In Portugal the other weekend, no less than 4 tire punctures caused him to abandon the running on Friday and resume action in the event thanks to superally rules on Saturday, eventually finishing the event in 6th place. However, having scored 6 stage wins in the process, Solberg admitted his disappointment over not matching his point finishes with his great pace this start of campaign.
“I’ve calculated this and basically 27 points is one rally if I win and somebody retires but somebody needs to retire,” said Solberg in regards to his title chances this season, as he currently sits 5th in the drivers' classification, behind the Citroen and Ford works drivers.
“I’ll never give up,” he insisted. “I know how quickly things can change in rallying. The problem is my speed on the last three rallies doesn’t fit with the results I’ve been getting.”
One problem that may arise from these poor finishes is related to sponsorship though. Since Solberg is tackling his title dream in the WRC as a privateer – through Petter Solberg World Rally Team – his DS3 WRC only appears to rally every other weekend based on some sponsors' commitment to his efforts. However, lack of performances leads to lack of exposure, which in the end might affect Solberg's sponsorship scheme this campaign.
“What I am a little bit afraid of, because I have the sponsors to think about, is when you are too far away from the podium you don’t get that promotion that you need,” reckoned the Norwegian. “I’ve no worries [with my current sponsors] but what happens in the future I don’t know. I have to get close and it would be nice if one of the others retired soon.”
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