by Rob Wilkins

TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL WITH PETTER SOLBERG: 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:CLICK HERE

Subaru's Petter Solberg was boosted by the arrival of the all-new Impreza WRC2008 just prior to the summer break - and having finished third with it in Greece and sixth in Turkey, 'Hollywood' was definitely left feeling more positive. mahbx.com Radio caugౠht up with the 2003 World Rally champion recently and spoke to him about his hopes for the rest of the year and found out about his rib injury...

mahbx.com:
Petter, how have the team's preparations be♉en going for Finland and Germany?

Petter Solberg:
Theꦅ guys have a very important job at the moment to get the cars fast for Finland. They are still working and are very happy. It🌼 will be very interesting to test the car next week.

mahbx.com:
Have you done much testing yet?

PS:
No nothing at all. We will start our testing next week. I must say I am rea♔lly looking forward to it. I can't wait to see what the team has done to improve the performance.

mahbx.com:
Whatꦺ areas are the team going to be focu꧋sing on in testing?

PS:
I think it is a lot of different area🤡s. It is not ju♎st one major thing. It is a lot of details. But the team are in full control - definitely.

mahbx.com:
We have three asphalt events in the second half of the season, how crucial is it going to b🍸e to get the car set-up properly for those tarmac rounds?

PS:
I think on tarmac and for Finland the car should be very good because of the low centre of gravity. 𒀰The new car is also ver𓄧y good at high speed because of the balance and weight distribution. The package should hopefully be good straight away. But I can tell you more after the tests next week.

mahbx.com:
Subaru switched to using the new car in Greece and that seemed to really pay off for you. How much of a step forward is the new car⛦?

PS:
Of course it is a good step forward. But the team entered it on two of the tougඣhest rallies in the championship and the main thing was reliability. We were not so concerned with making the car the fastest. I am very pleased with the performance on the first two rallies.

mahbx.com:
What areas related to the new car did you and Chris Atkinson identify that most need at🅘tention prior to Finland?

PS:
That's something I don't want to talk about. The only thing I can say is that the team know the areas and have everything fully under control. The car will💎 be very good for the next few r🍬allies.

mahbx.com:
In Greece you took your first podium of the season and then you ba🧔cked that up with ano🐻ther solid points finish in Turkey, how much of a boost was that?

PS:
I think for Subaru's fans all ov🌸er the world - and the team that got the car ready - it was very important [to do well in Greece]. Of course we knew it would be a little bit more difficult in Turkey but in general we are all꧃ very happy. We want to win though and that is why we are in the championship.

mahbx.com:
What are your targets for the second half of the sea💞son?

PS:
We are going to win rallies. That is our main goal - there are no other discussions or ai꧅ms. I think David Richards and the w💛hole team are agreed about that.

mahbx.com:
Do you expect Subaru to be up there and performing relative to Ford and🌳 Citroen by t♛he end of the year?

PS:
We have to. We are not here for second places. We are here to fight for wins. That is it - quite𒐪 simple.

mahbx.com:
How m💝uch has it helped the team having David Richards back on board and playing𝄹 a more hands-on role again?

PS:
David Richards is very, very good and with him having full control he is pulling it up in every area. You will see a bi✨g difference now in the second🦩 half of the year.

mahbx.com:
Obviously we are in the middle of summer break, do you enjoy having such a long ꦐperiod off?

PS:
Honestly, no. I want to drive and that is it. It was actually perfect from one point of view though, because I have had a broken rib for a couple of rallies now. In that sense the break has been good because I have time to recover. But I wa꧒nt to get back behind the steering wheel as soon as possible.

mahbx.com:
Is your broken rib on the mend?

PS:
Yeah, it😼 is very good now. I am back in training and back in business.

mahbx.com:
Does a gap like this inꦫ the calendar 🌃leave you refreshed and ready to comeback or a bit rusty?

PS:
It's okay to have some days off🐷, but this is a bit long for me.

mahbx.com:
What have you been up to?

PS:
Playing with my son. He doesn't fin🌜ish school until tomorrow however, so we haven't had any time for a proper break. But I have been swimming and taking it a little bit calm because of the bro🉐ken rib. I haven't had the chance to train as much as I want. But taking care of the family is the main thing.

mahbx.com:
Mikko Hirvonen managed to edge back in fron🦩t of Sebastien Loeb in the race for the d💞rivers' title in Turkey. Do you think he can stop Loeb from taking his fifth crown?

PS:
They are both strong. But I don't care ꦰso much about them and the other guys. The only thing I am thinking about is making sure we win. We justꦆ have to get up there as fast as possible and beat them properly.

mahbx.com:
We saw a lo✱t of tactics in Turkey, is that𝓰 something you approve of?

PS:
This is part of the game. You need some challenges. You have to drive as fast as possible under all the different condi🅺tions. The Ford team was clever on the Rally of Turkey and that is it.

TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL WITH PETTER SOLBERG: 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:CLICK HERE