Thumbs up for Ostberg

Mads Ostberg is expecting to be fully fit for the upcoming Rally Italia Sardegna after recovering from the thumb injury that forced him out of Rally Argentina earlier this month.

The Norwegian withdrew from the final day in South America when his thumb was caught by his Citroen’s steering wheel, sent spinning after he drove over a rock.

“My thumb is doing well,” Ostberg told wrc.com today. “I went to see a specialist in Oslo and they found nothing special, it seems to be a small fracture, but nothing to worry about.

“They said it would take two to three weeks to heal. It’s progressing the way it should and it will be perfect again for Sardegna - so I’m not worried.”

With no pre-event test before Rally Italia starts on 5 June, Ostberg will have an additional week to get back to full fitness.

“We did our Sardegna testing before Argentina,” he explained. “So I’m just working on pace notes and training at home. My confidence is good. It’s a rally I like and the test we did was very positive. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time.”

Since Argentina, Mads has also been kept busy as a contestant on the Norwegian TV show, ‘Celebrity Masterchef’. The 26 year-old already has good form in the kitchen, having won a round of the TV show ‘Come dine with me’ in 2013.

“I can’t say much about it, because the contest is still going, but it’s a big challenge,” he said. “Okay, I have some types of food that I really enjoy to cook, and I can do many different meals, but here you don’t know what you are doing until the clock starts ticking. Who knows, if I get the chance I might try and cook the team something in Sardegna…”