Solberg fourth at the end of Leg One

The opening leg of Rally de Espana was not as satisfying as Petter Solberg expected it.

The Norwegian tackled the penultimate round of the season determined to take his first win of the season, but a low start this morning spoiled his ambitions.

Despite his good starting position, he lost 20 seconds on the first stage and then fought hard to make up for the ground lost. He took two stage wins (SS2 and SS5) and finished the day in fourth place, 22 seconds behind rally leader Sébastien Loeb.

“I’m quite happy with the day, expect for that first stage where I lost so much time”, said Solberg. “I just couldn’t find any grip at all, and no confidence. I just had to do some changes after the stage and the win on SS2 showed us I did the right thing. The rest of the day had been good and I’m going for second place tomorrow!”

Rally Spain continues with 6 more stages Saturday, all of them on tarmac.

First car will be on the road from 0959.