Page 22 - Motorsport News (January 2020)

22 JANUARY 29 2020 motorsport-news.co.uk
RALLY MONTE CARL
PERNILLA
SOLBERG
TheWorldRallyChampionshiphas
been my life for so many years, but last
week I saw it in a really different way for
the first time. Hello, I’m Pernilla Solberg.
I’m Oliver’s mum and Petter’s wife.
But last week, as well as those two
things, I was team manager for Oliver
Solberg Motorsport. across the top of the dry asphalt
Motorsport, rallying, rallycross and
autocross are part of our family for
such a long way back. My parents both
competed and so did Petter’s. I drove a
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo in the P-WRC in
the late 1990s. Anybody who knows us
will know we’ve always been really busy
with lots going on, but this time has
been really busy. We have been building
Oliver’s team and getting the car ready for
the Monte, but at the same time we have
been working a lot with Skoda Motorsport
for the agreement which was coming
together to be announced on Monday
(see page 13). It’s all so exciting but,
I have to be honest, it was really nice to
get to Gap to really focus on this great
rally and get ready for the recce. speed,” said Evans. “It’s just about
When I watched Oliver drive over
the ramp for the first time in Monaco on
Thursday night, it was a completel y new
beginning for me. I was so proud. Petter
and me, we were both so proud of our boy.
As you know, we did Wales Rally
GB with Oliver, but that was a little bit
different, he had his pappa with him,
following him on that event. This one
was the start of something different.
Monte Carlo was the start of Oliver’s
new life, if you like.
It was a great feeling to be back in
Monaco, where we lived for so many
years. Oliver went to school there and
we have lots of friends that all came along
to see Oliver is his first ever Monte Carlo
Rally. As I stood on the harbourside, I
could see our old apartment block and
it brought back many good memories.
And now it’s the start of something else.
Like you will know, for Solbergs, running
our own team in the WRC is nothing new.
I was team manager with Petter when
we started with the [Citroen] Xsara in
2009. We did that until 2011. Things
have changed in the WRC in those years
and there were lots of new things for me
to read up on, learn and understand And so much for the FIA’s
when I come back to the championship
with Oliver this time.
We moved to rallycross for a few years
and had some really nice success. As a
team we won six of 10 possible world
championship titles with Petter as a driver,
Johan [Kristoffersson] as a driver and as
a team with PSRX Volkswagen Sweden.
This was truly amazing, but rallying has
always been our passion and it was
super-fantastic to see Oliver and Aaron
[Johnston, co-driver] at the start of a new
adventure last weekend. They (and we
as a team) really took so much experience
from this rally. The experience was the key
this time, they set good times in R5.
There was some small damage to
the suspension which he had to fix
on Saturday morning, but he was
running 15th at the time. Oliver
really drove with his head to come
to the finish.
Continued from page 21
Brave and full of confidence.
No more of that “not so bad”
nonsense this time. “Yeah, it was
good,” laughed Evans. “The first
stage, I wasn’t completely satisfied,
I drove a little bit carefully in just a
couple of places. I still drove OK,
it wasn’t bad by any means. On the
second one, I found a really good
rhythm or whatever you want to
call it and it worked out OK.”
If the pace across the snow
was impressive, the car control
demonstrated as the studs skated
between the white bits was
outrageous. Kris Meeke’s co-driver
Seb Marshall recalled that stage
from last season. “There was one
long sixth-gear left hander where
the car went full sideways,” said the
Englishman. “I thought, ‘Sliding like
this… in sixth gear?’ Keep your head
down and keep reading.”
That stage was an absolute
demonstration of Evans’ comfort in
the car. It also made a total mockery
of those who’d ever dared doubt his
ability to challenge – especially in
changeable conditions on asphalt.
“You’re always a little bit wary
driving on the studs [on dry Tarmac],
but the aero on this car is really good
and that actually gives quite a lot
of grip even on the stud in the high
trusting in that.”
His trust was not just complete,
but it also paved the way back to P1.
After Saturday’s penultimate test,
Evans and Ogier were tied at the
top. Not even a visit to a ditch on
the final Saturday stage could keep
Evans off the lead.
He would start the final day 6.4s up
on Neuville and 4.9s ahead of Ogier. I told him,” said Sordo. “He said, ‘OK,
“We were a bit lucky in that last
one,” he said. “I was too quick on
the throttle and we went straight
to the ditch. But you need a bit of
luck, don’t you?”
But would that luck last the night?
Or would Toyota team principal
Tommi Makinen have a word? How
could he, with Neuville so close?
The Finn actually looked offended
by the question. He was, he assured
Camilli heads the class warfare
Eric Camilli scored the biggest
win of his career when he clinched
the WRC 3 category on the season-
opening Monte Carlo Rally.
Driving a Sainteloc Citroen
C3 R5, the driver from Nice was
never headed as he took a
lights-to-flag victory in the class.
hopes of easing the R5-based
confusion – WRC 3 winner
Camilli came home a place ahead
of WRC 2 winner Mads Ostberg
in the overall classification.
Camilli was predictably
delighted at what turned out to
be a comfortable win from Nicolas
Ciamin’s similar car.
“I am so happy with this result,”
Camilli said. “Not just for me, but
also my co-driver Francois-Xavier
[Buresi]. This was his first ever
Monte Carlo and only his 20th ever
rally! We led from the start and I
had to manage the gap to the other
guys. The car was working well all
of the time, but we had one small
brake problem. I didn’t know how
to manage that problem, but once
I talked with the team it was fine. meatinanM-Sportsandwichas
“This [deal] is just the one rally.
