Sarrazin took part in this year's Rally of Catalunya

Ex-Formula One test driver Stephane Sarrazin has won a plum seat with Subaru for only his second season in the World Rally Championship.

The 29-year-old Frenchman turned to rallying this year after five seasons testing with Prost and Toyota.

"It's remarkable that someone who has done 11 rallies and only three at world championship level can run at his pace," said Subaru boss David Lapworth.

"We think he's got what it takes to be a future world champion."

Sarrazin made his mark when he finished in fourth place in his privately-entered Subaru in this year's Rally of Catalunya. He also won the French national championship.

He will team up with 2003 world champion Petter Solberg of Norway for the championship season.

It's really a very big chance for me... after one year in rallying it's a great opportunity

Stephane Sarrazin 

"We've been very impressed by what Sarrazin has done this year," Lapworth said.

"We've signed Stephane for one year but the intention of our development programme is to find a future world champion. We've selected him because we think he's got what it takes."

Lapworth added that Sarrazin would do at least half of next year's 16 championship events, starting with Monte Carlo in January.

"It's really a very big chance for me. After one year in rallying it's a great opportunity," said the Frenchman, who is a former national karting champion.

"This year I pushed a lot to improve myself and I will push the same as this year to improve."

Subaru team boss, David Lapworth has revealed that they will switch to the 2005 specification Subaru Impreza WRC from the Rally Mexico onwards, the third round of the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship, which takes place on March 11-13.

Speaking to the official SWRT website, Lapworth added that while this date was not set in stone, several developments are planned throughout the season, in a bid to allow Petter Solberg to regain the drivers' crown.

"The new car is the biggest single development project we're working on at the moment," Lapworth stated, when asked what the team is currently doing.

"The plan is to launch it in Mexico and we're already well into its test plan. As well as completing a second endurance test this week, we're undertaking a series of performance appraisals before the start of the season.

"For the current car, any new developments will be fairly conservative for the first two events of the season - Monte Carlo and Sweden - as they're rallies where the focus is very much on tyres and tactics.



"They're not events where we feel we have to push for one tenth of a second per kilometre and, as both offer a massive variety of conditions, the best plan is to concentrate on preparation.

"In the longer term we've got lots of new developments to follow the introduction of the new car in Mexico.

"We've got two or three more major developments to drop in as the year goes on to keep moving ahead, but I'm not going to tell you what those are!"

Article from: Crash.Net

Stéphane Sarrazin 
Date of Birth : 02/11/75
Place of Birth : Ales, France
Lives : Switzerland
Marital Status :Single
Role : Driver


HISTORY
First Rally : 1995
WRC Debut : 2004 Germany
Co-Driver : Jacques-Julien Renucci

Hobbies : Cycling, tennis, swimming, computers

Website : www.stephane-sarrazin.com
Career highlights :


2005 - Signed to Subaru World Rally Team
2004 - Winner, French Rally Championship
1999 - F1 debut with Minardi at Brazilian Grand Prix
1997 - 2nd, French Formula Three Championship
1994 - French Formula Renault Champion
1992 - Winner, French National 1 Karting Championship
1991 - Winner, French Junior Karting Championship


The 2005 season will a significant one for Stéphane Sarrazin. The first Formula One driver to make a full-time switch to the World Rally Championship, up to now his motorsport career has been predominantly circuit-based. However, an electrifying WRC debut in 2004 and an incredible performance in the French National Rally Championship bought him to the attention of the Subaru World Rally Team. Still just 29 years old, Sarrazin has been rewarded with a works drive in the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship and becomes the latest driver to benefit from the Subaru's philosophy of developing fresh driver talent.

Learning the craft

Stéphane has been racing cars for as long as he can remember. Since his first karting event in 1987, the Frenchman displayed a natural talent for racing on four wheels and after honing his talent on the kart track he became French Junior Karting Champion in 1991. Twelve months later he was victorious again, this time winning the French National 1 Karting Championship.

The right formula

In 1993 Sarrazin's career moved up a gear when he entered the French Formula Renault Championship and finished the season in fifth place. The following year he took three pole positions, five wins and eleven podium finishes to become the series' Champion. By 1995 Sarrazin had progressed to the French Formula Three Championship. Over the next two seasons he further developed his race craft and by 1997 was one of the front-runners, with a record of three wins and nine podium finishes. Not content with finishing the series in second place, Sarrazin swapped his single-seater for a hatchback to make his rallying debut on the in 1995 Rallye Du Var in a Group N Renault Clio. He enjoyed the experience so much that he contested the rally again the following year.

In 1998 he progressed to the FIA Formula 3000 Championship, winning one round and finishing in fourth place overall. The same year, Sarrazin joined the Prost Formula One team as official test driver, a job he undertook for the next four years. In 1999 Stéphane finished fourth in the FIA Formula 3000 Championship and made his Formula One debut driving for Minardi at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Rallying beckons

Since his first event in 1995, rallying remained a passion for Stéphane and after winning the Group N class in the Rally Du Var in 2000, he won the event outright in 2001 in an Impreza WRC. But while his rallying ambitions grew stronger, his circuit racing talents were in demand more than ever. In 2001 he contested the 24 Hours Le Mans for Chrysler, while in 2002 he completed another year as a F1 test driver, this time for the F1 Toyota team, and finished sixth at Le Mans for Oreca. In 2003 Sarrazin secured two wins and eight podiums in the Dallara Nissan World Series, but worked hard to find a way to move permanently from the racetrack to the special stage. His big break came in 2004 when he secured an annual rally scholarship supported by Subaru France, which included three rounds of the World Rally Championship.

Scholarship success

His performance on his WRC debut made people take notice. Finishing ninth on Rallye Deutschland the Frenchman then went on to finish sixth in the Tour de Corse, before going two better in Catalunya where he was a remarkable fourth. He also dominated the French National Rally Championship at his first attempt, taking three outright wins on his way to the title.

A drive with Subaru

For 2005, Sarrazin will join 2003 World Champion Petter Solberg at the Subaru World Rally team as part of its driver line up. Together with experienced co-driver Jacques-Julien Renucci, the pair will broaden their WRC experience with the backing and support of one of the most successful teams in the sport.

Chris Atkinson 
Date of Birth : 18/11/79
Place of Birth : Bega, New South Wales, Australia
Lives : Oxfordshire, UK
Marital Status :Single
Role : Driver


HISTORY
First Rally : 2000
WRC Debut : 2005 Monte Carlo
Co-Driver : Glenn Macneall

Hobbies : Running, gym-training, jet-skiing, wake-boarding

Website : www.chrisatkinson.com.au
Career highlights :


2004 - Second, Australian Rally Championship
2004 - Winner, Asia Pacific Super 1600 Championship
2003 - Winner, Asia Pacific Super 1600 Championship
2002 - Winner, Australian Privateers Cup


The first Australian to become a full-time WRC driver, Chris Atkinson is a new face to the World Rally Championship but one Subaru believes is on course to be a star of the future. Talented and determined, Chris will benefit from Subaru's philosophy of developing the careers of promising newcomers. Having impressed with a Group N Impreza, 2005 looks set to be a momentous year as he moves up to the top class in rallying with the full support of the Subaru World Rally Team.

From speed freak to stockbroker

It's fair to say that rallying is in Chris Atkinson's blood. As a youngster in Bega, New South Wales, he spent much of his time watching his father, John, competing in the New South Wales Rally Championship, and from that point on he became hooked on the sport. A born competitor, he excelled at a variety of other sports including football, running, rugby and tennis, but was undoubtedly happiest when travelling under power, preferably at speed. As a teenager Chris spent much of his time enjoying the thrills and spills of motocross riding until 1995, when he was awarded an academic scholarship to Bond University and the dirt track action was put on hold. On successfully completing his commerce degree, majoring in finance and accounting, Chris' future as a stockbroker looked assured. And it was, at least it was until he decided he wanted to go rallying.

A family affair

Chris' first attempts at rally driving were from the co-driver's seat, navigating for his brother Ben aboard a 1972 Toyota Corolla on Australian regional championship events. However, after only a couple of events Chris decided he wanted a go behind the wheel himself, so the pair swapped seats for the final round of the 2000 Queensland Rally Championship. Although it was only meant to be a one-off experiment, Chris proved to be rather handy as a driver and the brothers stuck with their new places. Lessons at the Rick Bates Rally School followed, as well as more rally experience at club level, before his first major rally on the opening round of the 2001 Queensland Rally Championship. Remarkably, and with less than 80km of competitive driving under his belt, Atkinson was first in his class and third overall, a result that convinced him to tackle the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) the following year in spite of his lack of experience.

Championship debut

At the wheel of a privately entered Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Chris impressed in his first full year of competition in the ARC. He finished inside the top ten in Group N and well inside the overall top 20 at every round on which he competed. During the year Chris set second-fastest stage times on two occasions which, considering his age and experience, gave an indication of his tremendous potential. In one of the most competitive Australian Rally Championships ever, the Atkinson boys finished ninth outright and were crowned Privateer Champions. This performance brought Chris to the attention of Suzuki who gave him the opportunity to drive one of their Super 1600 Ignis models with Suzuki Sport team in the 2003 Asia Pacific Rally Championship.

Chris rewarded the team with a class win in the opening round of the Championship in Canberra. Next came a second place in New Zealand, a second in Japan and two remarkable wins in Thailand and India. Atkinson was duly crowned Asia Pacific Super 1600 Champion, but perhaps of more significance was his position of fifth overall, across all classes, in the Asia Pacific Championship - ahead of many more powerful 4WD turbo-charged cars.

The success story continued in 2004, when Atkinson was the dominant driver in the Australian Rally Championship, winning three of the six rounds. His success wasn't limited to the Australian shores as he successfully defended his Asia Pacific Super 1600 title and showed exceptional pace on rounds of the World Championship in New Zealand, Finland and Japan. In November, and with new co-driver Glenn Macneall, Atkinson finished his year on a high by winning the Group N category and finishing fifth overall on his first attempt at Rally Australia - the highest finish by a Group N entrant in the 17-year history of the event.

Making an impact

His performance was rewarded with a contract from the Subaru World Rally Team which will see him contest the majority of the sixteen WRC events in 2005. Alongside the Subaru team's other drivers, Petter Solberg and Stéphane Sarrazin, Atkinson will be looking to build on his impressive Group N and Super 1600 credentials and rise to the challenge of top-level rallying.

Atkinson gets a taste of his Impreza WRC



Atkinson gets a taste of his Impreza WRCAustralian Chris Atkinson had his first taste behind the wheel of the Subaru Impreza World Rally Car yesterday in preparation for his debut in the World Rally Championship next week in Sweden. Atkinson spent the majority of the day “shaking” down the car in preparation for next week’s Uddeholm Swedish Rally at the MIRA test circuit in England.

“While it wasn’t an actual test I spent the majority of the day in the car and was able to get a good feel for the car to give a clear picture of what to expect and now makes me even hungrier to get back in the seat,” said Atkinson.

“It was an amazing feeling to get out of the car and think that I have just driven the most technologically advanced cars in the world and most importantly felt comfortable driving it.”

Late December his rise to the top of the rallying world was confirmed when the Subaru World Rally Team announced that the Queenslander would join 2003 World Champion Petter Solberg and ex-Formula 1 driver Stephane Sarrazin in a three car attack on the World Rally Championship.

