WRC » Solberg: Ireland entry unlikely

Hope that you return to the WRC in 2009 , would love to see you comeback.

But I agree with Pentti Airikkala that Subaru has had it´s day , so for your own sake Petter get another car , you truly need it and deserve it also.

Stick him in a Stobart Ford . Its just a hunch I have but he might prove to be quicker than Wilson Jnr . Nothing ventured nothing gained .

"Its just a hunch I have but he might prove to be quicker than Wilson Jnr"

I'm hoping that was a sarcastic comment. Almost everyone's quicker than Wilson Jr. Both Petter and Chris are 2 of the fastest out there. If Subaru hadn't pulled out so late, and there was more than just 2 manufacturers left they'd definitely have decent offers on the table.

Who'd have thought the 5th and 6th placed drivers are possibly going to be without a drive in '09, while oil money buys Al-Qassimi, the most utterly outclassed driver in the WRC, one of the very best works rides.

It'll be dark days ahead for the WRC, if it even survives at all.

I'm not Malcolm Wilson, but I imagine that there's every chance that an up to date Ford Focus wouldn't BE "one of the very best works rides" were it not for that source of funding for the team. Now is not a time to attack the drivers who do have money to fund their own seats: historically, many, like Manfred Stohl and Henning Solberg (I believe), have had perfectly worthwhile and successful WRC and top-line careers, and the practice of entrusting a third car to such a driver is nothing new, in the WRC or elsewhere, so their existence is not a signal of, and is not relevant to, the supposed impending death of a series of motorsport. To drive, you need the money. Without it, you can't play.

As an additional note, I wish Petter all the best. His relationship with M-Sport, sadly, is unlikely to be the best after he broke free from his contract to join Subaru in 2000. I believe that the Adapta Subaru team have expressed an interest in running him, though? I'm not hopeful for Solberg and Atkinson getting drives at a Stobart squad with the talents of Galli, Henning, Duval, Wilson and even possibly Gardemeister all at their disposal. I imagine that Petter may enter the WRC season at a later date and compete on a privateer basis, with Atkinson possibly reduced to the IRC now.

It is a shame to lose both Petter and Chris for next year, they both add to the field and are good and likeable drivers with talent and i think the WRC need people like them.
Hopefully something will happen for them both.

Hard days ahead me thinks

it doesn't matter if Petter doesn't drive in irland. he has more crashes in opening rounds than points collected. so no lss for him as in 2007 he was nowhere....

If Stobart Ford are serious about winning anything give Petter Matt's car.