Til helgen møtes far og sønn, Petter og Oliver Solberg, til kamp i Polen. Begge deltar i 4WD-klassen under Gymkhana GRiD i Warszawa.
Dette er siste opptreden for Petter Solberg i hans Farewell Tour med sin VW Polo WRX. Han skal som kjent også kjøre Wales Rally i oktober, men det inngår ikke i Farewell Tour. Oliver Solberg, som kommer rett fra nok et imponerende rallyresultat i Estland, skal kjøre Petters Citroën Xsara. Blant førerne de skal møte er amerikanske Ken Block.
I fjor var det Johan Kristoffersson som vant 4WD-klassen i dette arrangementet, fulgt av Petter og Oliver Solberg på henholdsvis andre og tredjeplass. Den gangen møttes Petter og Oliver i semifinalen.
I klassen for bakhjulsdrevne biler er tre nordmenn på startlisten. Det er VM-leder i rallycross, Andreas Bakkerud samt drifting-førerne Christian Bakkerud og Joakim Eidsmo-Sand.
Konkurransen i Warszawa kjøres på lørdag.
PRESSEMELDING FRA PETTER SOLBERG MEDIA
The Solbergs ready to rock Gymkhana GRiD
* Monster Energy stars Solbergs chase Gymkhana GRiD glory in Warsaw
* Petter looking forward to the latest event on his Farewell Tour
* Oliver looking for a few more horses to try to beat his dad
* Pernilla’s looking forward to a Solberg win on Saturday
After thrilling thousands of fans with a fascinating family fight at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed earlier this year, Petter and Oliver will face each other again at Saturday’s Gymkhana GRiD in Warsaw, Poland.
In a slight change with normal procedure, we’ve asked Oliver to give you the low-down on what’s to come.
OS: Hello. Do you remember GRiD last year?
PS: I do.
OS: So, you’ll remember you were lucky to make the final…
PS: Yeah, yeah, it was a close fight in the semi-final. Who was it I was racing? I can’t remember now.
OS: I would have beaten you if I didn’t have the engine problem. And I was in the Citroën Xsara with 380bhp and you were in the Volkswagen Polo R Supercar with 600! Can I drive the Polo this time?
PS: No.
OS: Please…
PS: No.
OS: OK, then I have to beat you with the Xsara. I don’t mind, it’s a fantastic car. You like GRiD, don’t you?
PS: It’s good fun. It’s so important to have fun when you are driving. Like you know, there’s time when everything has to be really serious, but there’s also time when you can give something back to the fans and everybody who is travelling to the event.
I think GRiD in Poland’s going to be huge. Remember Poland’s round of the World Rally Championship? There were always so many people there, with such a good atmosphere. When you bring an event like this to the centre of such a cool city like Warsaw and get Monster Energy to put on the show… I think it’s going to be amazing.
OS: I agree and I know what you mean when you can give the people something to smile about – but it’s still competition.
PS: It is. That’s why I’m driving the Polo!
OS: Who’s going to be the main competition for you?
PS: There’s always Ken [Block] isn’t there and there are a few other specialists who know the Gymkhana side of the sport really well.
OS: Anybody you fear in particular?
PS: Not really.
OS: Nobody?
PS: No.
OS: What about me?
PS: Yeah, true… but still nobody I fear! This is part of my Farewell Tour, and you don’t want to spoil that, do you?
OS: OK, I take it easy on you. You’re enjoying the Tour?
PS: Honestly, it’s fantastic. There’s so much interest. Goodwood was just unbelievable, one of the best weekends ever for both of us – so nice and so cool. Then it was the same with the Norges Råeste Bakkeløp hillclimb in Norway. Do you remember what happened that weekend?
OS: No.
PS: I beat your record from last year! And now we come to Gymkhana, which is going to be fantastic. I have such good memories from this event in South Africa at the end of last season. OK, I was a bit sad I didn’t win, but Johan [Kristoffersson], my PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team-mate did win, I was second and you were third. The emotion on that podium was so, so special.
OS: Do you think we can both make the podium again on Saturday night?
PS: I think we can.
OS: Do you think I can win?
PS: Only if I lend you my car.
OS: Can I borrow the Polo?
PS: No.
