Despite his enthusiasm over the new Citroen C4 WRC rally car in the off-season, Solberg admitted he was unpleasantly surprised with how his machine reacted on the snowy roads of Sweden. While some of the car parts have been sent back to Citroen for a thorough investigation, the former rally champ revealed that his poor performance in Sweden may not be all technical-related.
“(...) All I know for sure is that the good feeling we had while testing was nothing like the feeling on the rally. I did two small rallies before Sweden and two days of testing on different roads. We had the same sort of conditions on the rally but when it came down to it I just couldn't get the speed,” said Solberg, according to wrc.com
“There are many possible reasons including me. I mean, who knows? Maybe it was too much work and stress getting all the sponsors and team and car ready. Perhaps we weren't prepared enough. After the rally I spent three days in bed because I was completely run down,” added Solberg.
Despite his run in Sweden, Solberg confirmed he will now switch cars prior to the upcoming Rally Mexico, where he'll need tons of precision to tackle the tricky gravel roads of the event. Solberg's sponsorship allowed him to purchase 2 Citroen C4 WRCs this season. However, as the car he rallied through Sweden did not undergo any damage (except for the unexplainable lack of performance), he will continue with it in Mexico too.
Starting position will however be the good news in Mexico, as his 9th place in the overall classification will help him a lot during the first day of action.
“One small bonus of our Swedish result is a very good road position in Mexico. It’s a rally I've always been fast on and we've won it too. Based on how we did on Rally GB last year, we should be able to do even better in Mexico now we have a better car,” concluded Solberg.
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