Solberg: Sardinia pre-event test a boost but...

Subaru number one driver, Petter Solberg has said that the Banbury-based squad are close to finding a solution to the technical issues which have blighted them on recent events.

Subaru conducted a six-day pre-event test in Sardinia last week in order to try and improve the competitiveness of the Impreza WRC and while Solberg isn't expecting miracles this weekend in Cyprus, he is impressed with how the team is continuing to push in order to try and turn things around.

Furthermore while 'Hollywood' has gone well in Cyprus in the past and won the event in 2003 en-route to the title, that must now seem like a long time ago, especially given his year to date. Indeed Petter knows that they must get the 'basics right' first if they are to stand any chance of fighting with Kronos Citroen's Sebastien Loeb and BP Ford's Marcus Gronholm for the win.

"I like the Cyprus Rally a lot and it's normally a rally we perform well on; we won in 2003 and also led the last two years' events," said the Norwegian. "For 2006 however we've got to be realistic. Of course I want to win - we all want to win, me, the team, Pirelli, everyone - but we've got to get the basics right before we can seriously challenge for victory.

"The team is working very hard and we're getting closer to finding a solution to the problems we've experienced in recent rallies. Last week they've been in Sardinia for a six-day test and everyone at the factory is going flat-out too. We've got to keep pushing on."

Subaru's sporting director, Luis Moya meanwhile is also optimistic that the work they did in Sardinia last week should aid their cause. He knows though that Cyprus is a demanding event: "To achieve a good result in Cyprus it's crucial to have good reliability and consistency as the rally is incredibly demanding on the cars, possibly the most demanding of the entire championship so far," he continued. "Historically it's claimed a number of retirements and, of course, the searing heat and dust can cause problems too.

"We hope we are well-prepared as a team; our drivers have trained especially for the temperatures and we've run a six-day test in Sardinia that should help us meet our performance targets in Cyprus as a team. We obviously hope to get a good result; both cars in the top six is a realistic prospect."