Petter mega-happy with 2nd place

Petter Solberg couldn’t hold back his tears when he came out of his Citroën C4 WRC after crossing Rally Mexico’s finish line.

The Norwegian had just set the fastest time on SS22 to snatch 2nd place away from Frenchman Sebastien Ogier. This was his best result in the World Rally Championship for two years and came at the back of a disastrous season opener in Sweden.

“Sweden was tough for me. I had promised a lot for my sponsors and there was pressure on myself and the team. I have a very good car now and we came here and came second. I finished the super special and then I was completely exhausted and all the feelings were coming out. I am very happy”, he said.

Petter’s co-driver, Phil Mills, also expressed his delight with this podium. “Obviously it feels good. It really is a different ball game being a private team. Leading on Friday was important after Sweden. We are back on track again. There is much to consider when you are not in a factory environment. Saying that, we have no politics; just Petter and me. It is very satisfying. »

Solberg had an amazing weekend in Mexico. Making the most of an excellent road position on day one, he set an impressive pace through the stages and was consistently fastest. He built himself a good lead and chose not to play any tactics at the end of the day, thus preparing himself to be first on the road on day two.

“I am absolutely mega-happy right now. I’ve been controlling this the whole weekend. I was not afraid to be first on the road on Saturday, even though I knew I was going to lose half a second per kilometer”, he explained. “It was my choice, and I knew I could still be top three, which were the main target for the weekend.”

“I needed to lead after the first day to play the game with Seb (Loeb) and Ogier. First on the road was also good practice for me for later this year... I dealt with it. I started yesterday flat out. Okay it was tricky and I lost time. It ended up with me and Ogier very close”, he added.

As expected, Solberg lost his lead to Sebastien Loeb on day two and found himself battling for second place with Citroën Junior Team’s driver Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman opted to slow down on SS16 to start the third leg behind his rival. 5.5s separated the pair then.

The battle resumed on Sunday morning with Ogier fastest on SS19 only for Solberg to counter-attack on SS21. With only 0.6s between the two of them, the whole paddock was gearing up for a final stage thriller.

“This morning I knew it would be tough with him behind me. Every car on the road helps”, said Petter. “I tried hard. Before the last stage the difference was 0.6s and I knew he had been fast on the super special all weekend. Sébastien (Loeb) told me ‘you are too old’, then my brother (Henning Solberg) said ‘come on!’. I really focused on the road section and analysed the stage. I was running each corner of the stage through my mind and, starting seventh, I was running on the stage to see him (Ogier) driving. I thought okay and it worked. I had a good start.”

“I haven’t been that fast on a super special for a long time. I told myself I had to focus properly and I was just thinking back to how it should be and how it worked. I knew Seb (Ogier) was very fast on the super special and I needed to go one more step. I don’t think I took a breath at all. I was holding my breath all the time. I never used to breathe during rally cross either! »