Solberg back for Portugal

Henning Solberg is the surprise name on a bumper 85-car entry for next month’s Vodafone Rally de Portugal.

Solberg and co-driver Ilka Minor returned to the WRC in Sweden in February after a year’s absence. The popular Norwegian driver finished seventh in a Ford Fiesta RS and hopes to be seen more often in the championship this year.

“I missed the sport so much last year and I hope to do as many rallies as I can this season. I’m working 24 hours a day looking for sponsors,” said Solberg, who will again be backed by Scandinavian online car parts and accessories company Skruvat.

“I can never be realistic and say how many rallies I will do because I want to do them all,” he told wrc.com. “One day I will jump in a big bucket of money and then I can do the whole championship with a three-car team for myself, my son and Pontus Tidemand (Solberg’s stepson)!”

Solberg is one of 15 World Rally Cars entered. Ott Tanak is back for the second of three scheduled drives in a Fiesta RS after his R5 outing in Mexico, and Khalid Al Qassimi makes his second appearance this season in a Citroen DS3. As previously confirmed, Dani Sordo will drive for the newly-registered Hyundai Motorsport N team.

There are 20 entries in the WRC 2 category, headed by championship leader Yuri Protasov. Among the new faces will be Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah and Bernardo Sousa in Fiesta RRCs and 2013 JWRC champion Tidemand in a Fiesta R5.

Fourteen crews are entered for the opening round of the JWRC in Citroen DS3 R3T cars and 13 teams in the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy in Fiesta R2 cars.

The rally is based in the Algarve holiday region on 3 - 6 April.