Since landing in England on New Years Day Atkinson ands his West Australian co-driver Glenn Macneall have been soaking up as much information from engineers and team members as possible.

“The WRC car is a whole new learning experience for me and incorporates superior technological to any other car I have previously driven, I have been asking question after question of the engineers when I have been in the workshop over the past month to find out more about what makes these cars tick,” said Atkinson.

“A week or so ago both myself and Glenn spent several days in the workshop helping to work on the cars and learn more about what makes them tick.”

Atkinson’s focus now turns to Sweden where he will make his debut in the World Rally Championship next Friday.

“I can’t wait to get out there in Sweden it is a pretty exciting event being my first with the team in a WRC car and first ever on snow and ice,” said Atkinson.

“We have our own plan going into the event and the main focus is on getting experience, my main aim is to continually improve throughout the event.”

Atkinson is the first Australian to become a full-time WRC driver and the first to contest any campaign since Michael Guest in 2000 who did three events in the now defunct F2 class and three (China, San Remo and Australia) in a Hyundai Accent WRC car.

Denis Giraudet to co-drive for Stephane Sarrazin in 2005

Stéphane Sarrazin has chosen Denis Giraudet to be his co-driver for the rest of the 2005 WRC season. With more than 25 years of co-driving experience, Giraudet is an ideal partner for Sarrazin who is preparing for his second rally with the Subaru team.

Date of Birth : 16/12/55
Place of Birth : Lorette, France
Lives : Lorette, France
Marital Status : Married with two boys, Mathieu and Clement
Role : Co-driver for Stéphane Sarrazin

HISTORY

First Rally : 1977
WRC Debut : 1981
Driver : Stéphane Sarrazin

Hobbies : Mountain biking, movies
Career highlights :

2004 - First, S1600cc Rally Monte Carlo (with Bernardi)
2001 - First, WRC Rally Catalunya (with Auriol)
1999 - First, WRC Rally China (with Auriol)
1998 - First, WRC Rally Corsica (with Auriol)
1996 - Winner, European Championship (with Schwarz)
1995 - First, WRC Rally Corsica (with Auriol)
1993 - First WRC victory (Finland with Kankkunen)
1993 - Winner, European Championship (with Baroni)
Winner, French Group A Championship (with Bugalski)

Having competed in the sport since 1977, Denis Giraudet is one of the World Rally Championship's most experienced co-drivers. The six-time WRC rally winner has sat alongside 11 drivers at the highest level, but it was with his countryman Didier Auriol that all-but two of those wins were achieved. Denis is the latest recruit to the Subaru World Rally Team, joining Stéphane Sarrazin for this season. Denis' sage approach should be the perfect foil for Stephane's speed and ability.

A fortunate accident

In 1977, the 21-year-old Denis was fascinated by motorsport; Formula One, Jacques Laffite and Ligier fired his early imagination. His switch to rallying came by accident, when an old school friend asked him to navigate on a rally. Despite being engaged in his national service at the time, Denis accepted the offer and climbed aboard a Simca 1000 Rallye for his first event: a round of the French Rally Championship.

Eleven years after that first rally, Denis had progressed through the national ranks to the point where he was on the verge of turning professional. He was now sitting alongside Philippe Bugalski and the pair had been offered a contract with Renault. Denis had to choose between his day job in an import/export business and a French Rally Championship assault with one of the country's rising star drivers. He stuck with the sport. He and Philippe won the two-wheel-drive title aboard a 21 Turbo in 1991.

Changing places

Denis switched to Lancia for 1992, where he and Philippe had a limited programme. The following year he was on the move again, this time to Toyota Team Europe. It was with the Cologne outfit that he forged what would be long-standing links with Didier Auriol. He worked as Didier's gravel-note crew, but was also TTE's reserve co-driver. He was pressed into action for the 1993 1,000 Lakes Rally alongside Juha Kankkunen. Despite this being his first event with the legendary Finn, the pair won.

More of the same

Following his first world championship win the previous year, 1994 meant more co-ordination and gravel-crew work with Toyota. His co-driving experience was further enhanced, however, by contesting the French Rally Championship with Francois Chatriot in a Celica. Corsica, 1995, brought another front-line WRC outing - this time with Auriol. For the second time, Denis won on his WRC debut with a driver. Toyota's exclusion from the following year's championship meant a quiet season for Auriol and a chance for Denis to sit with another driver: Armin Schwarz.

Familiar faces

Denis and Didier returned to Toyota for 1998 and '99, coming close to the world championship in the second of those two years - and taking the honour of being the only crew ever to win a WRC round in China. A season at Seat preceded a move to Peugeot which would net Denis his most recent outright world rally win: Catalunya, 2001. Since then, Denis has co-driven for Thomas Radstrom at Citroen and Auriol at Skoda, before turning his attention to France's up-and-coming rally talent in the form of Nicolas Bernardi - with whom he won the Junior World Rally Championship category in Monte Carlo last season - and now Stephane.

Subaru's 2005 World Rally Car to Debut in Mexico

The latest evolution of Subaru's Impreza World Rally Car will debut on March 11 at Rally Mexico, the third round of the 2005 World Rally Championship.

Click to view attachment

The Impreza WRC2005 has been jointly developed by the Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT), Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), the maker of Subaru vehicles, and Subaru Tecnica International (STI), the brand's performance arm.

Click to view attachment

The new car is wider (1800mm) - an increase of 30mm in the front and rear, meeting new regulations for 2005.

The suspension arm is extended and the front and rear struts, plus anchorage points, improved.

Click to view attachment

The body shell has been re-designed, including the front bumper and the front and rear fenders. The shell was designed by the Advanced Design Team at FHI, taking account of aerodynamics, cooling and driving performance in rallies.

The design team at FHI, led by Andreas Zapatinas, finalized styling in close collaboration with SWRT.

Click to view attachment

Composite material is newly adopted for the front and rear fenders to make the shell stiffer and lighter.

The horizontally opposed EJ20 engine offers enhanced performance to remain competitive and effective in the WRC.

A wide range of performance upgrades includes a direct water injection system and a larger turbocharger housing for stable engine combustion, plus a lighter flywheel and other lightweight components.

Click to view attachment

FHI and STI have established a motor sport engineering development project called "MSi", promoting rally car development and using facilities and technology for production car development.

Its work contributes to the development of a "quick and strong" rally car and also the performance and design of production cars.

Click to view attachment

The Impreza WRC 2005 is a development of the 2004 car designed under the guidance of ex Formula One car designer Ed Wood (UK). The 2004 model won five events in 2004, driven by Petter Solberg (Norway), the 2003 WRC Driver's Champion.

Solberg added another win on its final event, the second round of 2005 WRC, Rally Sweden.

Main characteristics of the Impreza WRC2005

1800mm widened body, bodyshell design change around the front and the side areas
Light and rigid composite material adopted for the front and rear fenders
Engine performance upgrades including direct water injection system, IHI turbocharger housing and a lighter flywheel
Reliability of the gearbox is enhanced with a new mechanism for the front differential
Refined cooling system including V-mount radiator
Improved suspension to balance with the widened body and enhance reliability
Forged aluminium wheel made by BBS
Improvements inside the car to lower the centre of gravity and for better serviceability
Adoption of DENSO spark plugs

Subaru will take a three-car team to Sardinia. The latest specification Impreza WRC2005's will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills), Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn MacNeall) and Stéphane Sarrazin (co-driven by Denis Giraudet).

After winning two of the first four rounds of the 2005 FIA WRC, Petter Solberg leads the 2005 drivers' series. Last year, he and Phil dominated the Italian event and were fastest on 13 of the rally's 19 stages to finish 2 minutes 7.9 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Petter will be looking to achieve another strong podium finish on this year's event. Driving the second nominated Subaru car will be Australian, Chris Atkinson, while Frenchman Stéphane Sarrazin will be seeking to gain experience at the wheel of his Subaru Impreza WRC2005 on his first WRC gravel event with the team.

Driver Quotes

Petter Solberg: New Zealand was a good rally for us and, although we struggled a little on the second pass through the stages, I'm pleased with the final result. Sardinia should be a very good event and I think we have a strong chance of winning it if everything works out well. It's a different rally to New Zealand as it's more narrow and twisty and that, along with the temperatures, is better for the tyres. I'll be running first on the road again, but that's the price you pay for leading the championship so I'm not complaining!

Chris Atkinson: "It was good to get a couple of stage wins in New Zealand this early on in my WRC career. Although we didn't maintain the speed all weekend, I think we learned a lot and made some changes that will help us in the future. The stages in Sardinia are a lot slower and narrower than those in New Zealand and that means it'll be even more important not to make mistakes. Narrower stages mean it can be easier to go off the driving line, hit a rock and take a wheel off. But it's a rally where Petter and the team worked well last year, so that's promising. We're aiming to run at a consistent pace all weekend and, if we can reach the same speed that we did on the first day in New Zealand, to keep that up all weekend. That way the end result could be good. Between rallies we're evaluating lessons that we've learned on each event and using that information to move forward before the start of the next, it's going well."

Stéphane Sarrazin:"I've spent some time testing the car on gravel and the feeling is very good. It was my first time on a loose surface and I'm happy with what we've achieved in a short time. It's good grip on gravel - better than I thought, and things seem positive. The driving style is only slightly different to tarmac, so I'm not modifying things too much. I'm just thinking about starting the recce next week and am planning to give my maximum. It's the first gravel rally for me so I'm going to be concentrating on learning, progressing and getting experience. I have a very good car, but it's all still very new to me."

The Car / The Challenge

Subaru World Rally Team Principal, David Lapworth: "The overall nature of the Sardinian event will be quite similar to last year. There are a lot of new sections and some of the narrowest, trickiest places have gone, meaning the route's probably a little bit more open. Generally though, the stages are akin to those used in 2004 so it's still a fairly twisty rally, with sandy surface stages that are quite difficult to read.

In terms of air temperature and rain statistics, it's likely to be a little cooler with a little bit more rain than in September 2004. The other thing that's different is that we're looking at stages after a long winter, rather than after a long summer. The effect of rain at this time of year is more dramatic as the ground cannot soak up large quantities of water. It's already damp underneath so will be likely to remain wet for longer. If it rains in September, the rain soaks away quickly and is gone in an hour.

We learned a lot about which tyres work well in Sardinia last year. Obviously it was a bit of an unknown to us, but it turned out that the preparations and testing we'd completed beforehand had been good, and that was confirmed during the rally. That gives us a lot of confidence regarding tyre choice this year. It seems that Pirelli had an advantage, but as we didn't have any benchmarks it's difficult to know how much of the credit should have gone to the tyres and how much to Petter and the car. This year, it will be interesting, with two other teams running on Pirellis, to compare Pirelli and Michelin and also Peugeot, Subaru and Mitsubishi.

Looking to Petter, he'll be continuing to balance his desire to win every rally with his Championship aspirations. Sardinia is one of his favourite rallies of the year and one where a win is very much on the agenda. If we're in a strong position we'll try to win the event, even if it involves a small level of risk. However, if we were in a position where it would involve a high level of risk then we need to think abut the Championship. Scoring six or eight points is a lot better than getting zero.

