Solberg to fight for Monte-Carlo IRC glory

Petter Solberg has vowed to fight for victory when he makes his Intercontinental Rally Challenge debut on Rallye Monte-Carlo next month.

The former world rally champion will drive a Peugeot Sport-run 207 Super 2000 on the asphalt classic, which he has contested on eight previous occasions.

"For sure there are many drivers doing the event who have much more experience in Super 2000 cars while I have none," said Solberg. "But I have a lot of experience on the rally and I know what can go wrong so I will be prepared. Like every other rally I do I will be thinking to push and to win and I will come up with a proper plan and strategy to do that."

The 36-year-old from Norway continued: "I like the rally a lot even though I have not always had the best result. Because it will be the 100-year anniversary the rally will be very, very special."

Solberg and Northern Irish co-driver Chris Patterson will be among 120 crews taking part on the event, which runs from 18-22 January and will be televised live on Eurosport. They will get their first experience of the 207 they will use on the event during a test in France early next month.