Det ble ikke de resultater som de håpet på, men både Petter og Oliver Solberg var med på å lage godt show for publikum i Race of Champions i Australia i helgen.
Petter og Oliver stilte som Team Norway i fredagens lagkonkurranse. Der ble de utslått i kvartfinalen. Frankrike ble vinner.
I lørdagens individuelle konkurranse ble Petter slått ut i kvartfinale, mens Oliver ble slått ut av Sebastien Loeb i semifinale. Lob vant til slutt konkurransen, og han var også på Frankrikes vinnerlag på fredag.
PRESSEMELDING
Solbergs thrill Australian fans at Sydney ROC
Arriving in Sydney in the hunt for a third straight ROC Nations Cup win, father and son team Petter and Oliver Solberg just missed out on adding to their collection of silverware at the spectacular Australian event.
Team Norway lost out to an All Stars squad in Friday’s ROC Nations Cup, meaning it was all eyes on The Champion of Champions crown on Saturday. World Rally Championship frontrunner Oliver came close to landing a seat in the final, only to miss out to an old Solberg family adversary: Sébastien Loeb.
Nine-time world champion Loeb won their semi-final, but Oliver and Petter were quick to praise the competition, atmosphere and adventure across the last week in a packed Accor Stadium in Sydney.
Oliver said: “I have to say I am a little bit gutted about this one. I’m bummed, as they say around here!
David Coulthard og Petter Solberg
“It’s really disappointing. Of course, we come here to have a good time – but it’s like we always say, when you are putting the crash helmet on everything changes and the focus on winning is everything.
“In my semi-final, I was too sideways. I need to work a little bit harder in driving some of these rear-wheel drive cars – I am sliding a lot. And… it was Sébastien Loeb! He’s still got it.
“Honestly, I’ve had an absolute blast this week, it’s been amazing. It’s really my first time competing in a stadium for this kind of event and the atmosphere was fantastic. Thank you so much to all the fans and to all the organisers, it’s been a very cool event.”
Petter reiterated those thoughts. Having departed the Champion of Champions event earlier, he watched on as his old World Rally Championship rival and his son went head-to-head.
“Oliver can see a little bit of what I had to put up with earlier in my career,” smiled Petter. “Like he (Oliver) said, we love the competition, but coming here is so much fun. It’s always a fantastic event and coming back to Australia has been so nice for me.
“We had some fun on Bondi beach, we have been a little bit like the tourists and then we had this amazing event to compete on. OK, the result didn’t go our way this time, but for sure we will be back again.
“Thank you to all the people around here, we have loved meeting so many enthusiastic and passionate fans and, of course, to the ROC organisers.”
