Henning Solberg meanwhile will reach a milestone when he rolls over the start ramp. This will be the Norwegian’s 50th start in the WRC, having made his debut back in 1998 at the International Swedish Rally where he ended up finishing 12th overall.
Despite all that experience though, this will be only his third attempt at an all-asphalt WRC rally. In a bid to counter his inexperience on tarmac he has been out practising recently on a state-of-the-art go-kart on two Norwegian kart tracks. Unsurprisingly he isn’t overly confident.
“I do not have much experience on tarmac so we will see what happens. I have spent two full days at two different go-kart tracks with a full-spec go-kart that has a six-speed sequential gear box and disc brakes.
“I think the time in the go-kart has helped a lot but we will have to wait and see because I really don’t know what to expect from my first time at Germany,” he admitted.
Pressed on where he might finish, he added that if he can get a point or two he will be more than pleased – although getting to the finish is the priority, especially as there are three more asphalt events to come in the second half of the year.
“My goal for this rally is to finish in the top-eight, if I can get a point here I will be very happy,” he confirmed. “There are a lot more tarmac rallies ahead so finishing here will be the most important thing so I can have maximum experience for the up coming tarmac events.”
As for the fact he will reach a half century, he is not especially bothered: “I did not know this was my 50th rally, it does not seem like that many but hopefully I can celebrate with a good result here,” he summed-up.
Munchi’s Ford WRT:
[Luis-Perez Companc, car #11 and
Federico Villagra, car #12]
Sitting out Germany.
Luis-Perez Companc and Federico Villagra delivered the best result to date for the Munchi's Ford World Rally Team in Finland two weeks ago, when both completed the event and notched up manufacturers' points.
