Pressemelding: Petter Solberg seiret

- Oppdatert:

Det ble seier til Petter Solberg og kartleser John Tomley i klassen for Land Rover Defender 90 i lørdagens Clare Forest Rally i Irland.

De var over minuttet foran andremann i klassen og dette var Petters første rally i en Land Rover.

Imponerende var også 24.plass totalt av 82 som fullførte.Vinner var Ryan Caldwell/Stephen O’Hanlon i Skoda Fabia R5. De var 4min og 46 sek foran Petter og John.

De åtte fremste kørte Rally2/R5-biler. Det var ellers mange Mitsubishi Lancer, Subaru Impreza og Rally 4/R2- biler, for eksempel Peugeot 208.

-Jeg var veldig usikker på hva jeg gikk til. Dette var noe helt nytt for meg, men det var skikkelig gøy. Jeg trivdes både med etappene og bilen, sier Petter Solberg.

Resultater her :

 

Pressemelding fra Petter Solberg på engelsk:

Petter wins on Defender debut in Ireland
Petter Solberg scored a debut win on Saturday’s final round of the Defender Rally Challenge in Ireland. 

The 2003 World Rally Champion was delighted to join the Land Rover 90-based series for the  Clare Forestry Rally and won the category by more than a minute – despite only testing the Castrol EDGE-liveried car for a handful of kilometres before starting the Irish event.

“I wasn’t so sure what to expect from this car and this championship,” he said, “but that was so much fun! The car was nice to drive, really interesting. You know me, I would always like a little bit more testing before an event, but when this one started I was feeling happy with the car straight away.

“We had a puncture on the first stage and with only one spare tyre, I took it steady in the second one – I didn’t want to retire because we ran out of spares. After that I took two spares, so we didn’t have to worry about that at all. The stages were quite challenging and slippery in places with the rain and the weather coming in – but I have really enjoyed this event.

“It was also fantastic to compete with such a great group of drivers and co-drivers. The enthusiasm, passion and enjoyment we saw today is what our sport is all about – the Defender Rally Challenge is rallying at this level at its best!”

“Of course, we want rally cars to be fast, but there’s also a time when a driver likes to sit comfortably as well – that’s certainly the case with this Land Rover 90! We have the heater, the air conditioning, it’s probably the most luxurious rally car I ever drove.

“I want to say a very big thanks to my co-driver John [Tomley], to Castrol EDGE and to the whole Bowler Motorsport Team for making this happen. Ireland’s a country which loves the sport of rallying, so it’s totally my kind of place. It’s been fantastic to meet so many fans and have such a great day. Now, where is my champagne?”

Attention for the Solberg family switches to next week’s Central Europe Rally, where WRC2 series leader Oliver will chase another victory aboard his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.