SDRX driver Petter Solberg is looking to better his 2014 WorldRX performance at Mettet in Belgium this weekend as he looks to take victory and extend his championship lead.
After finishing second in Portugal and winning in Hockenheim, Solberg leads the Drivers Championship by 15 points from Volkswagen Team Sweden‘s Johan Kristoffersson as the FIA World Rallycross Championship has its third round out of the thirteen planned for 2015. In the Teams Trophy, SDRX lead Ford OlsbergsMSE by 3 points with Team Peugeot-Hansen in third place on 65 points, and Solberg is hoping that his team-mate Liam Doran will have a better weekend after Hockenheim where mechanical issues prevented the English driver qualifying for the Final.
“We’ve made a good start to the season so far,” said Solberg. “We’ve laid some solid foundations with the championship lead after round two in Germany, but now we need to build on those. And that’s what this weekend is all about.
“As well as PSRX success, I’m also hoping my fellow Monster driver Liam Doran can get a change in fortune in Belgium. Doran was really quick last time out and he deserves a break. Right now the team we share with him is leading the teams’ standings and it would be fantastic to increase that advantage as well.”
However Solberg has unfinished business at Mettet after rear suspension failure on his Citroen DS3 Supercar cost him the win in 2014.
“We came into the final on the back of victory in the semi and everything was looking good,” insisted Solberg. “I took the lead and started to push as hard as I could to move ahead of the rest of the guys. Unfortunately a heavy landing on one of the small jumps broke the rear suspension – and, for a moment, it felt like my back as well – but we were just about able to carry on.
“With the rear of the car on the floor, it was impossible for me to keep the rest of the pack behind – but I managed it until the final corner. I finished third, but that was the hardest I think I ever worked for the bottom step of the podium. Honestly, my back was finished after that race. So now I want to come back to the beautiful Mettet track in Wallonia and keep the lead until the finish line – not just the final corner!”
The WorldRX of Belgium takes this weekend with heats one and two on Saturday followed by heats three and four with the Semi-Finals and Finals on Sunday.
