Solberg and Van Merksteijn in Argentina

Petter Solberg and Peter van Merksteijn Jr will drive two Citroën DS3 WRCs entered under their own banner and put at their disposal by Citroën Racing Technologies in Rally Argentina, the sixth round of the 2011 World Rally Championship.

A test session was held for Petter Solberg and Peter van Merksteijn Jr in the south of France to prepare for this event. The two drivers relayed each other at the wheel of a Citroën DS3 WRC to find their setups.

“Petter Solberg has had a very good preparation for this rally,’ said Benoit Nogier, the boss of Citroën Racing Technologies. “His podium finish in Sardinia has given the whole team’s morale a big boost. This kind of result is crucial in a season. In Argentina, a rally for old hands, his experience could give him a decisive advantage. It’s certainly one of the events that suits him the best. He’ll be in the thick of the battle.”

“This session was also a big help for Peter van Merksteijn Jr,’ Nogier adds. “He was finally able to take advantage of a day and half’s testing to run through a wide range of setups. This has helped boost his confidence. We hope that this test will help him during the rally. He needed time in the Citroën DS3 WRC to find his marks. The whole team’s worked hard. I think it’s now in the right frame of mind before leaving for Argentina.”

Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson’s (Petter Solberg World Rally Team) podium finish in Italy achieved their first aim. In Argentina, the Norwegian will be back in an environment that he knows by heart as he has raced in the last ten events with three podium finishes. “I feel stronger than ever. Everything’s possible in Argentina,” he grinned in Sardinia.

Peter van Merksteijn Jr (Van Merksteijn Motorsport) will be racing in his fourth rally in a Citroën DS3 WRC. The young Dutchman has made constant progress and he will be out to finish Rally Argentina, which has a reputation as a difficult event.

The 2011 Rally Argentina has 378 timed kilometres and it is using a route that is quite well known in the valleys of Traslasierra, Punilla, and Calamuchita in the Cordoba region. It will start on Thursday 26th May at 14h40 and will finish early on Sunday afternoon.