According to the official site of the WRC, the 11th finisher in the 2009 WRC standings has decided to trade his Subaru S14 WRC2008 for an older version of the car, the S12b spec Impreza WRC2007. The 22-year old Swede explained his decision by the incompatibility between the car's capabilities and his driving style on the “slippery winter roads.”
The change is expected to last only for the Swedish event, after which the Norwegian driver will probably switch back to his 2-year old Subaru. However, an announcement is yet to be made by the Adapta World Rally Team driver on the matter.
“The homologated diffs for the Subaru WRC2008 do not suit my preferences on slippery winter roads. I have inherited a package of diffs, I did not have any possibility to influence the package and the regulations stop us from making new alternatives. Therefore I have decided to use the 12b in Sweden,” said Ostberg, according to the WRC site.
“I am aware that many doubted if this car was competitive with Ford and Citroen already in 2007. On paper that is possibly correct, a car built in 2006 is obviously a 'veteran car' in this game in 2010. But I like the S12, I am motivated to use it in Sweden and I will do all I can to perform well with it.”
Ostberg is yet to announce his programme for the 2010 campaign of the WRC from Rally Sweden onwards.
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