After the World RX of Canada, Petter Solberg was left bruised and with a heavily damaged PSRX Citroen and a race against time to make sure that the car was rebuilt in time for this weekends World RX of France, round eight of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship.
Thankfully, the former World Rally Champion has achieved his goal to be fully fit and to have the Citroen DS3 ready for action this weekend, “After the crash happened, I was a bit more worried about myself than the car,” said Petter.
“I knew, whatever shape the car was in, this team could fix it – don’t forget, this is the team that has helped me beat the manufacturers to the last two World RX titles. This team is the miracle team! Look at the car now, it’s perfect. Actually, it’s better than perfect. The car will be quicker than it was before; the complete rebuild of the car has given us the chance to add in some small details to the chassis that we probably wouldn’t have done in the middle of the season.”
With Solberg ready to defend his Championship lead in France, the Norwegian driver is well aware of the competition he will face and the support for a local World RX driver, “I love Loheac, it’s a great track with an incredible atmosphere. There will be so many people there cheering us on – it’s possible a few of them might be there for one man called Seb!” explained Solberg.
“The circuit at Loheac’s one of the best of the season and it’s a place where I’ve always gone really well. In the last two years, I’ve won my semi-final both times and won the final once, I finished second in the final last year. A similar result would be fantastic this weekend, but like I’m always saying: the emphasis is on the title. Everything we are doing is for the championship right now.”
However, while his focus is on the World RX Championship lead, Solberg also has another focus on his mind to discuss with the other competitors for the safety and spectacle of the sport, “What happened was an accident and while this had nothing to do with post-race celebrations, one thing I’m keen to talk to the other drivers about in France is where we do the donuts and where we loosen the belts to meet and say hello to the fans straight after the race. But now the focus is on France and the race weekend!”
