Subaru’s WRC ace Petter Solberg hopes that the twisty gravel routes of this weekend’s FIA Turkish Rally will not turn into hazardous mudslides due to rain.
Subaru’s WRC ace Petter Solberg hopes that the twisty gravel routes of this weekend’s FIA Turkish Rally will not turn into hazardous mudslides due to rain.
Earlier this week, Solberg had his first view of the Rally of Turkey’s stages and said he was looking forward to tackling the first gravel event of the year.
Solberg and co-driver Phil Mills have driven over the stages at slow speed during the recce, making the pacenotes that Mills will call out to his driver when the rally gets underway with a vengeance on Friday. Solberg was happy with what he saw in Turkey, but hoped the rain would stay away for the duration of the event.
“There are some sections where the roads are covered with snow up in the mountains, and there has also been a lot of rain,” he said. “The organisers have done an incredible job with preparing the roads at the last minute, and everything looks like it will be fine. But if it starts raining during the rally, I think we’ll have a big problem. ”
The drivers had predicted that Turkey could be one of the slowest events of the year, and Solberg agrees.
“The roads are twisty and rough. In some of the stages the average speed will be around 70 km/h,” he said. “I think the roads will suit us fine, but this is the first time since Wales last year I will drive on gravel.
“(Team-mate) Tommi (Makinen) had two days testing on gravel in Spain last week and drove 349 km, so I’m not worried about the set-up of the car. I think I will use a set-up very close to the one we used in Wales last year.
“After one day of the recce I have not experienced anything surprising with the road and conditions. This is a new rally for everyone, and that’s a part of the business. I’m really looking forward to driving on gravel again, and I feel that we have everything under control.
”We start with a Super Special in Antalya Thursday night, and on Friday we continue with five stages,” he added.