20 Oct 12

Epic Ford scoring
run back on track

Ford's record of scoring makes' points on consecutive rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship is back on track after factory pilots Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg restarted on day three of Rally Italia Sardegna.

The Blue Oval has scored on 156 consecutive events meaning that it was essential that Latvala and Solberg returned under Rally 2 rules this morning after they both hit trouble on Friday.

“The aim will be for both drivers to bring their cars to the finish on Sunday so that we can maintain our record-breaking run of manufacturers’ points finishes,” said Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson.

Despite this incentive, Solberg said he was finding it hard to keep motivated after he dropped out of second place on Friday afternoon when he broke his Fiesta’s suspension and cross member striking a rock.

“We’re driving for the fans today because it’s hard to find the motivation to push,” said Solberg, who languishes in 10th in the overall classification. “Malcolm didn’t deserve this after everything that has happened but we’re just driving through today and taking things very cautiously.”

Solberg is currently on for fourth-place manufacturers’ points with Latvala set for fifth-place makes’ points.