Great Britain : Subaru World Rally Team
After the first day of competition on Wales Rally GB, Subaru`s Petter Solberg holds second place overall, less than 10 seconds off the lead.
Solberg enjoyed a trouble-free run on the Leg`s six stages and set the second fastest stage time on both runs through the challenging 27km stage at Rheola.
On their Wales Rally GB debuts, Chris Atkinson and Stephane Sarrazin both followed their individual objectives perfectly and delivered solid performances on the tricky and unfamiliar Welsh roads. Both are looking to increase their pace as they become more familiar with the conditions over the next two days.
Petter Solberg
“Not too bad at all. Of course, I`d prefer to be leading but the car is going well, all the set-up changes we`ve made are taking it in the right direction and I`d say that we`ve gone better today than on any of the other gravel rallies this year. The first three stages went very well except for a spin on the second and for the repeated loop we took a chance on a tyre choice that in hindsight was too hard. Although we were able to take time out of Loeb on the last stage of the day, we gave up too much on the first two. Phil and I have enjoyed a good fight with Sebastien today, and Marcus is pushing hard too, so I expect things are going to be pretty exciting tomorrow. I`m going to have to work very hard to win this rally, but I`ll certainly give it my best shot.”
Chris Atkinson
“It`s been a good day for us. I`m pretty pleased with sixth place overall on my first ever day of Rally GB. But my main objective continues to be learning more about the event and that`s what I`ll be doing tomorrow on another set of stages that are new to me. Hopefully though I can step up the pace a little more as the weekend goes on.”
Stephane Sarrazin
“Yes, it`s been a good first day. My road position wasn`t great, there were a lot of ruts in the road, but we`re in good shape ahead of the next two days. Now, looking back at my performance on some of the first stages, I think I could have been quicker, I just wasn`t pushing enough. But the important thing is that the speed is getting better and more comfortable.”
David Lapworth, Team Principal
“We have to be happy with our positions at the end of the day. Petter is nine seconds off the lead and has had a trouble free run. We`re sure he can take the fight to Sebastien tomorrow. Chris and Stephane have both done an excellent job. They are exactly on the pace we hoped for and both in strong positions. After such a solid start on a tricky first day, we`re really expecting great things from them tomorrow when the conditions will be more predicable for the more inexperienced drivers.”
Cars leave Felindre Parc Fermé from 0900hrs for a ten minute service before heading to the National Park area of the Brecon Beacons. Leg two features seven more stages and 103 competitive kilometres through the Welsh forests, including Crychan, nicknamed `the orange road` because of the pine needles that cover the route. The new-for-2005 Superspecial also takes place on Saturday in Cardiff`s Millennium Stadium. The stage will be first in the history of the WRC to be run indoors.


Tags: wales, subaru, impreza, rain, weather, great-britain,