Petter Solberg lies in third overall after the opening leg of Rally Australia.
In addition to discovering new stages, the crews had to face treacherous conditions all through the day. The roads were slippery and the grip unpredictable, so much that most of the crews made mistakes at some point.
Petter Solberg had a couple of spins but survived the day, unlike the factory Citroën crews. He is third overall, some thirty seconds behind the leading Ford drivers.
“I’m very happy with the performance today”, said the Norwegian. “The conditions have been very challenging, I don’t think I have ever seen such muddy conditions. I had a couple of spins today and lost time, but luckily I’m still here!”
“The car has worked perfectly but we still need some more experience to find the correct set-up for these kind of muddy conditions. Hopefully it will dry up for tomorrow, and that gives us a good road position. We are not far behind, so we still have a fair chance!”, he concluded.
Rally Australia continues with ten stages on Saturday.