Petter the pace-setter at Rally GB Shakedown

Norwegian Petter Solberg got his quest for a fifth victory on the Rally of Great Britain off to a great start today by going fastest at the pre-event Shakedown.

The four-hour test took place on a 4.95km gravel stage in Margam Park, 61km west of the rally's base in Cardiff. In contrast to the largely dry conditions experienced this week for the pre-event reconnaissance, rain poured down throughout the session making the road muddy and extremely slippery in places. The temperature reached a maximum of 14 degrees Celsius.

Solberg, driving for the Citroen Junior Team this week, made four passes through the stage in his C4 WRC, setting his quickest time of 3min 16.4sec on his final attempt. Returning to the Service Park, the 2003 World Rally Champion said he was satisfied with the set-up of his car and was feeling positive about his chances of success this weekend, even though this was his first loose surface rally in the car.

"We stalled on our first run but the car worked very well and we were on the pace even with that," he said. "Then we did some small changes, but on the last run we went back to the set-up we found on our pre-event test and it felt fine. I'm happy to have found this feeling so quickly in this car."

Solberg, who last won this rally in 2005, believes his guest drive with Citroen is his best chance in recent years to add another GB trophy to his collection - come rain or shine. "The weather won't change my plans," he said. "In fact this is good news. I haven't tested in wet conditions with this car, so I was quite pleased to try it in the mud. I'm feeling very positive about my chances this weekend; I know it will be very tough but I will try and fight for a victory. That would be great. I will push hard, maybe not on the first stage, but once I get into a rhythm I’ll be attacking."

BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team driver Jari-Matti Latvala was Solberg's closest rival, in a time just two-tenths slower, while Petter's elder brother Henning was third fastest in another Ford Focus RS WRC.

The two drivers battling for the 2009 Drivers' World Championship title, Mikko Hirvonen and Sebastien Loeb, played things cool at shakedown, setting the seventh and fifth fastest times respectively.

Hirvonen completed just one pass through the stage before declaring himself happy with his Ford Focus. "The car felt good - in fact everything looks really good," he said. "A bit of rain is okay for me, it would help with my position as first on the road tomorrow, but the roads are so dry underneath that I don't expect they will change too much."

Loeb made three passes before parking up his C4. "It was okay but the conditions were very difficult," he said. "There was a lot of rain and mud around and the road was very narrow so it was difficult to find the rhythm - perhaps this is the most difficult stage of the rally!

"It wasn't very representative of the stages of the rally, but after a dry recce the conditions are likely to have changed a bit anyway. We won't know exactly where the tricky places will be and where the grip has changed. We have a good feeling in the car, though. We will keep the same set-up we found on the test and we'll have to see. I think Mikko will be fast straight away tomorrow, so I’m ready to go flat from the start as well."

The opening stage of the rally, the 32.14km Hafren, gets underway on Friday morning at 0923hrs. Stage and split times will be streamed LIVE and FREE here on wrc.com.

Here are the Shakedown times of the leading WRC drivers:

1. P. SOLBERG. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:16.4
2. LATVALA. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 3:16.6
3. H.SOLBERG. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:18.2
4. OGIER. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:19.0
5. LOEB. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:19.6
6. SORDO. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:19.7
=7. HIRVONEN. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 3:21.9
=7. OSTBERG. Subaru Impreza WRC 09. 3:21.9
9. AL QASSIMI. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:24.3
10. RAUTENBACH. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:26.1
11. WILSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:27.5
12. BURKART. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:41.7