Solberg reveals Italy podium relief

Petter Solberg says that finally landing his first podium of 2011 on Rally d’Italia Sardegna on Sunday went a long way towards making up for his failure to win the event outright.

Solberg was leading after Friday’s opening special stage but dropped out of contention on the very next run when his Citroen DS3 WRC’s turbo pipe worked loose. A puncture on day two compounded his woe but he hit back to land third place on the final day of the gravel round.

“I could have won this event but I had some small problems that cost me a lot of time,” said the 36-year-old. “I did everything I can, I know the speed is there and we’re faster than maybe everybody except [Sebastien] Loeb who is very good but doesn’t have any problems. But a podium is very important for me, my sponsors, the whole team and for my motivation.

“It’s been quite a difficult start to the season. The speed was good in the stages, but we didn’t always get a clean run on every rally. Now it was good fun on the stages and we ended up on the podium.”

Despite his third place in Sardinia ending a recent bleak spell, Solberg conceded that his hopes of a second world title have faded significantly. After five rounds, the Norwegian trails leader Sebastien Loeb by 54 points.

“For the championship it’s quite hard now,” said Solberg, who is co-driven by Northern Irishman Chris Patterson. “Since the start of the season we’ve had a lot of problems. But it’s a long year. I have good hopes for Argentina and we’ll have a two-day test before the rally. Hopefully I can find some more speed in the car.”