- Just finished with the first test-day in Wales, and this looks really good! Testing goes on tomorrow.

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.

Itinerary

Thursday 4. December
1800 Start Cardiff

Friday 5. December
0908 SS1 Hafren 1 19,10km
0932 SS2 Sweet Lamb 1 5,11km
0953 SS3 Myherin 1 35,34km
Remote Service
1316 SS4 Hafren 2 19,10km
1340 SS5 Sweet Lamb 2 5,11km
1401 SS6 Myherin 2 35,34km
1706 SS7 Walters Arena1 2,29km
1717 SS8 Walters Arena2 2,29km

Saturday 6. December
0818 SS9 Resolfen 1 30,68km
0947 SS10 Halfway 1 18,57km
1013 SS11 Crychan 1 14,86km
Service Swansea
1321 SS12 Resolfen 2 30,68km
1450 SS13 Halfway 2 18,57km
1516 SS14 Crychan 2 14,86km
1815 SS15 Millenium  0,99km

Sunday 7. December
0755 SS16 Rheola 1 27,96km
0903 SS17 Port Talbot 1 20,09km
Service Swansea
1110 SS18 Rheola 2 27,96km
1218 SS19 Port Talbot 2 20,09km

Cutting corners on stage 16

Waiting for the last tyre, 1 min and 10 seconds left before TC

Interviews before regroup. Journalists and photographers are fighting for the best comment and the best pictures

Petter and Phil, thanking their supporters after being third in Wales Rally GB 2006

Celebrating with champagne

A strong 3rd place for Petter and Phil is the conclusion of this years Wales Rally GB. Marcus Grønholm is the winner, and has been in the lead through out the weekend. Holding 2nd place is Austrian Manfred Stohl with his Peugeot. Petter is satisfied with ending the last event of the year with a place on the podium, and he is also satisfied with 3 stagewins out of 4 possilbe today.