Chris is following exactly the same story as the previous event; it's a new rally for him and his goal is to put himself into a position to learn as much as he can, to be able to win the rally next year. Stéphane is focused on learning about driving on gravel and we're not setting any performance goals for him. It's more about development targets, learning about pace notes, learning about gravel tyres and getting a feel for a gravel set-up. He'll be competing on three gravel rallies this year and, after those, he needs to be able to compete with the best drivers in the world on a loose surface. In Sardinia he'll be concentrating on his notes and gaining experience. The first thing he needs to do is just drive a championship distance on gravel and experiment with tyres because that's obviously something he's not much experience of yet."

Between the Rallies

After returning from New Zealand, Petter Solberg ventured out on his snow scooter for a two day, 300km trek with his wife Pernilla and her family. The following week, he went quad biking and gave some swimming lessons to his three-year-old son, Oliver. Petter will complete some testing with the team over the weekend before arriving in Sardinia on Sunday evening.

On his journey from Auckland to Brisbane, Chris stopped off for a couple of business meetings in Sydney, but once back home all efforts were channelled into catching up with friends and working on his fitness-training programme. Although a mechanical problem prevented Chris hitting the waves on his jet-ski, he's hopeful members of his service crew can help him figure out where the problem is. Chris arrived in the UK on Wednesday 19 April for some meetings with the team, while on Friday his rally training in the UK will be the focus of a television feature. He's set to arrive in Sardinia on Sunday evening.

Frenchman Stéphane Sarrazin has been using the time since his last WRC outing in Sweden to prepare for his first gravel rally. He's been working closely with new co-driver Denis Giraudet, training on his bike, playing tennis and running, as well as spending time with his family and friends. After driving on gravel for the first time at a team testing session earlier this week, Stéphane will spend the weekend in Switzerland before flying to Sardinia on Monday.

Subaru will take two cars to Cyprus

The two crews of Petter Solberg / Phil Mills and Chris Atkinson / Glenn Macneall will be driving the latest evolution of the Subaru Impreza, the WRC2005.

This will be the fourth time Petter Solberg has contested the event. As a driver who relishes technical and twisty gravel stages, Petter is hoping for a repeat of the form that helped him win the event by more than four minutes in 2003. In the second Subaru, Australian Chris Atkinson has not contested the event before. The Subaru rookie will be aiming to gain experience of the rally's difficult stages, while demonstrating a good pace in his Impreza.

Driver Quotes

Petter Solberg: "I'm going to go to Cyprus with a different approach; of course we're going to try to win, but we know how difficult it is to do that these days. I'm going to start calm, see where the level is and then go for maximum attack on Saturday. From what I've heard, I think the rally is going to be very rough this year, it depends on how much they've worked on the roads. It's always a hard rally, very rough and bumpy with lots of loose rocks, but it's a rally that I like. We completed a tyre test this week, there was some improvement, but we'll have to wait and see how it works on the rally. You never know properly before you are fighting against the other guys."

Chris Atkinson: "Italy was good preparation for Cyprus I think. In Cyprus, we're expecting slightly higher temperatures and slower conditions, which will mean less airflow and higher in-car temperatures. We hope to avoid a repeat of the small incidents we had in Sardinia but continue with the same speeds. It's going to be very rough and I've heard that the stages haven't been repaired from last year, so they're likely to become rutted straight away. With average speeds below 60kph on some stages, it's important to quickly get into a good driving rhythm and avoid losing a lot of time through the long stages. I've been watching video footage of last year's route to familiarise myself with the conditions and am looking to gain as much experience as possible."

The Car / The Challenge

Subaru World Rally Team Principal, David Lapworth: "The outstanding things about Cyprus are the low average speeds and the twisty stages. It's by far the slowest rally of the year and is hard on the tyres, drivers, engines and transmission. Everything runs hotter as there's very little airflow and it can quite hot inside the cars. The stages take longer in Cyprus due to the low average speeds, a 30km stage takes more than 30 minutes and the overall temperatures build up during that time. There are some things we can do to keep the drivers cool. Fans in the car keep the air moving, there's a white roof, reflective windows and insulation between the engine compartment and the cockpit.

Cyprus will be the first really hot rough gravel rally with the new car. We're always a little nervous ahead of the extreme rallies, as there are so many things that can happen. But we've got good benchmark data from previous cars, especially the Impreza WRC2004 that's not radically different in concept, and we used the same test roads and sign-off criteria for this model. We're therefore pretty confident that the basics are right. But you never know whether the event itself will throw up something new and there are some things that are difficult to simulate in testing. For instance, we can't close off 30km of road so we close off 5km and drive up and down the same road. That's different from what's going to happen on the rally. Apart from anything else, 5km of terrain doesn't include all the combinations of rocks you might come across in the rally. You just hope that you can cope with them.

Looking to the tyres, Cyprus is traditionally a good event for Pirelli. It has a very strong record on the hot, rough rallies, but with every rally both tyre companies are revealing new developments. Pirelli's rival has obviously been working hard to address this weakness and it's obvious from the results in New Zealand and Sardinia they've made improvements. The opposition has looked strong recently and it's going to be interesting to see if Pirelli's new evolutions put them back ahead in Cyprus.

Cyprus, Greece and Turkey are all events where we expect Petter to be very strong. Traditionally he's done very well and the conditions suit his driving style, but they're also very tough and run very close together. If we look at the Championship position, we obviously need to keep calm, stay in control and maximise the points-haul over the next three rallies, not focus too much on winning any event in particular. What we want to do is to score more points than Sebastien or Marcus and, of course, that may require winning all three. This will be Chris' first experience of a classic hot event and so his main goal is to finish the rally and build his speed slowly and progressively. We want him to learn as much as possible about how hard he can push the tyres, the cars and himself in the extreme conditions."

Between the Rallies

With just over a week between the conclusion of one event and the start of the next, Petter and Chris have not had much time to relax. After attending a one-day Pirelli tyre test in Tuscany, Petter spent a few days in Monaco with his family. When we caught up with him, he was on his way to a birthday party with his wife Pernilla. He will attend another one-day tyre test on Saturday before arriving in Cyprus on Sunday, Chris returned to the Subaru World Rally Team headquarters in Banbury, UK on Monday 2 May. He's spent the week working with his engineers and with teams in different workshop departments to learn about how each component on his car is built. Chris is travelling out to Cyprus today along with his Glenn, Phil Mills and members of the management team to take part in an acclimatisation camp. For more information about this, see the article in the features section.

Next week the Subaru World Rally Team will return to the Mediterranean for the start of the seventh round of the 16-event 2005 FIA World Rally Championship, the Rally of Turkey. Beginning on Friday 3 June, the event will be the second of a trio of rough, gravel rallies held throughout May and June.

The event's harsh terrain should have a familiar feel. Run in the Anatolian mountains over a variety of broken gravel roads, the stages will be similar to those used in the preceding event in Cyprus. Twisty, rough and rock-strewn tracks make it one of the slower rallies of the year; in 2004 cars recorded average speeds of 80.1kph in Turkey, compared to 65.6kph in Cyprus and 81.2kph in Greece.

This will be the Rally's third appearance in the FIA WRC calendar and the second time that it will be held in the height of Summer. Temperatures are expected to be similar to 2004 when a date shift from February to June meant they were in excess of 35°C, although rainfall in the mountains remains a possibility. Last year damp conditions dominated Leg one, while in 2003 the event was almost cancelled when unusually heavy rains badly damaged the mountain roads.

Beginning in Antalya with a ceremonial start on Thursday 2 June, the rally will start in earnest on Friday 3 June at 0610rs. The three-day event will be based in the costal resort of Kemer and will be contested over 18 rough gravel stages and a total competitive distance of 348.43 kilometres. The longest test will be the Olympos at 33.35km, which will be used as the last stage of the event, while the shortest, the Efes Pilsen Super Special at 2.5km, will be used twice. The winning car is expected to cross the finish ramp in Kemer at 1255hrs on Sunday 5 June.

Entries

The Subaru World Rally Team will be entering two cars in the Rally of Turkey, to be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn MacNeall). Stéphane Sarrazin and co-driver Denis Giraudet will complete the recce to gain experience of the event.

Last year in Turkey Petter finished third - just beaten to second place by Marcus Gronholm after a thrilling final Leg battle. Aboard his Subaru Impreza WRC2005, Petter will be seeking to secure another podium finish this year. His team-mate Chris Atkinson has not contested the event before. Making only his sixth competitive outing in a WRC car, the Australian will be aiming to gain experience of both his Impreza and the event.

Driver Quotes

Petter Solberg: "We need some luck now and for things to work out well for us. We didn't have such a good event in Cyprus, but Turkey is a rally that I like a lot. We had some problems there last year and were unlucky with the watersplash, but now I'm ready to fight back. It will be a tough event, but the team has been working really hard with the car since Cyprus. Now I'm ready to get back behind the wheel and start the event."

Chris Atkinson:"After a couple of results that have not been so good, I'm looking forward to this event and to getting out on the stages. We've learned that we can drive the car at a safe pace on rough gravel roads and now I'd like to pick up the speed. I know the car can handle it, so it's time for me to move things forward a little bit and that's what I'll be looking to do in Turkey."

The Car / The Challenge

Subaru World Rally Team Principal, David Lapworth: "Even though the ambient temperature is expected to be a couple of degrees higher in Turkey than it was in Cyprus, the average speeds are also higher meaning the event is slightly easier on the cars' cooling systems. The stages are a bit of a mixture; some are run at sea level, while others are 1500 metres above sea level. The high stages make things a bit easier for the drivers, as the air temperature is a bit cooler. However, it doesn't help the car very much because as the air gets thinner, it loses its cooling effect and that compensates for the lower temperatures. That means that, on the higher stages, the event will be almost as demanding for the brakes and engines, as in Cyprus.

Although the rally route is not as twisty as the one in Cyprus, the speed still drops below 60kph in some sections. It's still a relatively new event, so we won't know the condition of the stages until we've completed the recce, but I wouldn't expect it to be as rough and rutted as Cyprus. Surprisingly, a feature that's affected this event in the last couple of years has been rain. You wouldn't have expected it looking at the statistics, but there were heavy showers before the start of the 2004 event, even though it was held in mid-summer.

If it's warm and dry this year, as expected, it will be hard on the tyres, but perhaps not as hard as it was in Cyprus. The repeated stages in New Zealand and Sardinia showed that Michelin have made a big step forward in this area recently, but Pirelli have been working hard to improve the situation. Although we tested some of the new tyres before Cyprus, Petter's early exit from the event didn't really give us a chance to see what they were capable of. Pirelli has another tyre variation for Turkey, and it'll be interesting to see how they perform. Most rallies now repeat the morning stages in the afternoon. In New Zealand and Sardinia, the first loop of stages featured sand and loose gravel, which Pirelli was competitive on. However, in the afternoon when the roads were clean and hard, Michelin had the edge. It's a difficult situation due to the testing regulations. We're not allowed to test outside Europe, so we won't know how good the tyres are until the start of the event.

Looking to the drivers, this is definitely an event that Petter can win. The terrain suits his style of driving, it's traditionally been good for Pirelli and we've got a good record on rough events. Chris leaned a hell of a lot in Cyprus and that will be good for him. One of the hardest things as a young driver is to know how hard you can push the car on rough gravel. It's difficult, no matter how talented you are, to look at a piece of rough road and know exactly how much the car can take. Before this year, Chris had only driven Group N cars, which have to be driven more sympathetically than a WRC car. However, while a WRC car can take an unbelievable amount of punishment, they're not indestructible. Judging that fine line is part of the skill and Chris is much better equipped to deal with that than he was a month ago."

