Solberg and Kuipers compete to reign in Spain

Ford Fiesta Super 2000 drivers Henning Solberg and Dennis Kuipers aim to be in the mix again next week on the penultimate FIA World Rally Championship round in Spain.

Solberg dominated the S2000 category on the recent Rallye de France, winning his class and finishing ninth overall and whilst Rally de España is not an official Super 2000 World Rally Championship round (S-WRC), the Norwegian pilot will be striving for more of the same.

“France was a good event for me - each time I drive this car I feel more and more confident,” he said.

“It’s nice to drive and it has been perfectly designed to handle well on the tarmac. But Spain will be something new again as it is a mixed-surface event. This has always been a tricky event for me as the stages are so fast but I think the first day will be the most difficult with the change of road surfaces.

“It’s a shame Spain is not a S-WRC round as I’d like some more drivers to battle with but I will try to put in a strong performance for Ford and will aim to finish in the top ten,” added Solberg who next month returns to his Stobart M-Sport Ford Focus RS WRC at Wales Rally GB in tandem with leading British WRC driver Matthew Wilson.

Solberg, partnered by Stephane Prévot, should be further assisted next week now his car is fitted with a new 2011 spec exhaust, developed by M-Sport, and now widely available after this event.

Another M-Sport entrant, Dutchman Dennis Kuipers will also be using the new kit in Spain as he chases a strong finish following his 17th overall in France. The new territory has left Kuipers guessing.

“Spain is going to be interesting,” he said. “It’s my first drive there, it’s a new rally and there’s going to be an added difficulty as we’ll have a gravel set-up on the first day but will swap to the tarmac set-up for the final two days,” explained Kuipers, who will again have the experienced Fred Miclotte on the notes.

“The mix of road surfaces are similar to rallies in Holland so hopefully my experience of competing in those events will help for this rally.

“It might take a bit of time to get used to the different surfaces but I’ve got a test on Monday so that should help build my confidence. I hope for a good position but as this isn’t an S-WRC round there are a few drivers missing. So I will just push hard and try to beat Henning.”

Event Summary

Fast sweeping roads in the Tarrogana region of north-east Spain will play host to this year’s Rally de España for the fifth consecutive year. The rally’s service park will be housed in the coastal town’s PortAventura theme park resort and the rally route remains similar to last year but with added gravel challenges.

The three-day rally will feature 16 special stages covering 355.30 km and will begin with a popular ceremonial start in central Salou on Thursday 21 October. Friday’s stages will provide an interesting challenge for the drivers as they consist of a mix of gravel and asphalt road surfaces, but Saturday and Sunday’s route will feature the traditional asphalt tests only.

The first full day of action will commence on Friday 22 October with two passes over a three stage loop in the wine-producing region of Montsant. The 35.94 km Terra Alta mixed gravel and asphalt stage will start the morning and afternoon loop and will be followed by a 14.97 km all-gravel test. A 17.28 km mixed gravel and asphalt test will round off the loop.

Saturday consists of asphalt stages only and takes the crews north-west of Salou to complete another repeat loop of three stages totalling 126.62 km.

At just 92.30 km, Sunday is the shortest day but includes a repeat pass of El Priorat, the longest test of the rally at 42.04 km which winds its way rounds the cherry orchards high in the hills above Gratallops. The rally concludes with a sprint over the 4.11 km La Serra d’Almos stage [SS16].