Henning Solberg has set his sights on getting a top five finish on the Rally New Zealand this coming weekend, the eleventh round in the 2007
FIA World Rally Championship.
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.
Currently running joint fifth in the drivers' championship, Henning will be looking to maximise his points haul to try and get back in front of his brother Petter, who occupies fourth and is one point ahead.
Although the last event in Germany was a tough one for the Norwegian - and only his third WRC outing on asphalt, he reckons that he actually learnt a few things there that should help him on the loose.
“Germany was a difficult rally but I think that driving on asphalt has taught me some things that will actually help to improve my driving on gravel, so with that in mind, I think New Zealand should be quite good,” he confirmed.
“Some parts of this rally are difficult with the high speeds and the narrow roads but generally I enjoy the stages.
"We will probably start with a similar setting to Finland; we made some good improvements with the suspension there which should also work in New Zealand.
“Top-five is definitely my target for this rally; I think it's a really good chance to collect some more points for both myself and the team.”
M-Sport boss, Malcolm Wilson meanwhile agrees that this event could be good for Henning, as well as his Stobart team-mates,
Jari-Matti Latvala and
Matthew Wilson, although the latter as normal won't be nominated to score manufacturers' points.
“This is an event where the Stobart team could potentially do very well,” added Wilson Sr.
“I think it certainly could be the best event for all three drivers because they have experience here and all showed good form on the last gravel event in Finland.
