Petter Solberg won three of six races to lead the FIA World Rallycross Championship standings after the opening round which finished in Portugal today (Sunday).
Norway’s two-time FIA World Champion set a new lap record at the Montalegre circuit, despite suffering from sickness throughout the weekend. Solberg’s progress through the semi-final and final was hindered by a centre differential problem which affected the handling of the PSRX machine.
Solberg said: “I am actually very, very pleased with the second place in this afternoon’s final. As well as the centre diff trouble, the gearshift was also coming loose which made it quite tough in the semi-final and final. To be honest, I didn’t really stand much of a chance to challenge Kristoffersson’s victory. But anyway, it is an extremely good result in the first part of the title defence this season.
“This result gives us a chance to calm down a little bit, after such a busy pre-season. Of course, our test programme had been strong and we had good confidence in our team and the car, but we didn’t know anything about the performance levels of our rivals. But now, at least we know that we are competitive. This start gives me a great feeling for the upcoming races. I hope that we can stay on top of the table at Hockenheim.
“It was a good start for the team also. Liam [Doran SDRX team-mate] had a lot of bad luck and I very feel sorry for him. I know he put a lot in to his season’s preparation. He showed he has the speed and this is great. I am confident he will be back fighting in Germany next weekend.”
Final result:
1 Johan Kristoffersson 4m34.242s
2 Petter Solberg 4m38.032s
3 Timmy Hansen 4m45.929s
4 Davy Jeanney 4m47.167s
5 Andreas Bakkerud 4m51.232s
6 P-G Andersson N/A
Championship positions:
1 Johan Kristoffersson 27 pts
= Petter Solberg 27 pts
2 Timmy Hansen 24pts
3 Andreas Bakkerud 21pts
4 Davy Jeanney 16pts
= P-G Andersson 16pts
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