I [took] the call, [and] the team
asked me do I want to do it – of
course I wanted to! Now I hope to
talk to them some more and find
us, enjoying this battle as much as
anybody. “I don’t think,” he said,
“anything will stop those two going
flat out tomorrow.” And fortunately
for us, Makinen wasn’t about to try. last one,” he explained.
So, to Monaco and on to the Alpes
Maritimes. And Turini.
Ogier reckoned the weather wasn’t
done yet. “Maybe there’s some more
coming,” he said, referring to the
rumour of rain low down and snow
up top. The clouds passed, delivered
nothing. The only question now
was how warm would it get and how
long would the supersoft rubber last
over Sunday’s final four stages?
The top three went with three softs
and three supersofts. Neuville’s mind
was changed by his ice-noting team- result for so long. We came close last
mate Dani Sordo, who persuaded
him out of four supersofts, which
would have been faster on the first
loop, but cooked by the time it came
to the powerstage.
“He asked me what I thought and
I trust you’.”
Neuville was comfortably the
busiest driver at Sunday morning’s
tyre zone. Lying beneath his i20 he
wrestled with clicks and rideheight
adjustors to lower the car for what
would be a faster, drier and racier
run than anybody expected.
Twelve months ago, Neuville was
first or second fastest on the first
three stages of the day, but then lost
somewaytodomoreintheseason.”
Ostbergfinishedtheevent39s
behindCamilli.Hewasdelighted
withhisWRC2winaboardhisPH
Sport-runC3R5,butfrustratedat
notbeingtopR5runner.Ostberg’s
hopesof takingthathonourwent
southwhenhehadtostopand
changeapunctureonthefirst
stageonFridaymorning.
“WhenIwaschangingthewheel
Ithought:‘OK,thenlet’spush
andseeif wecancatchthisback.’
Ipushedhardandcamecloseto
Eric.IguessEricdidn’teven
thinkwewereinafightbut,for
me,Iwasfightingwithhim!
“It’sagoodresultformeandfor
thecar.Ispentayearworkingon
thisprojectwithCitroenlastyear
andnowit’sC3satthetop[of theR5
rankings]–we’renolongeratthe
bottomof theresultsanymore.”
M-SportFordstarAdrien
Fourmauxrecoveredfroma
second-stagepunctureof his
owntopowerhisFiestatosecond
placeinWRC2,withHyundai
newboyNikolayGryazinthe
Britain’sRhysYatesfollowedthe
Russianhomeinfourthplace.
Yatesadmittedhe’dlearned
lotsonhissecondMontestart
andhisfirstinaFiestaR5MkII.
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EVANS
DAVID
Photos: mcklein-imagedatabase.com
Ogier grabbed
second at the end
out on the powerstage. What was his Hyundai’s maiden success on the
intention this time around? world’s most famous – and an
“We’ll cut and paste the first three Italian’s favourite – rally.
from last year, then go faster on the For Toyota there was the immediate
disappointment of 1-2 turning 2-3.
That wasn’t at all the way it worked.
In the end, he delivered his very But the squad’s sporting director
Kaj Lindstrom was pragmatic. “Of
own super Sunday, produced a course it stings a little bit,” he said.
clean sweep of all four and romped “But having three cars in the top five
home to his maiden Monte win. here? We have to be happy with that.”
Not even a dinked wheel rim was Evans was still chewing on that
enough to stop him. Neuville ended particular memo. “I’ll go home
the event as he’d started it. In peerless tomorrow and think about it,” he
and very, very powerful form.
said. “Trouble is, when you lead
“I felt a lot of confidence in the car,” a rally, it raises your expectation.
he said. “When we started to catch We could have won this. We could
back some time yesterday, I thought have won the Monte.
this could be possible. I’ve chased this “Honestly, I knew it wasn’t really
working today. The feeling wasn’t
year, but this time we delivered. What there. I was having to force it and
a fantastic way to start the season.”
then we were overdriving.”
One man who couldn’t contain his The voice trailed away and the
emotions was team principal Adamo. remainder of a half-eaten Big Mac
The Italian had grown up pretending far more appealing than another
to go to sleep at night while sneaking question. Fair enough. Next time.
a radio into his bedroom to listen to Ogier’s story was about the same,
Radio Monte Carlo describe, among save for finding just enough grip to
ease his way past Evans. The
others, Henri Toivonen’s 1986 win
on this very same event. frustration at relinquishing a top step
“For me this one is really special,” he’s owned since 2014 was writ large.
said Adamo. “I had my dad down here But he was quick to counter.
with me yesterday. We used to come “Remember what happened last
to this rally to spectate together, this time I finished second?” he asked,
is where my passion began.” referring to his 2013 campaign.
Predictably, there was much
“It was my best season ever.”
jumping on tables and hugging as Fighting talk. But did you expect
Neuville crossed the line to register anything less?
SUPPORTS
Eric Camilli took glory in WRC 3 and Citroen was back to the front
“We’ve shown some real in. We could have gone a bit harder
progression in terms of the times,” in some of the tricky sections, but
he said. “Last year I was a bit I wanted a finish, I was in a new car
nervous of this event, but this time and I wanted more experience of
around I’ve come here and got stuck what is a very, very specific event.”