Solberg aims for top three or a win

Petter Solberg says his dream for the rest of this year is to finish this season in the top three overall or to take an outright rally win - both of which the Norwegian feels are achievable.

Solberg finished fifth on Vodafone Rally de Portugal, and currently lies fifth in the standings. Despite not being on the podium for the last two events, Solberg says the second half of the season includes his favourite rallies and his best opportunities for success.

“I’m so excited about the rest of the year,” he said. “I think what we are doing as a private team is fantastic. I want to carry on like this and the dream is that I can make third place in the championship, but I would swap that for winning a rally.

“I’m taking risks, you know. I went out in New Zealand and I was trying to win. I was pushing like hell, but I’m doing it without the manufacturer. This is all I can do.”

Solberg said he was disappointed to have missed out on fourth place in a final-day fight with Mikko Hirvonen, but he pointed out steering problems hadn’t helped him on Sunday in the Algarve.

“The last rally in Portugal was shame. We had gone well, but then we lost two bolts in the steering rack and the car was pretty much undriveable for the first two stages. Then we had something on the car which meant we kept using the front-right tyre more than any other. The team is investigating what caused this, but I think it is something to do with the suspension.”

Despite having won two of the three remaining gravel rallies, Solberg refuses to admit the dirt events will suit him more than asphalt.

“I love them all,” he said. “Honestly, I just can’t wait to get out there and start competing on all of the rallies. Certainly, it’s not going to be as much cleaning on the gravel rallies to come, we won’t see the worries for the first car on the road we have seen so far.

"In fact, I think in Finland, Japan and England (Rally GB) we can see it being an advantage if there’s a lot of mud around. But, you know, I don’t care. Like I said, I just want to get back out there and keep on driving and making a mess for the manufacturer teams.”