Ilka Minor named as Henning Solberg's new co-driver

Stobart Ford team driver Henning Solberg has started a new WRC partnership with Austrian co-driver Ilka Minor.

Last week Solberg told wrc.com that he had ended his nine-year association with his former co-driver, fellow Norwegian Cato Menkerud, in an effort to reenergise his competitiveness in the 2010 season.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with Cato - I think he is one of the best co-drivers in the world, and he's never read a wrong note in nine years - but for me I need something new, and maybe a new co-driver is it," explained Solberg.

At the time Solberg was unable to confirm the identity of his new co-driver but revealed he was hoping for a female. Sure enough, the entry list for Sweden shows he has chosen Ilka Minor, a seasoned competitor who tackled almost 70 WRC rallies alongside Manfred Stohl between 2001 and 2007. Since then, Minor has also worked as part of Henning's safety note crew.

The switch from Menkerud to Minor is likely to mean that Henning will join his younger Petter in switching from a Norwegian to an English language pace-note system.

Menkerud, meanwhile, will replace Denis Giraudet as Eyvind Brynildsen’s co-driver for the 2010 S-WRC season. The duo will drive together for the first time in the Norwegian Mountain Rally on 23 January.

Brynildsen, 23, is driving a Skoda Fabia S2000 in the inaugural S-WRC championship, and felt the chance to team-up with a fellow Norwegian was too good to pass up.

Brynildsen said: "I’m very grateful to Denis. His huge experience has taught me a lot. It was a hard decision, but I have always felt it is an advantage to have a co-driver from your own country, speaking the same language. I feel that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It can be 10-20 years from now to the next time a Norwegian co-driver like Cato will be available."

"I’m very motivated," added Menkerud. "Eyvind is young. He has the right attitude, he is hungry and he works hard. He has already shown his qualities with some very impressive results last year. This will be very exciting."

Brynildsen and Menkerud will tackle the S-WRC rounds in Sweden, Mexico, Jordan, Portugal, Germany, France and Great Britain this year. They will also compete on selected rounds of the Norwegian Championship.