Solberg hails unbelievable final podium

Petter Solberg couldn’t eventually win Wales Rally GB this weekend, losing to Sébastien Loeb by nearly 20 seconds, but he was still delighted at his 2nd place finish behind the reigning World Champion.

He was also ecstatic about his 3rd place in the drivers’ championship which was a massive achievement for a privateer.

“This is so great. We started the season with third in the championship as our goal. To have been able to fulfill that dream today is just unbelievable”, he said. “And it is a great payback for all the hard work my team had done this year. I really thought I should be able to catch up with Loeb today but unfortunately it was not possible for me to beat him and his works car. I would also like to send a big thank you to all my sponsors, team and Phil Mills. Phil, you did half the season and are a big part of this!”

Solberg started the final leg of the event with a real chance of winning it as he was less than five seconds behind the leader Loeb. He unfortunately dropped time on all four stages of the day as he tried to push hard without making a mistake.

The Norwegian had an impressive season, consistently mixing it with the factory drivers. Victory eluded him but he took eight podiums and scored points on 12 out of the 13 rounds of the season.