Petter and
Subaru really have had a tough time this season - and despite two podiums and flashes of pace from the Impreza WRC, it just hasn’t come together, either for the Norwegian or the Banbury-based outfit as a whole.
‘Hollywood’ is therefore tight-lipped on what he might achieve in the eleventh round in the 2007
FIA World Rally Championship: “Looking to this week and Rally New Zealand, it will of course be very different to Germany as we return to gravel,” he pointed out.
“While we showed good pace in Germany on the asphalt, it’s not something that naturally carries over to such differing conditions on gravel, but I am looking forward to seeing how we go.
“If things are working right, then we know we can be fighting for top spots from the start.”
Chris Atkinson meanwhile is more upbeat and with the WRC not visiting Australia this year he will have an extra reason to push as it will be the closest thing he gets this season to a 'home' event.
Furthermore after showing good pace in Germany and Finland, he is eager to again set some good times, although he is aware that consistency is very important too if he is to get a strong result come the finish on Sunday.
"Everyone saw that we had stage-winning pace in Germany, and I hope that we can carry that on to New Zealand," he noted.
"Of course, being on gravel, it is very different to driving on asphalt, but we had a good event in Finland and I am happy with the car.
"This year, New Zealand is the closest to being my home event and I will be pushing for more stage wins. The main focus for me this time though will be ensuring we are consistently fast throughout the three legs," he added.
Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally team:
[
Jari-Matti Latvala, car #9,
Henning Solberg, car #10 [and
Matthew Wilson, car #16 - not nominated for points]]
Good chance for Stobart team to score well?
Henning Solberg has set his sights on getting a top five finish on the Rally New Zealand.
The Stobart Ford man will be taking in the Auckland-based event for the third time on Friday and is eager to do well after a quick performance on the last gravel rally in Finland earlier this month, when he finished fifth in his Focus RS WRC car.