Between the Rallies

Petter Solberg experienced a quieter week than normal as he fought to get over a bout of 'flu. More used to snow scootering, boxing, skiing and a range of other dynamic pursuits, Petter was confined to his bed during his recuperation, something he found a bit boring. After beating off the worst of his illness, he was quickly up and about and on Thursday 26 he travelled to the SWRT HQ in Banbury UK for meetings with team management and engineers.

Wearing the SWRT action man badges this time were Chris Atkinson and Glenn MacNeall. Currently based in the UK, Chris and Glenn challenged members of the Subaru team to a karting endurance race on Monday 23. Despite qualifying in pole position, Chris's team eventually finished second out of the 15 teams, while Glenn was right behind in third. Chris also spent time at a motocross track with some of his technicians and in Wales, where he went mountain biking with Phil Mills, SWRT driver trainer John Mills and a friend of his from New Zealand. Both Chris and Petter will arrive in Turkey on Sunday 29 May, ready for the pre-event recce.

Petter can win in Turkey


This week the Subaru World Rally Team will return to the Mediterranean for the start of the seventh round of the 16-event 2005 FIA World Rally Championship, the Rally of Turkey. Beginning on Friday 3 June, the event will be the second of a trio of rough, gravel rallies held throughout May and June. The Subaru World Rally Team will be entering two cars in the Rally of Turkey, to be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn MacNeall). Stéphane Sarrazin and co-driver Denis Giraudet will complete the recce to gain experience of the event. Last year in Turkey Petter finished third - just beaten to second place by Marcus Gronholm after a thrilling final Leg battle. Aboard his Subaru Impreza WRC2005, Petter will be seeking to secure another podium finish this year. His team-mate Chris Atkinson has not contested the event before. Making only his sixth competitive outing in a WRC car, the Australian will be aiming to gain experience of both his Impreza and the event.

Petter Solberg: "We need some luck now and for things to work out well for us. We didn't have such a good event in Cyprus, but Turkey is a rally that I like a lot. We had some problems there last year and were unlucky with the watersplash, but now I'm ready to fight back. It will be a tough event, but the team has been working really hard with the car since Cyprus. Now I'm ready to get back behind the wheel and start the event."

Chris Atkinson:"After a couple of results that have not been so good, I'm looking forward to this event and to getting out on the stages. We've learned that we can drive the car at a safe pace on rough gravel roads and now I'd like to pick up the speed. I know the car can handle it, so it's time for me to move things forward a little bit and that's what I'll be looking to do in Turkey."

Subaru World Rally Team Principal, David Lapworth: "Even though the ambient temperature is expected to be a couple of degrees higher in Turkey than it was in Cyprus, the average speeds are also higher meaning the event is slightly easier on the cars' cooling systems. The stages are a bit of a mixture; some are run at sea level, while others are 1500 metres above sea level. The high stages make things a bit easier for the drivers, as the air temperature is a bit cooler. However, it doesn't help the car very much because as the air gets thinner, it loses its cooling effect and that compensates for the lower temperatures. That means that, on the higher stages, the event will be almost as demanding for the brakes and engines, as in Cyprus.

Although the rally route is not as twisty as the one in Cyprus, the speed still drops below 60kph in some sections. It's still a relatively new event, so we won't know the condition of the stages until we've completed the recce, but I wouldn't expect it to be as rough and rutted as Cyprus. Surprisingly, a feature that's affected this event in the last couple of years has been rain. You wouldn't have expected it looking at the statistics, but there were heavy showers before the start of the 2004 event, even though it was held in mid-summer.

If it's warm and dry this year, as expected, it will be hard on the tyres, but perhaps not as hard as it was in Cyprus. The repeated stages in New Zealand and Sardinia showed that Michelin have made a big step forward in this area recently, but Pirelli have been working hard to improve the situation. Although we tested some of the new tyres before Cyprus, Petter's early exit from the event didn't really give us a chance to see what they were capable of. Pirelli has another tyre variation for Turkey, and it'll be interesting to see how they perform. Most rallies now repeat the morning stages in the afternoon. In New Zealand and Sardinia, the first loop of stages featured sand and loose gravel, which Pirelli was competitive on. However, in the afternoon when the roads were clean and hard, Michelin had the edge. It's a difficult situation due to the testing regulations. We're not allowed to test outside Europe, so we won't know how good the tyres are until the start of the event.

Looking to the drivers, this is definitely an event that Petter can win. The terrain suits his style of driving, it's traditionally been good for Pirelli and we've got a good record on rough events. Chris leaned a hell of a lot in Cyprus and that will be good for him. One of the hardest things as a young driver is to know how hard you can push the car on rough gravel. It's difficult, no matter how talented you are, to look at a piece of rough road and know exactly how much the car can take. Before this year, Chris had only driven Group N cars, which have to be driven more sympathetically than a WRC car. However, while a WRC car can take an unbelievable amount of punishment, they're not indestructible. Judging that fine line is part of the skill and Chris is much better equipped to deal with that than he was a month ago."

Petter and Chris head for WRC Finland



Subaru World Rally Team drivers Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson will tackle some of the fastest and most spectacular roads of the FIA World Rally Championship when they begin Rally Finland, the tenth of the sixteen-round series. Starting on Thursday 4 August from the host town of Jyvaskyla, the three-day event is regarded as one of the classics of the WRC calendar. Often referred to as the 'Finnish Grand Prix', Rally Finland is unquestionably the fastest of the season. Smooth, wide, undulating gravel stages enable drivers to reach speeds of more than 200kph, while the numerous 'yumps', the famous jumps that punctuate the route, demand the ultimate in confidence and pace-note accuracy. Technically, the event is a difficult one. Jumps can launch a rally car 50 metres through the air and lead directly into blind crests and sixth gear corners.

Subaru will enter a two-car ream on Rally Finland. The two Impreza WRC2005's will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall). Both Petter and Chris will be eligible to score points in the 2005 FIA Manufacturers' Championship.

Petter has competed in Finland six times before. His best result came in 2003 when he finished second. Currently second in the battle for the 2005 World Championship for Drivers', Petter is aiming for a strong points finish next week. The Subaru team's latest signing, Chris Atkinson, tackled Rally Finland for the first time last year. He finished the rally in 33rd place at the wheel of a Group N specification Subaru Impreza. Next week will mark Chris's Finland debut at the wheel of the more powerful WRC specification Impreza.

Petter Solberg: "Finland is a great event and one of my favourites of the year. There's a good atmosphere, it's well organised and the stages are incredible. After Argentina the feeling in the car is pretty good now, and I'm hoping that the final preparations at the test this weekend will mean we're very competitive on the rally. I've got my fingers crossed that everything will be perfect for a good rally, but for this one it's a little bit cautious too. For sure you have to attack, but it's not a good idea to start Finland feeling over confident. I'm ready to give it my best shot, and I hope it will be a good show for the spectators. A lot of my supporters come across from Norway and hopefully we can give them something to cheer about."

Chris Atkinson: "I'm really looking forward to it. I completed the route last year in a Group N Impreza so I've already got some experience of the stages, which I think will be of some benefit. But in Finland you really can't underestimate the value of experience. It's one of those events that you need to do time and time again before you get close to the experts. The roads are pretty challenging, very fast, with lots of blind crests and jumps, but they're a type of road that I like. The speed doesn't faze me; I guess it's something I've become comfortable with after so many events in Australia where the roads are often just as fast. I'm hoping to get a good set-up at the pre-event test on Friday, one that will enable me to push a little harder on the rally and show some good speed."

Subaru World Rally Team Principal, David Lapworth: "Rally Finland is all about confidence. It's a real drivers rally and one that sorts the men from the boys. In terms of driving line, precision and commitment to the notes, it is the hardest of the year, but the smooth flowing stages also make it one of the most popular. There is no room for half-hearted commitment - I mean that technically and in terms of attitude - drivers have to attack from the beginning to the end of every stage and have extremely precise pace notes. A lot of the corners are blind and most are very fast. The nature of the event is fairly consistent from Friday through to Sunday and, compared to some of the recent Mediterranean rallies, it isn't a car-breaker. It's not particularly hard on the cars and it doesn't normally wear out the tyres, so drivers don't need to be too tactical or gentle in their approach, this one is all about performance.

The ideal car for Rally Finland is one that gives the driver plenty of confidence at high speed, but also has lots of grip. Unfortunately these two characteristics are slightly contradictory, and that's the technical challenge. I've said this before, but the ideal for Finland is a vehicle that handles like a sports car and rides like a limousine. The car needs to be agile, with sharp reactions and precise handling but, on the other hand, it needs soft suspension and lots of wheel travel to get grip. In preparing cars for Chris and Petter we're trying to find a recipe that provides the maximum grip together with high-speed precision and stability. Because it's so easy to get caught out over a jump or a corner on a crest, the tendency is to bias this mix towards the response and high speed confidence. Regardless of the amount of grip, it's no good if the driver isn't sure how the car is going to correct itself after a bad jump, or if it goes light over a crest.

To fine-tune the handling of the Impreza WRC2005 for the conditions, we are holding a three day pre-event test in Finland during which we'll be trying out some new suspension components and set-ups. Finland is an event I believe we can win and, of course, that's the result we're aiming for. But, in terms of strategy, we're keeping an open mind as a lot will depend on the conditions on the day."

SUBARU RALLYE DEUTSCHLAND PREVIEW

Manufacturer: Subaru
Press Release Type: Pre-event Release

The Subaru Impreza WRC2005 will make its asphalt rally debut next week when the FIA World Rally Championship moves to Germany for round 11 of the series, Rallye Deutschland.

After nine consecutive loose surface rallies, Rallye Deutschland is the first all-asphalt event since Monte Carlo, and the first of three such events scheduled for the remainder of the season. Based in the countryside around Trier, the oldest city in Germany, the rally presents crews with some of the most specialist stages of the year.

The event is made up of two old German national rallies rolled into one, and each Leg has a very distinctive character. Stage conditions vary between the narrow vineyard roads of the Mosel region with its long, fast straights and 90-degree corners, the smooth roads of Saarland and the bumpy, rough concrete tracks of the Baumholder military ranges. Designed for tank training exercises, the army roads are unlike anything else in the Championship. Flanked by huge, unforgiving concrete kerbstones, the wide asphalt sections are abrasive and dirty, while a fine dusting of sand makes them exceptionally slippery when wet. The military area was the scene of several high-profile accidents in 2004, so this time the route is being re-designed to make it safer. With this year's rally scheduled in August, when weather conditions are likely to be changeable, the event's mix of road surfaces is expected to prove a tough challenge for drivers and tyres alike.

The only WRC event held in central Europe, Rallye Deutschland is especially popular with fans. Last year more than 200,000 flocked to the stages to watch their favourite drivers in action and this year should be no different. The rally comprises three Legs, 355 competitive kilometres and 19 timed special stages. There will be a single service area at Bostalsee, which is 60km from Trier. The winning car is expected to cross the finish ramp at 1630hrs on Sunday 28 August.

