by Rob Wilkins


TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL WITH PHIL MILLS: CLICK HERE


Petter Solberg's co-driver Phil Mills is hoping that Subaru will be able to come back strong in the second part of the season - and now armed with the all-new Impreza WRC2008 there is a real sense of optimism that the team will be able to end a barren spell that runs back to 2005, the last time the Banbury-based outfit won a round of the World Rally Championship. Crash.net Radio spoke to Phil recently ahead of the next event in Finland, which marks the end of the long summer break...


Crash.net:
Phil, Subaru launched the new Impreza just before the summer break. How much will that help you and Petter now as we go into the second half of the season?

Phil Mills:
It should be good. We have done quite a bit of testing and the car is obviously very, very good anyway. We have made some small steps forward and it is just a matter of getting kilometres on the car. We should be reasonably competitive.

Crash.net:
How useful has the break been for Subaru, I assume it was well timed?

PM:
Yeah it was - and while a six-week break in the championship isn't a very long time, in this game it seems to be like forever. We have done a lot of work with the car during the break but so have the other teams as well. I know that the other two or three big players in the game have all made steps forward. Maybe we will be back to the same position. We will just have to find out.

Crash.net:
What improvements have been made?

PM:
It is all set-up changes basically. The car is the car now - everybody has seen it. It has been on two events. It is just an on-going development programme in all the areas that you can imagine. Just about every area of the car has been looked at.

Crash.net:
What do you think will be possible in Finland?

PM:
That is difficult to predict. It is almost impossible to say where you are going to be. But anywhere approaching the podium we would be quite happy with. If we can get up in the top three or four I would be very happy personally.

Crash.net:
After Finland, the WRC goes to Germany, which is one of three asphalt events in the second part of the year. How is the car looking on tarmac?

PM:
As we speak I am just about to leave for the airport for the Germany test and I can tell you more in 48 hours time. But it is looking very, very good. The car is just so well balanced compared to the old car - and that is crucial on tarmac. On paper the car should be excellent on tarmac.

Crash.net:
Markko Martin has tested with it on asphalt hasn't he?

PM: