After three difficult days of competition, Petter Solberg finished the Acropolis Rally of Greece in ninth place this afternoon. Despite a determined effort on today`s stages to close the gap on the cars ahead, Solberg was unable to make up the time lost earlier in the rally.
Stéphane Sarrazin delivered an impressive performance on only his second gravel rally. Despite the disadvantage of running as one of the first cars through today`s four slippery stages, the Frenchman grew in speed and confidence throughout the event.
Petter Solberg
"As you`d expect I`m disappointed with my result, it`s not the one I was hoping for. In fact, I have been disappointed about my results on the last few rallies, that`s for sure. But we have to put this aside and look forward to Argentina now. There are plenty of reasons to feel confident about the next rally; I know I can win it. We`ve reached the mid-point in the Championship and yes, I would have liked to have closed in on Seb, but it`s certainly not over yet."
Stéphane Sarrazin
"I had a few problems with punctures and tyre choices on Friday and Saturday which interrupted my rhythm on this rally, but re-starting on Saturday allowed me more time to think about the car set-up and I think that was quite a benefit. Generally I`m very pleased with my performance. I think I am making good progress and I`m feeling confident about the future."
David Lapworth, Team Principal
"This has been a character building event for the whole team. It`s been frustrating for Petter not to have a clean run against his rivals. After problems early on, it was difficult for him to fight back from his position. He`s not really been able to show what he can do on these stages. It would be very easy to under-estimate Stéphane`s performance here, as he doesn`t have a great deal to show for all of his efforts. But his times on the latter stages were impressive, considering his position on the road, and if he continues to make progress like this he`ll be a serious contender on gravel as well as asphalt."
Teams cross the Atlantic for round nine of the 2005 World Rally Championship, the Rally of Argentina. In contrast to the recent run of hot and rough Mediterranean events, South America`s round of the WRC is a smoother, faster rally that takes place in the cooler temperatures of the Argentine mid-winter. Run in the countryside around the host town of Carlos Paz, close to the city of Cordoba, the rally begins on Friday 15th July.


Tags: acropolis, greece, subaru, solberg, atkinson, sarrazin, team,