Entries

Subaru will enter a three-car team on Rallye Deutschland. The three Impreza WRC2005's will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) Stephane Sarrazin (co-driven by Denis Giraudet) and Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall). On this event Petter and Stephane will be eligible to score points in the 2005 FIA Championship for Manufacturers.

Petter has competed in Germany three times before. His best result came in 2003 when he finished eighth. An encouraging start to the rally last year was brought to a dramatic end on Leg two, when his car crashed into one of the concrete blocks that line the military roads. Returning to the WRC after his last rally in Greece, Stephane Sarrazin made an impressive Rallye Deutschland debut in 2004, finishing ninth overall in a privately entered Impreza WRC. Next week will mark Chris Atkinson's debut on the rally.

Driver Quotes

Petter Solberg: "Last year's rally was a very frightening one for Phil and I, and I hope that the changes that have been made to the stages will improve things for all the competitors this time. The team has worked very hard on the tarmac specification car; there are lots of little improvements all around, and I'm looking forward to getting out on the roads next week. Pirelli too have worked hard and have come up with some additional tyre options for us. At this stage in the season things are tough, and there's a lot of pressure on us but I'm remaining positive. My aim for the rally is to get on the podium, but of course I'll push for better if that looks possible. We'll have to wait and see how the whole package works on Friday."

Stephane Sarrazin: "Rally Germany will be interesting as it's the first WRC rally that I will start for a second time. I enjoyed my first attempt last year and the stage times were pretty good, so I'm keen to see what I can do this year with the full backing of a manufacturer team. I tested the WRC2005 Impreza on tarmac at the end of June and again this week and it feels very good. Of course we won't know how quick we are compared to the others until Friday morning, but I'm feeling very positive and ready to give my best effort. I still have a lot to learn about the car, but next week I hope to be able to score some points for the team - that's my objective."

Chris Atkinson: "This will be my first attempt at a proper WRC tarmac rally and I'm expecting it to be a steep learning curve. This year's all about learning and gaining experience, but this rally is going to be a bigger challenge than normal. On this occasion, my stage times are not the primary consideration, instead I'm aiming to achieve a good understanding of the car and set-up and complete the route. The roads are notoriously difficult, with constantly changing surfaces and I'll be trying my best not to get caught out. I've done only one small tarmac rally before, that was in China in a Group N Subaru, but that's the limit of my experience. I think the most difficult thing will be predicting the grip levels on the different surfaces. But I've been studying the video footage from previous years and am keen to get out there. I'm looking forward to the open, flowing roads of Leg three the most, from what I've seen they look closer to the conditions on the other tarmac events of the season."

The Car / The Challenge

Subaru World Rally Team Principal, David Lapworth: "Germany is the first of three pure tarmac events this year and is significant for us as it's the first time we'll compete with the Subaru Impreza WRC2005 on this surface. Compared to the model we used in Monte Carlo, the WRC2005 has all new tarmac suspension and we also have the benefit of more tyre options from Pirelli which we'll evaluate at our pre-event test this weekend.

A difficult aspect for the drivers in Germany is that the three days are all very different in nature, both to each other and anything else in the Championship. They don't flow as they do on a traditional asphalt rally, which makes it hard for drivers to get into a rhythm. In Germany it's full throttle, hanging on, hanging on some more, then brake and turn, while on a classic asphalt rally the roads tend to flow more from one corner to the next and it's much easier to get a feeling for the braking points and the balance of the car. In Germany there are lots of dead straight sections that provide no feedback at all. It can be hard for drivers to get any feeling for the level of grip, or the balance of the car and that makes it much more difficult.

We expect the competition in Germany to be extremely tough. After all, this is the closest Sebastien has to a home event, and with three consecutive wins here it's obviously a strong rally for Citroen too. We'll do all we can to keep them under pressure. We're now well into the second half of the season and Petter has some work to do if he's to catch Sebastien. We have to get some good results now and Petter's strategy here is to push wherever possible. We need to win some rallies. For Stephane, this rally represents the first proper chance to show what he can do. Monte Carlo was a difficult rally to attempt with a new car but he did very well and, where the conditions allowed him to be more adventurous, he set some good times. He's done some testing in the new car and so he's more familiar with it and if we look at what he did last year, we have to think that he's going to be very impressive. Chris is the driver with the least experience of the event, so for him it's going to be all about learning."

Between the Rallies

In the two weeks since Rally Finland, each of the team's three drivers has been kept busy with a variety of promotional work, fitness training and testing ahead of Rallye Deutschland. Travelling furthest on this occasion was Chris Atkinson who flew to Montreal on 15 August to be the special guest at an Impreza launch event organised by Subaru Canada. During his three-day trip, Chris attended a variety of public and media functions and gave high-speed rides for VIP guests in an STI version Impreza at a circuit close to Mont Tremblant on Thursday. Stephane Sarrazin was the first to travel to Germany, as he prepared for a day of testing on roads close to Trier on Thursday. Petter is scheduled to test on Friday and Saturday and Chris will also attend, flying in directly from Canada.

Preview - Swedish Rally, 2-5 February 2006

27 January 2006

The Event

Next week the FIA World Rally Championship will swap the French Riviera for the snow-bound forests of southern Scandinavia when it heads to Sweden for round two of the 16-round series, the Swedish Rally. The event, commencing with a ceremonial start on Thursday 2 February from it’s base in the small university town of Karlstad, is the only true winter rally in the WRC.

While it’s not unusual for temperatures in the area to plummet to minus 30°C at this time of year, full snow conditions are by no means guaranteed. Last year the event was run in relatively mild conditions, giving a real mix of road conditions, including snow, ice and sections of frozen gravel.

The Swedish Rally remains a specialist event that demands a totally different approach from other rallies. With top speeds approaching 200kph, the ability to use the snow banks is essential and drivers ’lean’ their cars against them on the exits of fast corners to help guide them round at maximum speed. To increase the grip, cars are run on narrow snow tyres fitted with tungsten carbide tipped studs that cut down through the icy surface to provide maximum traction. Local knowledge of the conditions still counts for a lot though – in fact only one non-Scandinavian driver has won the event in the last 53 years.

Following the start in Karlstad on Thursday evening, the competitive action gets underway on Friday morning at 0650hrs with a 10 minute service before the first of Leg one’s six stages. The rally includes 19 special stages and a competitive distance of 349,02km, four stages fewer than 2005. The total route is also 300km shorter this year. The event will conclude on Sunday at 1502hrs when the winning car crosses the finish ramp back in Karlstad.
Entries

The Subaru World Rally Team will enter two Impreza WRC2006 cars in the Swedish Rally. Having contested the event seven times in previous years, Petter Solberg finally achieved his dream of winning the rally he considers his ’home’ event last year. He is aiming to repeat the win this year.

Chris Atkinson will drive the second car, his first competitive outing in the Impreza WRC2006. Chris made his Swedish Rally debut last year, his first rally with the Subaru team.

Driver Quotes

Petter Solberg:"At the moment it’s very exciting to see how the car and set-up performs in competitive conditions. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to show how good the car was in Monte Carlo, but the feeling is good. I hope we have a good chance to get the same result as last year in Sweden. This would just be brilliant as there will be a lot of people I know and a lot of support from Norway. I view this rally just like Rally Japan – as my home event."

Chris Atkinson: "We’re obviously looking forward to the Swedish Rally, as it’s one of the most enjoyable rallies of the year for a driver. However it’s still a specialist event and although we’ll be aiming for a good result, we’ll still have to tread carefully. This will be my first rally with the new car, although I got a good feel for it when we tested in Sweden earlier this year. I’m quite happy with the performance but we ve got a lot more learning to do. For this rally, a realistic goal is to get in the top six. There will be a lot of local drivers who know the conditions and roads well, however we’ll aim to be towards the front."

The Car / The Challenge

Subaru World Rally Team Performance Director, David Lapworth: "In many respects, the hardest part is preparation. This is the only rally of the year that takes place in full snow conditions with winter temperatures to match and there is a lot of work that’s exclusive to just this event, for instance, making sure that components and seals work in the low temperatures and don’t ice up. Bizarrely enough, overheating is a big problem in Sweden as the radiator can become blocked with snow. A few degrees above or below zero can make a huge difference to the conditions and since teams are only allowed to test for four days, you’d need to be very lucky to experience every eventuality. In this case, we draw on the experience of previous years.

To add to this, the tyres we use in Sweden are completely unique and, in reality, we prepare a range of tyres for just this rally. The tyres are very tall and narrow with long studs, which stick out from the tyre by as much as 8mm. This gives much more grip than you would expect on snow, but the car is still much less precise and doesn’t respond as quickly as when it s on slicks on tarmac. On the other hand, it’s much more forgiving and you can put it into lovely long slides, steering mostly with the brakes and the throttle. Great fun, once you relax!

The challenges of this rally are compounded as the conditions of the road can vary massively. The hardest point is if there hasn’t been any snow or ice and the gravel is showing through – it can rip the studs out of the tyres and if you lose them there is a big impact on performance. When you start to lose studs, you start to lose grip as 90% of it comes from the studs, not from the tyre itself. Temperatures have got relatively mild in recent years, so we could see the patches of gravel showing through again this year. In fact Petter won the rally last year as he looked after his tyres better on the stages where there was a lot of exposed gravel.

The average speed of the rally is quite high: at approximately 120kph it’s probably the second fastest after Finland, but the top speed can reach 200kph in places where they re flat out in sixth gear. The grip level from tyres is much higher than you would expect, but still relatively low compared to every other rally so you end up compromising the high speed slightly and running the car reasonably soft, looking for grip.

Petter’s goal this year is to win the rally. As far as we can tell from the variable conditions in Monte Carlo, we’re pleased with the new car’s performance. There are so many different factors in that event - tyres, conditions, driver - that it s difficult to draw absolutely objective conclusions about the cars. From what we could see, and from our analysis of split times and knowing who’s on which tyre at what time, we think we’re very competitive. Chris has one year’s experience of the rally behind him, but he’s not a Scandinavian so he hasn’t grown up on snow and ice, and a podium could be asking a lot. He can, nevertheless, make the top six, as he showed last year that he can go fast when conditions are predictable. He can’t seriously challenge the experienced Scandinavians, but he will be close."

Australian driver will contest Rally Ireland
The Subaru World Rally Team announced today that its 26-year-old Australian driver Chris Atkinson will contest Rally Ireland, a candidate event for inclusion in the 2007 World Rally Championship.

More used to competing alongside team-mate and ex world champion Petter Solberg in a WRC specification Impreza, Atkinson and co-driver Glenn Macneall will drive a Group N Subaru on the two day Irish event which starts from the host city of Sligo on 10 March.

First run in 2005, the rally comprises 268 kilometres of competitive asphalt stages in counties Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Sligo and Tyrone. With the aim of becoming a round of the WRC series in 2007, this year's event will be run to full WRC standards and is the only full asphalt rally to undergo an inspection by the sports governing body, the FIA.

“It's unfamiliar territory for me, but from what I've heard it's going to be a lot of fun,“ said Atkinson. “I've never even been to Ireland before, let alone competed there, but I know it's a country where rallying is very popular and the local competition is bound to be pretty fierce. But it's great to have the opportunity to get more asphalt kilometres under my belt so I'm really looking forward to it.”

