Solberg quiet on hopes

The 2003 world champion has not won a world championship rally for over a year, and has had a tough start to the season adapting to BF Goodrich tyres in an Impreza designed for Pirellis.

But despite having a new machine, which he has tested for three days in its definitive form, under his right foot, the 32-year-old Norwegian is taking the rally as it comes.

Solberg said: “We had a very good test in Spain and found some interesting developments with the car. It seems to have good traction and my feeling is that there are many areas where we have taken a step forward from last year.

“We may still have a few areas to work on but that is something we can do during Rally Mexico or at the next test.

Solberg has a great record in Mexico. He won there in 2005 and has never been outside of the top four on the event since it made it's WRC bow three years ago.

And despite not making any predictions, he is hopeful of leaving making a step forward on the rally and in the championship, where he lies sixth.

He added: “I feel quite happy with the preparation we have done for this rally, but we won't know until the start how we compare with the other teams.

“It's a rally we like a lot: I have always gone quite well there. Hopefully this event is going to be the start of a new phase for team and we just have to build it up from Mexico for the rest of the season.”