Henning Solberg will return to the World Rally Championship in Greece next week - and M-Sport Stobart boss Malcolm Wilson has backed the Norwegian to challenge for podium finishes once again.
Solberg skipped last month’s Rally Argentina to finalise a long-term sponsorship package but will be back on WRC duty on Acropolis Rally of Greece at the wheel of the Ford Fiesta RS WRC he shares with Austrian navigator Ilka Minor.
“We’ve put an entry in for him and he’ll be back for Greece,” said Wilson. “He’s been working with new sponsors and really needed the time to get everything pulled together so he can get a longer-term plan in place. It was no problem [that he missed Argentina], I’d rather he got everything sorted out properly.”
The 38-year-old Solberg has struggled for form this season and was replaced as M-Stobart’s second nominated manufacturers’ championship scorer by Matthew Wilson for Rally d’Italia Sardegna. But Wilson Sr believes he can rediscover his old magic and challenge at the sharp end of the field in the WRC.
“He’s still the same driver but he’s really had to dig deep to get the funding just to do the rallies,” said Wilson. “Whatever anybody thinks you have to admire the way he’s been able to stay in a World Rally Car for so many years. Hopefully, if he can get something proper in place and a bit more structure to it, he will have less worry so he can really just concentrate on driving. He does do an incredible amount for his sponsors and if he knows there’s a long-term structure it will benefit him. I know myself when you’re paying for [a drive] there’s a lot of pressure. I don’t see why he can’t be on the podium again.”
Solberg started his 100th WRC event in Jordan earlier this season. He has been a podium finisher on five occasions although his last top-three score was in Poland back in June 2009.