Solberg: winning again in the WRC is no problem

Petter Solberg is "confident" of winning again in the FIA World Rally Championship this season but says he doesn’t want to let his absence from the winners’ circle constantly play on his mind.

Factory Ford driver Solberg, who hasn’t won in the WRC since 2005, lost ground in this year’s title battle when he crashed out of the previous round in Greece last month. Victory on Brother Rally New Zealand next week would bring him back into championship contention, not that Solberg wants to entertain that possibility.

“I try not to think about [not having won since 2005],” said Solberg. “We have come close so many times so it’s hard not to think about this but the main thing is to get the full package together to win the rally. The [Fiesta RS WRC] is very good but we just need to get all the small details together. Then after that we try to fight for the world championship but winning is very important because to deserve to win the world championship you have to win rallies. But I am confident this can be achieved this year, no problem.”

Solberg will start Rally New Zealand, which is based in Auckland from 21-24 June as one of the favourites for victory. He won the event while driving for the works Subaru team back in 2004.