“Gaining more experience on asphalt is one of Chris's development objectives this year,” said SWRT performance director, David Lapworth. “The challenging stages in Ireland will be great practice for him. He needs all the asphalt experience he can get but, in particular, coming from sunny Australia, he hasn't had many chances to drive in the wet – that shouldn't be a problem in Ireland!”

Press Release Subaru World Rally Team

RallyTeam Olsbergs has registered Thomas Rådström with co-driver Jörgen Skallman to start in the Swedish Rally 2006 in the beginning of February.

The team will be well prepared for the event in the Swedish forests in an updated, and now red, Subaru Impreza WRC.

"We are very happy to put 'Rådis' on the start line in the Swedish Rally which is one of Thomas Rådströms absolute favourites among rally events," the team stated in a release.

Rådström, who with RallyTeam Olsbergs has had a couple of successful seasons in the Swedish Championship, is also looking forward to give the other WRC top drivers a hard fight for the podium positions.

"Rådström will drive the WRC event Swedish Rally 2006 and after that we'll take new decisions for each event," explained team boss Göran Henriksson. "We are very excited to see what Thomas Rådström can do in the Swedish Rally and also how competitive our Subaru WRC are, updated for 2006 with active diffs etc."

E.A. Source RallyTeam Olsberg

Petter’s Home Rally



Petter Solberg is the only FIA World Rally Champion who has not competed on his home soil in a round of the World Championship. But that could all change next year as Rally Norway is bidding to become a fixture on the WRC calendar from 2007 onwards. Should the rally be successful, the Subaru World Rally Team will be well-prepared since immediately after Rally Sweden, drivers Petter Solberg, Chris Atkinson, co-drivers Phil Mills and Glenn Macneall, plus SWRT Sporting Director Luis Moya and Subaru Manufacturer Principal Toshi Azuma left for the mountains of Norway. Both crews negotiated the challenging mountain stages in the Rally Norway recce on 7 and 8 February, a mark of how seriously the team is taking the rally’s bid.

The rally is based in the small town of Hamar, approximately 120km to the north of Norway’s capital city, Oslo and, conveniently, just over three hours’ drive from the Swedish Rally HQ in Karlstad. Both Petter and Chris drove through the 14 special stages on Tuesday and Wednesday. Petter was particularly enthusiastic about the quality of the roads: “The stages are incredible here. They are very different from the Swedish stages, which are very icy – the roads in Norway are up in the mountains, meaning there is a lot more snow. In fact, we had 30-40cm of snow in 24 hours. The stages are very tricky, real drivers’ stages, with snow banks of up to 1.5 metres. It would be very easy to get it wrong up there. The rally will show up drivers’ strengths, but also their weaknesses.”

Luis also completed four of the stages, including the Lillehammer Superspecial that runs through the Birkebeiner Ski Stadium used for the 1994 Winter Olympics. “The stages were very, very good. Some change character, going from narrow and twisty to wide and flowing. The spectator stage is particularly fun, with lots of hairpins. The facilities are excellent and the event well-organised. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time here.”

It wasn’t all hard driving for the team though, as Petter, Chris and Luis attended several PR functions, including a press conference attended by Norwegian and international media, and a photo call in front of the Vikingeskipet, the indoor speed skating area nicknamed the Viking Ship in mark of its distinctive shape.

On Thursday night, Petter was invited to a dinner hosted by the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Petter said, “I am very proud to be rallying in Norway. We’ve had a lot of support from Norwegian fans and I’m delighted to be able to give something back. I’m happy to support the event and it would be incredible if the event was a round of the championship next year.”

Petter will continue to support his nation’s bid over the weekend when he visits the service park and views the stages by helicopter.

Preview - Rallye de France - Tour de Corse, 7 - 9 April 2006

31 March 2006

The event



Two weeks after Rally Catalunya, the FIA World Rally Championship makes a short hop east across the Mediterranean from Spain to the French island of Corsica. The legendary Tour de Corse, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2006, takes place from 7-9 April on the roads around the island’s capital Ajaccio. Just like Rally Catalunya, the Tour de Corse is an asphalt event, although the characters of both differ hugely.

The Spanish asphalt is relatively smooth and new, whereas the Corsican Tarmac can be coarse and abrasive. Drivers go deep into the corners in Spain, however cutting corners in Corsica is rare as the narrow roads hug the sides of the mountains. With sheer rock face on one side and steep drops on the other, getting exactly the right line in Corsica is crucial.

Dubbed the ‘rally of a thousand corners,’ the event is characterised by hard acceleration away from one corner before braking heavily for the next within a few hundred metres. The g-forces generated in the corners are the highest in the championship – at times in excess of 1.5g laterally, more than double the amount generated by the standard road-going Impreza.

The Corsican weather can be as dramatic as the landscape. Within an hour bright sunshine can give way to heavy rain as warm sea air meets the cool mountain breeze. This year the rally takes place in early Spring with the mountains still snow-capped. Should temperatures rise just a few degrees, the snow will melt and saturate the roads with water.

Comprising 354.18 competitive kilometres, the 2006 Tour de Corse route is largely unchanged from last year. The formidable Vico – Col de Sarzoggiu has been shortened by 2.1km to finish at the Plage de Liamone and the Penitencier Coti – Pietra Rossa stage makes a return to the itinerary. The stage was last used in 2004. No stage is shorter than 24km and the route has one of the highest ratios of competitive kilometres to overall distance. There’s also a new location for the ceremonial start in Place du Casone, where cars will cross the ramp in the shadow of a monument to Napoleon, who was born on the island.

Entries

The Subaru World Rally Team will enter two Subaru Impreza WRC2006 cars in the Tour de Corse. Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Stéphane Sarrazin (co-driven by Stéphane Prévot) will drive both drive 2006 cars and will be eligible to score points towards the manufacturers’ championship.

Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall) will drive a Subaru Impreza WRC2005 entered by Subaru Australia.

Corsica is historically a good event for SWRT and the team goes to the island optimistic of a good result. SWRT has won three times in the past 10 years, including 2003 when Petter Solberg scored a famous victory after crashing heavily on shakedown. Stéphane Sarrazin also has a strong record in the event finishing sixth on his Corsican debut in 2004 in a privately-entered Subaru Impreza before equalling his best-ever WRC finish when he finished fourth overall with the Subaru World Rally Team in 2005.

Driver quotes

Petter Solberg: “The Tour de Corse is a very good event. I think compared to Rally Spain the stages and the asphalt will suit us better. In the past the Corsican roads were more abrasive as the surface was much older, however nowadays there’s not so much of the old Tarmac left. On the whole our car and tyres match the event very well. My objective is to try for a podium again. That’s my aim, we’ll just have to see how we get on.”

Stéphane Sarrazin: “I feel very positive about this rally. We’ve done Corsica twice before and both times we’ve had a good result and fought with the quickest cars. In 2004 we came sixth and last year fourth, which was a great result in front of my home crowd. For sure Spain was a difficult rally for us but we’ll try and improve for Corsica and fight for positions. I want to finish in the top five.”

Chris Atkinson: “The team has always had better results in Corsica than in Spain so we’re optimistic of a good overall result. With the improvements we found in Spain we’ll also have a chance of finishing higher up the order. My speed on asphalt is increasing all the time and we’re looking to be consistent. Our goal, as always, is to get some points and to be competitive with the rest of the field.”

The Car / The Challenge

Subaru World Rally Team sporting director, Luis Moya: “The team is going to Corsica fully focused on maximising our performance and achieving a better result than we did in Spain. We have spent a lot of time in the build-up to the Tour de Corse analysing every aspect of the team’s performance in the last rally, including the car, the drivers and the tyres. We remain positive about the testing we did before Spain and continue to work closely with Pirelli to optimise results. We’re very keen to compare the performance of the car and the tyres in Corsica and hope we’ll gather more data to pinpoint steps forward.

The aim for Corsica is for both Petter and Stéphane to finish in the top five to score as many drivers’ and manufacturers’ points as possible. We shouldn’t forget that the cars ran reliably in Spain, we got a double points finish and we came third and fourth in the manufacturers’ championship. If we get the strategy right this time, we will be even better.

Chris’ target on this event is to learn and gain more experience on asphalt. This is his second time in Corsica and he has to continue to develop a high level of pace before he returns to the nominated car in Argentina. We are doing everything to ensure we can meet our objectives in Corsica.”

Subaru World Rally Team director of engineering, Steve Farrell: “We’re looking forward to the Tour de Corse with optimism. We’ve historically had good results in the event and there’s no reason why that should change. We’ve learnt from the lessons of Spain and spent a lot of time at the end of that event fine-tuning the Impreza WRC2006, looking at the tyre package and feeding through improvements for Corsica.

We’ve got to look at Spain and Corsica as completely different events. Even though they are both asphalt, they have different characters, with Corsica playing much more to our strengths. The French roads are more twisty and abrasive, compared to the Spanish roads that are much more flowing and open.

We’ve seen before in the past that strategy also plays a major part in Corsica and getting the right set-up for the conditions is essential. If we get the strategy right, we’ve got as much chance as anybody else. We’re approaching the event in a determined mood.”

Preview - Rally Argentina, 27-29 April 2006

The event

After two consecutive asphalt events the FIA World Rally Championship returns to gravel for round six of the series, Rally Argentina. The WRC’s only visit to South America takes place around the city of Cordoba from 27 – 30 April.

The rally is run through dramatic scenery on the edge of the flat, grassy Pampas and in the Sierras Chicas hills close to Cordoba. The varied landscape produces numerous changes of road surface and character as narrow, loose gravel stages high in the mountains combine with flat-out harder-packed sprints in the valleys. Although Mexico has superseded Argentina as the rally with the highest average altitude, many of the Argentine stages are more than 1,000 metres above sea level, with Leg three’s El Condor stage peaking at 2,195 metres. Such high altitude produces its own challenges as power output is reduced as a direct consequence of the air being thinner.

If the reduced power, high speeds and bumpy terrain weren’t enough of a test, there’s always the famous watersplashes. Getting the right line and speed on approach is crucial, and with 17 watersplashes in total, there are many potential hazards.

The weather may throw another tough element into the mix. Rain, wind and fog could be the daily forecast as this year the rally takes place in the South American autumn, almost three months earlier than last year. The predicted rain and mud should not however deter the hoards of fans who line the rally’s route, even high up in the mountains. Over one million spectators watched the event last year, despite the snow and freezing temperatures.

This year the service park moves from Villa Carlos Paz to Cordoba, just opposite the football stadium built for the 1978 World Cup Finals. On Thursday and Sunday nights the stadium will host a new Superspecial where crews will run side-by-side through a specially-built 2.2km stage. After two loops through the circuit on Thursday, the true rallying starts on Friday at 0833hrs. Leg one is run to the north of Cordoba and features the longest stage of the event between the towns of Ascochinga and La Cumbre. The finish is scheduled for 1330hrs in the Cordoba stadium.

Entries

This year the Subaru World Rally Team will enter two Impreza WRC2006 cars in Rally Argentina. Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) will drive one Impreza and Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall) the second.

Petter Solberg enters his seventh Rally Argentina in 2006. Last year, Petter had a trouble-free run to third overall. Chris Atkinson contests Rally Argentina for the second time. In 2005 the Australian enjoyed a successful debut to finish ninth.

