Solberg is ready to fight back

The first leg of the Rallye de France didn’t quite go according to plan for Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson.

The day started well for the crew who mixed it up with the Citroën factory crews on the first loop of stages.

Solberg was up in 2nd place after SS3 but lost one place on the morning’s last stage and tackled the afternoon’s loop in 3rd place overall. He was determined to push hard on the last four stages of the day but couldn’t match the pace of Ogier and Sordo in very muddy and slippery conditions.

He lost places to the two Citroën factory drivers and lost another place to Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala on the last stage of the day. The Norwegian ended the first leg in 5th place and is ready to fight back on Saturday’s eight stages.

“I am quite happy with the day”, said Petter Solberg. “On the afternoon’s loop, the stages were really muddy and it was not easy to find grip. As the cars pass through the stages, they drag more and more mud onto the stage when cutting corners, and the mud and the damped conditions make it difficult to get grip. I was hoping to be second on the road for tomorrow, but even from fifth position I will push to get back up in the leaderboard!”

Solberg’s teammate for the weekend, French driver Yvan Muller, encountered mechanical problems after SS4 and had to retire. He was in 12th position. He will restart tomorrow under SupeRally regulations.