Petter
Solberg
answers
your
questions

David Carbone, New York: Where do you find all the motivation and positive attitude you have, particularly in those moments when everything that can go wrong, does go wrong? “I know I’m fast, that’s a very important thing and I love driving. I like competition. That’s all there is to it.”

Wilco Joubert, South Africa: I’m a student at the university of Potchefstroom, South Africa. I love rally as a sport and I’m dreaming of becoming a rally driver just like you but where do you start? “You just need to meet up with people who do rallying and motorsport, talk and learn and try before you do any investment. You find out quickly if you really like it or not.”

Andrew Voznytsa, Lviv, Ukraine: What are the three most important skills a rally driver must have? “Big bravery, you need to start at an early age to learn all the basic things and you need to want to drive. You need to have the will and you need to learn to drive beyond the limits. You need a lot of passion. It has to be your life and it has to be 110 per cent.”

Christian Johnson, USA: I have been a fan of yours from the time I started watching WRC over 10 years ago. Your passion for the sport is unlike any other driver I have seen. Which driver inspired and/or had the most influence on you when you were starting your career? “Martin Schanche from Norway, who drove in rallycross, was actually the driver because he’s more crazy than me. And of course my parents, both of them.”

Chris Kerr, New Zealand: What mental/physical exercises or focusing preparation work do you do before each morning of a rally? “I do nothing in the morning, just a good breakfast. All the preparation is done before the rally. If not it’s too late.”

Julian Habenicht, Austria: The top drivers are often only separated by seconds, so how do you maintain a clean run throughout the event and how much room for error (going a little bit wide, braking too soon/late, etc.) is there when you are trying to win a gravel rally? “There is not much room for error but sometimes we go a little bit over the limit and maybe push a little too hard this year to get the results but I think I have a clue for Rally GB and how to do it.”

Nicolas Malaspina, Argentina: No one doubts what a great driver you are but given all the titles achieved by Sebastien Loeb are than any aspects of your driving that you could reconsider in case they are not working? “For sure but it’s always together with the car. The car and me have to be at one together. When you are fighting Loeb in the world championship and he has been in the same car for 13 years you cannot be expected to start winning straight away. I am starting now to understand my Fiesta even better. I have found some small detail that makes me push one more level and it’s coming now, I have it now.”

Kurt Daninger, Brazil: If you could go back to the past, who would be the driver you would like to have raced against? And who would you love to have had as a team-mate? “Honestly I have been team-mates with most drivers I have wanted to be with, like the drivers from the old generation, including Carlos Sainz, Tommi Makinen and Juha Kankkunen. It was the perfect time.”

Charbel Sara, Beirut, Lebanon: What was it like to drive against the likes of Makinen, McRae, Sainz, Burns, Gronholm and how do they compare to the current line-up Loeb and the various rising stars? “It’s just different personalities. Then it was even more friendship and respect for each other and maybe even harder competition. Now it’s not quite the same but I hope it is coming back again because they were fantastic times.”

Ziga Dobravc, Slovenia: Who is your favourite driver of all time (Petter Solberg does not count) and why? “It has to be Colin McRae and Tommi Makinen. They were just very special.”

Harold van Beek, Netherlands: After three seasons running your own team how much pleasure does it give you to back in a factory team? “It was hard work and I struggled a lot with the budget in the last year. It’s a learning curve, I have been running a team for three years with people, the equipment and the trucks. I can see a lot and that was what I was afraid of, to be involved too much.”

Stefan Nijst, Belgium: How much of a scientist is there in Petter Solberg when it comes to developing and improving the Ford Fiesta RS WRC or are you just interested in the final results and the car handling and performance of the car? “I get technical but I have done it less and less for sure. But when the car is working so well as it is now there is not so much to do and say. But you have to try and you should never stop.”

Petter Olsen, Byrne, Norway: I suppose that an extension of your contract with Ford is plan A for next year. But do you have a plan B, and if so, can you shed some light on it? “Not yet I can’t but I have plan A, B and C. That should be enough. I don’t need a plan D.”

Didier Burger, France: How much do you want to turn the tables and beat Sebastien Loeb on his home soil next month? “I really want to win a big way but first of all I focus on Rally GB. I want to beat him here first.”

Paul Muriuki, Atlanta, USA: Of all the World Rally Cars you have driven which is your favorite and why? “I can’t say that I’m afraid. They’re all different, every car is different and the technology has changed from time to time.”