The Subaru World Rally Team has won Rally Argentina twice; in 1999 with Juha Kankkunen and again the following year with Richard Burns.
Driver quotes

Petter Solberg: “There will not be any excuses in Argentina. There won’t be any sitting back for anyone and I’m going to go for maximum attack from the start. There’s no strategy for this event other than this – we know what our goal is and we’re going to go flat out to get there.”

Chris Atkinson: “We had a good Rally Argentina last year. Behind Japan and Australia, it was probably our best gravel event. We started well and then built up speed throughout the three days. We’ve had a good couple of rallies in Spain and Corsica where we were consistent, but now we want to fight for position. We’re aiming to be competitive and get in the top five. If we can hit this target, there’s no reason why we should stop there.”
The car / the challenge

Subaru World Rally Team sporting director, Luis Moya: “First and foremost we are looking forward to getting back to gravel after two asphalt events. We believe we’ll be competitive against Sébastien and Marcus. We demonstrated in Mexico that we’re right on the pace and are more than capable of fighting for the lead.

Leg one will probably be one of the toughest starts to any rally this year, but we’re going to Argentina looking for the win for Petter and a high finish for Chris. The next three events will be key to the 2006 championship and we’ll go to each of them with every intention of winning.”

Subaru World Rally Team director of engineering, Steve Farrell: “Argentina is a real challenge for both drivers and teams. The unpredictable late autumn weather means a driver has to be able to adapt his driving style very quickly, but have a set-up that can compensate for the changes in conditions. Even in stable weather there's a large contrast between stages, so in changeable weather the differences can be vast.

Our experience in Argentina has told us that the stages become rutted very quickly so we’ll run a set-up that takes this into account. The car will be higher from the road with a much stiffer suspension than on regular gravel events. This should help us optimise performance in the afternoon repeats of the stages. We ran this set-up extensively in the Sardinia test before Corsica and were pretty pleased with the results.

We’re back onto gravel now, which has historically been our better surface. In the last three rallies we’ve demonstrated very good reliability and we’ll continue to focus on this in Argentina. Our objective now has got to be to score results at every rally.”
Between the rallies

Petter Solberg took some time over Easter to return home to wife Pernilla and son Oliver to do some skiing together. Petter also did some fitness training to make sure he was fully fit for the high-altitude challenges of Argentina. Chris Atkinson returned to his family’s home on the Gold Coast to the east of Australia over Easter. He was pleased to finally catch up with friends after almost four months away. Ever active, Chris also took advantage of the warm, sunny Australian climate to go jet-skiing. After a two-week break Chris then flew directly from Australia to Argentina for the rally.

Preview Rally d’Italia-Sardegna, 18-21 May 2006

The Event
The FIA World Rally Championship moves from the grassy Pampas of Argentina to the dramatic Mediterranean landscape of Sardinia for round seven of the 16-event series. Rally d’Italia-Sardegna, starting on 18 May with a ceremonial start in Porto Cervo, will be the third gravel rally of the year after Mexico and Argentina.

The stages are run in the hills around the port of Olbia on the Costa Smeralda coast to the north east of the island. The roads are narrow and twisty, with a medium-soft gravel surface covering a hard-packed base, putting crews running first on the road at a disadvantage as they sweep the surface for the following cars. This year, the stages could be very slippery as several tests have been resurfaced in the weeks preceding the rally.

This year 52% of the route is completely new. Stages from 2005 have been reworked to include sections from 2004, plus three new stages have been introduced, namely Leg one’s Siniscola speed test and Campovaglio and La Prugnola in Leg three. Campovaglio will feature in the event for the first and only time this year, however. The road is due to be asphalted after the close of the rally.

The same chassis, engine and transmission must be used for both Sardinia and the following event, Rally Acropolis in Greece. The two events differ in character - Sardinia’s tight turns and narrow roads produce relatively low average speeds, whereas the Greek route is wider, smoother and faster.

Following the ceremonial start in the exclusive tourist resort of Porto Cervo on Thursday 18 May, the competitive action starts on Friday morning at 0846hrs with the Terranova stage to the south of Olbia. Each Leg will feature three stages repeated twice and will cover a total competitive distance of 344.94 kilometres. The event will be concluded when the winning car crosses the finish ramp in Porto Cervo at 1415hrs on Sunday.

Entries
The Subaru World Rally Team will enter two Impreza WRC2006s in Rally d’Italia Sardegna. One car will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) with the other by Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall).

Subaru has a good record in Sardinia. In 1994 Piero Liatti scored the Group A Impreza’s first international victory on the Costa Smeralda Rally, a round of the Italian and European championships at the time. In 2004 Petter Solberg led Rally Sardinia from start to finish to take his sixth career win. He finished second on the event in 2005.

Chris Atkinson starts his second Sardinian event. Last year he climbed as high as third overall, winning one stage.

Driver Quotes
Petter Solberg: “I was very happy with my drive in Argentina. Okay, things could have been even better but I think we’re getting there. We tested in Greece last week and we’re making small steps in performance, plus the reliability is improving a lot. We have to prove now that when everything goes well, we can win. This is what the whole team wants, everybody. We need to win.”

Chris Atkinson: “Sardinia is a challenge as it’s very technical and narrow and you have to drive cleanly to do well here. It’s a good drivers’ rally and I really enjoy it. Over half the route is new this year so a lot will depend on making good pace notes on the recce. My goal is a top five result. We set some good stage times last year and were running as high as third at one point, so there’s no reason why we can’t achieve this target.”

The car / the challenge
Subaru World Rally Team sporting director, Luis Moya: “Sardinia has been a good event for the team. We’ve won there before and we test extensively on the island so we are very familiar with the conditions and challenges of the rally. Petter’s target, as ever, is to finish as high as possible. He’s quite capable of finishing in the top two on this event and maximising the amount of drivers’ points he scores. Chris’ aim is to be consistent and deliver an acceptable pace with zero errors. Chris has tested in Sardinia before and he’s just come back from a two-day test in Greece so his confidence in the car is high. We know he has the speed to finish in the top five.”

Subaru World Rally Team director of engineering, Steve Farrell: “Sardinia and the following Rally Acropolis are paired events and for the first time this year, the chassis, engine and transmission must be used for two consecutive rallies, although one gearbox can be changed in Greece. Running the same car in the two events shouldn’t be too much of a problem for us, however, as we’ve had a good run of reliability in the last four rallies. The challenge will be that the two events each require different set-ups. Sardinia is narrow and twisty whereas Greece is much faster so the engineers and drivers will be looking at the car in close detail to analyse how we can find the best compromise.

We had a four-day test in Greece where we tried to prepare as much as we could for this rally. Petter’s experience was invaluable. He was able to consider the set-up for the narrow, looser roads even though we were in Greece where the road conditions are different. We looked at tyres and differential settings in particular and the improvements we found should give us a faster package to take the challenge to Loeb.

The pace we showed in Argentina was good and we’re confident that, given the right conditions, we can be up there fighting for a win.”

The Subaru World Rally Team will enter two Impreza WRC2006s in Rally d’Italia Sardegna. One car will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) with the other by Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall). Subaru has a good record in Sardinia. In 1994 Piero Liatti scored the Group A Impreza’s first international victory on the Costa Smeralda Rally, a round of the Italian and European championships at the time. In 2004 Petter Solberg led Rally Sardinia from start to finish to take his sixth career win. He finished second on the event in 2005.



Chris Atkinson starts his second Sardinian event. Last year he climbed as high as third overall, winning one stage.

Petter Solberg: “I was very happy with my drive in Argentina. Okay, things could have been even better but I think we’re getting there. We tested in Greece last week and we’re making small steps in performance, plus the reliability is improving a lot. We have to prove now that when everything goes well, we can win. This is what the whole team wants, everybody. We need to win.”

Chris Atkinson: “Sardinia is a challenge as it’s very technical and narrow and you have to drive cleanly to do well here. It’s a good drivers’ rally and I really enjoy it. Over half the route is new this year so a lot will depend on making good pace notes on the recce. My goal is a top five result. We set some good stage times last year and were running as high as third at one point, so there’s no reason why we can’t achieve this target.”

Subaru World Rally Sporting Director, Luis Moya: “Sardinia has been a good event for the team. We’ve won there before and we test extensively on the island so we are very familiar with the conditions and challenges of the rally. Petter’s target, as ever, is to finish as high as possible. He’s quite capable of finishing in the top two on this event and maximising the amount of drivers’ points he scores. Chris’ aim is to be consistent and deliver an acceptable pace with zero errors. Chris has tested in Sardinia before and he’s just come back from a two-day test in Greece so his confidence in the car is high. We know he has the speed to finish in the top five.”

Subaru World Rally Team Director of Engineering, Steve Farrell: “Sardinia and the following Rally Acropolis are paired events and for the first time this year, the chassis, engine and transmission must be used for two consecutive rallies, although one gearbox can be changed in Greece. Running the same car in the two events shouldn’t be too much of a problem for us, however, as we’ve had a good run of reliability in the last four rallies. The challenge will be that the two events each require different set-ups. Sardinia is narrow and twisty whereas Greece is much faster so the engineers and drivers will be looking at the car in close detail to analyse how we can find the best compromise.

We had a four-day test in Greece where we tried to prepare as much as we could for this rally. Petter’s experience was invaluable. He was able to consider the set-up for the narrow, looser roads even though we were in Greece where the road conditions are different. We looked at tyres and differential settings in particular and the improvements we found should give us a faster package to take the challenge to Loeb.

The pace we showed in Argentina was good and we’re confident that, given the right conditions, we can be up there fighting for a win.”

Both Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson demonstrated the stage-winning pace of the Subaru Impreza WRC2006 on the final Leg of Rally d’Italia Sardegna. Petter secured two stage wins while Chris set his first fastest time of the year, however problems in the final stage of the rally cost both drivers places. A bent steering arm dropped Petter to ninth while accident damage relegated Chris from fifth to tenth.

SWRT SPORTING DIRECTOR, LUIS MOYA: This has been a difficult rally for us with a lot of highs and lows. Overall Chris has had a very encouraging event. His performance has been at a good level throughout; he’s been focussed and consistent. He was unfortunate on the last stage when he was distracted by some dust in the car after a very good run in the morning. Petter has had a tough time. When things have worked as they should he has been able to win stages but we have work to do to improve the whole tyre and car package so we can give him and Chris the opportunity to compete for podiums during the rest of the season.

PETTER SOLBERG: It’s been a hard event for me. I tried as hard as I could all weekend but the overall result is disappointing. There’s not really a lot more to say. We’re looking forward to the next event now. I like the Acropolis Rally a lot and I’ll give it my best shot.

CHRIS ATKINSON: Overall I’m happy with how I’ve driven on this rally. Before the last stage we had gone consistently all weekend, made no mistakes and had kept a good pace. Obviously to end the rally like we did is very disappointing, but there was a lot of dust coming into the car and I got distracted. We will be targeting a better finish next month in Greece.

Rallye Deutschland - Preview

The Event

After a nine-week break the FIA World Rally Championship roars back into life with Rallye Deutschland. Round nine of the 16 event series takes place from 11 to 13 August on the asphalt roads of the Mosel and Saarland regions in the far west of Germany, with Trier, the oldest city in the country, as permanent rally headquarters. The rally’s location in central Europe attracts spectators from all over the continent and an estimated 200,000 fans are expected to make the pilgrimage this year.



