Petter Solberg has snatched second place from Dani Sordo on Rallye Monte-Carlo after setting a faster time than the Spaniard through Thursday’s opening stage.
Using a combination of soft and supersoft Michelin tyres on his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Solberg was 2.9s slower than stage winner and rally leader Sebastien Loeb but crucially quicker than Sordo.
“It was two different tyres each side and it was quite tricky from the start,” said the Norwegian. “But once I got the temperature in the tyres I kept the speed. Everything can happen on this rally so there will be no crazy pushing. The car is fantastic and I’ve got to get the rhythm. But there will be no risks or going over the top. I will keep it steady.”
Loeb admitted to being too cautious in places amid fears of icy sections during the stage. However, the overnight frost reported by his safety crew had all but dispersed by the time he tackled the stage in his Citroen DS3 WRC.
“Conditions were okay,” said Loeb. “I had some information for a little frost but finally since the gravel crew went through it had nearly disappeared. I was careful in some places because I expected it to be very slippery but the grip was okay.”
Dani Sordo was 5.8s slower than Loeb in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC. He said: “At the moment it’s okay. Sebastien is really fast and we will see with Petter. The conditions were much better than I expected.”
Mikko Hirvonen was fourth fastest in his factory Citroen but remains in sixth overall behind fifth-placed Evgeny Novikov (M-Sport Fiesta). Sebastien Ogier maintains his grip on fourth overall in his Volkswagen Motorsport-run Super 2000-specification Skoda Fabia.