Solberg: Lets try again!
Petter Solberg will hope that the old adage of 'third time lucky' proves to be correct as the WRC heads to Mexico this weekend for the third round of the year.
Solberg has endured a frustrating season so far, retiring in Monte Carlo after an engine problem with his Subaru Impreza and then being excluded in Sweden after failing to start the penultimate stage in the allotted time - the final problem in what had proved to be a disastrous event for the Norwegian driver.
Petter Solberg will hope that the old adage of 'third time lucky' proves to be correct as the WRC heads to Mexico this weekend for the third round of the year.
Solberg has endured a frustrating season so far, retiring in Monte Carlo after an engine problem with his Subaru Impreza and then being excluded in Sweden after failing to start the penultimate stage in the allotted time - the final problem in what had proved to be a disastrous event for the Norwegian driver.
The double failure to score means that Solberg starts the event 20 points behind Marcus Gronholm and 16 behind Sebastien Loeb with just two events gone and 'Hollywood' admitted that he has to try and get off the mark this weekend on an event he won twelve months ago.
"Well, we'll try again in Mexico!" he said. "We'll try very hard to get some points by finishing on the podium, but winning is the goal. I hope everything will be in good shape - the car, the tyres and me. We've got a good starting position and I hope we can go well on all three days. The team is very confident and we had a good test in Sardinia. There's so much more to come from us."
Subaru sporting director Luis Moya was also hopeful of seeing Solberg fight at the front on an event he admitted is usually a strong one for the team.
"The season starts with two extremely specialised events, so in many respects the proper rallying starts now," he said. "Mexico will be the first gravel event with the new car and, after such different rallies, will be much more indicative of performance levels.
"Mexico has traditionally been a very good rally for us, playing to both the strengths of the car and the tyres. In 2004 we led for the majority of the rally and then won in 2005. This year we want to repeat that run of success to lay the ghosts of the Swedish Rally to rest. There's no escaping the fact that Sweden was disappointing, but the post-event analysis was very thorough and we have a very good understanding of the root causes.
"Petter will come back with renewed enthusiasm and confidence in Mexico. He won last year and I see no reason why he can't repeat this again in 2006."