The event may be pure asphalt, but the rally has one of the widest varieties of tarmac on the calendar as each Leg has a distinctly different character. Day one’s stages are run in the vineyards of the Mosel, one of Germany’s largest wine producing areas, and dry leaves and squashed grapes combine to make an exceptionally greasy surface. On the second day of competitive action crews move to the tank training ranges of the Baumholder military ground where the roads are flanked with huge, unforgiving concrete kerbstones, known locally as ‘Hinkelsteins.’ The wide asphalt sections are abrasive and dirty, while a fine dusting of sand makes them very slippery when wet. The final day’s action takes place on the smoother, fast Saarland roads.

With the rally taking place at the height of the German summer, the weather is expected to be hot and sunny, although there is some chance of showers as rain moves in from the Eifel and Hunsruck mountains surrounding the area. Wet weather dramatically changes the characteristics and grip levels of the roads and crews can be faced with Monte Carlo-esque variations between stages. To minimise the dangers associated with wet roads, each driver and co-driver has a safety crew who drive the stages before their competitive running to report conditions back to the driver.

Rallye Deutschland will be a challenge for the team as well as the crews. With just 42 hours between the finish of Rally Germany and the start of the Rally Finland recce, teams will start to deconstruct their service areas from Saturday night onwards ready to depart after the first service of the final Leg. Rallye Deutschland organisers have had to make special plans for teams to make the journey in time, with Sunday’s Leg shortened from six to four stages as a result.

While rally HQ and parc ferme will be in the centre of Trier, the service area will be located in Bostalsee, a small holiday resort approximately 70km from Trier. The rally comprises 351.55 competitive kilometres and 19 special stages, including a spectator-friendly Superspecial in Sankt Wendel on Saturday night. One new stage will be run (Grafschaft Veldenz) on Leg one. The ceremonial start will take place at the Porta Nigra, the arch built by the Romans in the centre of Trier, at 2000hrs on Thursday 10 August. The podium finish is scheduled for 1224hrs in Trier.

Entries
Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Stephane Sarrazin (co-driven by Stephane Prevot) will drive a Subaru Impreza WRC2006 each, while Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall) will drive a Subaru Australia-entered Impreza WRC2005.

Petter Solberg has competed in Germany four times before. Last year the Norwegian achieved his highest finish in the event with seventh overall. Stephane Sarrazin made his WRC debut in Germany in 2004 at the wheel of a privately-entered Subaru Impreza and finished a remarkable ninth. Last year the Frenchman claimed eighth position.

Chris Atkinson enters his second Rallye Deutschland this year. The Australian had a solid asphalt debut to finish eleventh in 2005. Since then Chris has steadily gathered more sealed surface experience both in the WRC and non-championship events.

Driver Quotes
Petter Solberg: “This year we’ve not had such good results on asphalt so the most important thing in Germany will be to progress from our previous form. We had two days of testing in Germany at the end of July and we did find some improvements, which will be very important for us. I do enjoy the rally in itself, despite not having such a great history in the event. It’s a reasonably difficult rally for a driver as each Leg has a different character with a different type of asphalt and all of the roads are very dirty and slippery. Saturday’s military stages are particularly tough.”

Stéphane Sarrazin: “I made my WRC debut in Rally Germany 2004 so I’ve got a good feeling about this event. It’s a great tarmac event as grip is low, the surface is slippery and the stages are difficult so you’ve really got to concentrate. I particularly enjoy the second day’s Baumholder roads as they’re very challenging to drive. Last year we were very quick and it would be a good result if we could finish in the top five this year.”

Chris Atkinson: “Germany was my first-ever asphalt event in 2005, but this year I’m going back there with a lot more experience. I’ve got another two Tour de Corse and Rally Catalunyas under my belt, plus Monte Carlo and Ireland. Competing in the Nurburg 24 hours helped too – over a 25km lap, you have lots of opportunity to get the right racing line and think about the set-up. Unfortunately, I’ve not had an opportunity to do a tarmac test before Germany this year so instead I’ve been concentrating on fitness, training and relaxing. Our goal for Germany has got to be a good finish, hopefully in the points.”

Team quotes
Subaru World Rally Team sporting director, Luis Moya: “We’ve had a very busy off-event period over the summer. We’ve focussed on improving the general performance of the team for the second half of the season and hope that the coming events will show a step forward. Both Petter and Stephane will be aiming for a top five position, but the goal for Chris will be to get more experience on tarmac. He came to Germany as an asphalt novice and showed excellent pace, but he’s now got a further three WRC sealed surface rallies to his name, plus Rally Ireland and the Nurburg 24 hours. Germany is different to any other rally on the calendar and it’s not historically been a good event for us, but we will go and do our best.”

Subaru World Rally Team director of engineering, Steve Farrell: “Clearly our performance in the last two asphalt events was not as we expected and we’ve made an extra effort to make the Impreza WRC2006 a more competitive package for Germany. We’ve worked on all areas to develop the overall performance of the car, specifically by improving the suspension and differential set-ups. There have also been a myriad of small changes and developments which have been packaged together into an engine upgrade for this event. So far our testing has confirmed we’re heading in the right direction. Over the summer we’ve also worked very closely with Pirelli and we should see an improvement in the tyres as well.”

Between the rallies
It might have been a long summer holiday for some in the WRC field, but certainly not for the three Subaru World Rally Team drivers. Petter Solberg did take some time off after Greece to cruise around the Greek islands on an 80-ft yacht complete with Jacuzzi, sun decks and five staff, but he came back to work soon after when he signed a contract to continue with Subaru until 2009. The Norwegian announced the extension in front of a crowd of international media in his home country. Soon after Petter jetted over 9,000 kilometres to Japan to test new Subaru models and participate in a Subaru fan event that was attended by over 5,000 avid supporters. After a quick trip to Goodwood at the beginning of July Petter headed to Germany for a pre-event test before a short trip to Norway and over to Finland for another test.

Stephane Sarrazin might just be the busiest man in motorsport as he combined Pirelli tyre and Subaru World Rally Team test programmes with endurance and sportscar racing. Between racing and rallying endeavours he squeezed in a trip to Cyprus in July to support the Cyprus Automobile Association’s road safety awareness programme and a trip to Japan to test the Subaru Impreza GT300 and visit an aerospace facility owned by Subaru’s parent company, FHI.

Chris Atkinson stayed in Europe after Greece to participate in the Nurburg 24 hours, his first-ever circuit race. The Australian and his three team-mates contested the event in a Subaru Impreza and finished 13th in class. After a test in Spain and a debut Goodwood Festival of Speed appearance, Chris finally headed back to Australia for some rest and relaxation with friends. Not for very long, however, as he flew to Perth at the end of July to support the ticket launch for Rally Australia. He then returned to Europe for a test at the beginning of August.

Next week the Subaru World Rally Team will return to the Mediterranean for the Rally of Turkey, round 13 of the 16-event 2006 FIA World Rally Championship.

The event’s harsh terrain should have a familiar feel. Run high in the Anatolian mountains, over a variety of broken gravel roads, the stages are broadly similar to those used a fortnight ago on the preceding event in Cyprus. However, there are some important differences. Firstly, the speeds in Turkey are nowhere near as slow as in Cyprus. Secondly the stages are more varied, with several water-splashes and a range of interesting corners making them a spectator’s favourite. Turkey has also had its date on the calendar altered for 2006, meaning that conditions should be significantly different to last year’s. Its new slot, four months later and right at the end of the summer, makes rain a distinct possibility, as well as fog over some of the mountain tracks.

Making its fourth appearance in the FIA WRC calendar, this year’s rally will be based once again in the town of Kemer, 40km south of the holiday resort of Antalya. The event will begin with a colourful ceremonial start in Antalya’s Cumhuriyet Square on Thursday evening with the proper rallying taking place over the following three days.

The rally comprises 19 special stages and a total competitive distance of 351.01 kilometres. Friday’s first Leg is the longest of the rally, with 152 stage kilometres, including a night-time Superspecial in the grounds of Akdeniz University. Leg two brings seven more mountain stages and another visit to the Superspecial, while Sunday’s three stages make it the shortest Leg of the rally. The winning car is expected to cross the finish ramp in Kemer at 1306hrs on Sunday.

Entries

The Subaru World Rally Team will enter two cars in Rally Turkey, one Impreza WRC2006 for Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and another for Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall).

Petter has tackled Rally Turkey three times before and has finished on the podium twice. His best result came in 2005 when he was second. Last year was Chris’s first attempt at the rally and it proved to be a dramatic debut. The Australian retired on the first Leg after ripping a rear wheel off on a rock. He was back for Legs two and three to complete the route and build experience of the tricky conditions.

Driver Quotes

Petter Solberg: “The Turkish rally is good, I like the stages a lot and it’s one that normally suits our car and tyres pretty well. We’ve shown good speed there in the past and I’m going to do the best job I can this time too. When it comes to setting a personal goal for the rally, I really want to say that I’ll fight for a win, but given our current form that will be very difficult. So I’m aiming for a podium, but who knows maybe there will be the chance of something better. Things can change very quickly in this sport, and for sure things will turn around for us sooner or later.”

Chris Atkinson: “Turkey is a tricky rally with very varied conditions. Last time we had rain, hard-packed roads, some loose stuff, slow bits and flat-out sections. This year I’m expecting a bit of everything and changing conditions again - it’s a fairly entertaining rally. Coming so soon after Cyprus I think it’s going to be a difficult rally too. In Cyprus we weren’t expecting a fantastic result, we were realistic about our chances and that’s what we got. Next week I’m hoping to keep things more consistent and just hang in there. Going at the same pace we were running at in Cyprus I think a top-five finish is possible - we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Team Quotes

Luis Moya, Subaru World Rally Team sporting director: “If I had to sum up the character of this rally in one word it would be ‘variable’. The roads are fast in places, but in others they can be quite rough. It’s a bit like a blend of Rally Greece and Rally Cyprus. Drivers have to stay alert at all times though, especially when it comes to keeping a neat racing line. Once you’re off the cleaned line there’s a lot of loose material around and it’s easy to slide off or spin the car. There are usually lots of rocks and boulders by the side of the roads and these have caught out a lot of people out in the past.

Turkey also features some significant altitude changes; some stages are run at sea level, while others can be as high as 1500 metres. The high stages make things a bit more comfortable for the drivers, as the air temperature is a bit cooler. However, it doesn’t help the car very much because as the air gets thinner, it loses its cooling effect and that compensates for the lower temperatures. That means that on the higher stages the event will be almost as demanding for the brakes and engines as Cyprus.

In Turkey the main objective for Petter, Chris and the team is to put both cars in the top six. That said, of course we’ll do our best to get a better result if the opportunity is there. Since the last rally our engineering team has continued its work on the car’s performance and we have held a five-day development test in Sicily. We’re making steady progress and are doing everything possible to get the team fully competitive again as soon as possible.”

Between the Rallies

In the two weeks since Cyprus, Petter has been at home in Monaco, training in his local gym and enjoying time with his family. His domestic duties have included taking his five-year-old son Oliver to and from his new French-speaking school. Unfortunately for Oliver, the chances of making a big entrance with a WRC chauffeur are slim as Petter prefers to make the journey on foot.

Chris returned to the UK straight after Cyprus and spent a few days at the team’s headquarters in Banbury. He and Glenn squeezed in some endurance karting at a local track before they flew to Sicily for the development test. Chris and Glenn drove the car for three days.