Saturday (September 7) is the 10^th running of an event dreamed up by the Solberg’s fellow Monster Energy athlete and rally driver Ken Block. After qualifying rounds in Japan, South Africa, Norway, Britain, Greece and Spain, 64 drivers will line-up for the main day of head-to-head competition.
The event gets underway on Wednesday (September 4) with the first of two days of practice, when the drivers get to learn the intricacies of a course which offers a blend of autocross, drifting and time trial. Friday (September 6) is a media day where the drivers discuss practice and Oliver has one final go at getting Petter out of the Polo.
Startliste Gymkhanagrid Warsawa:
4WD
Race Number / First Name / Surname / Nationality / Car / Class
7. Roustemis Panagiotis Greece Mitsubishi Evo X AWD
10. Ben Dryburgh Scotland Subaru Impreza AWD
11. Petter Solberg Norway VW Polo R RX Supercar AWD
12. Riku Tahko Finland Mini Cooper S R4 AWD
16. Oliver Solberg Norway Citroen Xsara AWD
26. Petri Ylinen Finland Subaru Impreza AWD
31. Jonathan Buck England Subaru Impreza AWD
9. James Stephen Scotland Subaru Impreza AWD
42. Oli Bennet England Mini Cooper SX1 AWD
43. Ken Block USA Escort Cossie AWD
59. Carl Van As South African Subaru STI AWD
64. Rhys Yates England Hyundai R5 AWD
77. Dimitrij Sribnyj Ukraine SCR Subaru BRZ AW
84. Mazin Al-Shaibani Oman Mitsibushi Evo 6 AWD
85. Nabeel Al-Shaibani Oman Mitsibushi Evo 6 AWD
23. Chris Hoy England Hyundai R5 AWD
27. Marcin Wicik Poland Ford Focus RX AWD
Bakhjulsdrift
Race Number / First Name / Surname / Nationality / Car / Class
1. Daigo Saito Japan GR Supra MONSTER Edition RWD
2. Kuba Przygonski Poland Toyota GT86 RWD
3. Andy Stevens England ER32 Tesliner EV RWD
4. Luke Woodham England Nissan 200sx S14a RWD
5. Eric Van Eyssen South Africa Nissan S14 RWD
15. Christos Chantzaras Greece BMW E36 M3 RWD
13. Steve Biagioni England Nissan PS13 RWD
14. Nikolass Bertans Latvia BMW RWD
18. Grzegorz Hypki Poland BMW E30 M3 RWD
20. Dmitriy Illyuk Ukraine Mazda Rx-8 RW
21. Alex Claudin France Dodge Charger 1968 RWD
22. Ola Fijal Poland Nissan S13 200sx RWD
30. Marko Palijan Croatia BMW E30 RWD
36. Dawid Sposob Poland Toyota GT86 RWD
41. Dennis Haggbloom Finland Honda S2000 RWD
47. Pawel Borkowski Poland Nissan 200sx 14a RWD
51. Tessa Whittock England R33 Skyline RWD
55. Chris Nigemeier German BMW E46 QBM3 RWD
60. Krisse Aalto Finland Toyota Soarer RWD
62. Joakim Eidsmo-Sand Norway Nissan Silvia PS13 RWD
65. Paweł Trela Poland Opel GT Maybug RWD
71. Ahmad Daham Jordan Nissan S15 RWD
72. Mantas Sliogeris Lithuania Mazda Mx5 RWD
74. Marek Wartalowicz Poland BMW E21 RWD
86. Sami Al-Shaibani Oman BMW E46 RWD
87. Bartosz Ostalowski Poland Nissan Skyline R34 RWD
88. Arkadiy Tsaregradtsev Russia Nissan Skyline R34 RWD
92. Christian Bakkerud Norweigen, Bergen Nissan Cefiro RWD
93. Bence Bauer Hungary, Pilisszentkereszt Mercedes E500 w124 V8 RWD
28. Dominik Kouba Czech BMW E36 RWD
29. Kristians Berkovs Latvian BMW E36 RWD
37. Rick Van Goethem Netherlands Nissan Skyline R33 GTR RWD
33. Liam Doran British,Exeter TBA TBA
34. Andreas Bakkerud Norway, Bergen TBA TBA
Mer info: http://www.gymkhanagrid.com/