Subaru eyes Catalan podium
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ByEurosport
Published 20/03/2006 at 19:50 GMT
Subaru are confident of getting at least one car onto the podium at this weekend’s after conducting a promising four-day test in Italy last week. Petter Solberg is on a high after finishing second in Mexico, while Stephane Sarrazin and Chris Atkinson are
2006 Mexico Subaru Solberg
Image credit: dpa
The 2006 season hasn"t gone as planned for Subaru, but after losing out on victory in Mexico last month, the team are now confident that the bad luck is behind them and that the Impreza WRC/Pirelli package is ready to challenge for a podium on this weekend"s Rally of Catalunya.
A four day test in Italy has significantly boosted the confidence within the team after a new suspension set-up coupled with new Pirelli compounds produced promising results.
Norway's Petter Solberg is never one to stay down for long, and after poor results on both the Monte Carlo and Sweden Rally, the 2003 champion bounced back with second place in Mexico and is now eager to take that a step further in Spain.
"I'm very much looking forward to this rally." he says. "I'll be looking for a podium first of all - ideally with Marcus (Gronholm) and Sebastien (Loeb) behind me - that would be perfect! It will be difficult though as these two will be the main guys.
"Our result was very good in Mexico and we had a positive test in Italy last week," he added. "I had a good feeling with the car and we made some improvements, we've had a big step forward in the car since Monte Carlo but how much we will see in Spain."
Solberg will be flanked by two young flyers in Stephane Sarrazin and Chris Atkinson, both of which are eager to produce a strong result. Sarrazin is regarded as being an asphalt specialist and has been called up to shine this weekend
"We had one day testing last week and we worked through some set-ups and got some promising results," he said. "I think we can get in the top five this time and could even fight with the top three."
Atkinson, meanwhile, is not at home on the tight surfaces, but after competing on last weekend's WRC-elect Rally of Ireland, the Australian has a good feeling of the car going to Spain.
"Competing in Rally Ireland last weekend has massively increased our understanding of driving on an asphalt surface, especially of driving in the wet. This will help our performance particularly if we encounter similar weather in Spain."
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