Peter Solberg couldn’t do anything… the mechanics failed him

David Richards defended his Norwegian driver, Petter Solberg, justifying his poor performance due to two mechanical problems, which are usually very rare. The director of the Subaru WRT team (as well as Prodrive) does not want to condemn his No. 1 driver.

This rally, which is among the Norwegian’s favorites, had started well. After setting the fastest time in the shakedown, the youngest of the Solberg brothers was the fastest in the first four sections of SS1. A brake problem in the final kilometers forced him to lose precious seconds in the standings. Despite a makeshift repair during transit, he was later unable to regain the right rhythm.

« Petter [Solberg] experienced a very frustrating race », admitted David Richards a few days after the 5th Rally of Mexico.

The worst was yet to come on the second day. Three quarters into the ES10, the front-left transmission of the Impreza WRC2007 gave out… Solberg was in fourth position nonetheless.

« He encountered two mechanical problems that were not even his fault… His first problem was caused by a broken rear caliper, which is extremely rare. AP, our braking system supplier, had never seen this in 25 years. But it happened on Petter [Solberg]’s car… »

Still unlucky, the 2003 world champion experienced an equally exceptional problem a few hours later: « The next day, the transmission issue encountered was just as rare, especially with a system as proven as ours. Unfortunately, these two problems prevented Petter from fighting at the front. »

Atkinson, Solberg’s teammate, achieved a very nice second place in Mexico. A good finish for Solberg was therefore quite conceivable.

Quotes collected by the WRC (Subaru)