Petter Solberg says he is 'lucky' to still be in the Acropolis Rally after heavy landing
Petter Solberg has admitted he is lucky to have survived the opening day of the Acropolis Rally, having damaged the underside of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC during the second run through the Drossohori test
The Norwegian paid tribute to the strength of his car after the underside suffered a heavy impact with the road surface in what the 2003 world champion described as the most surprising moment of his life.
Arriving in service in Loutraki on Friday evening, Solberg told AUTOSPORT he had genuinely feared he would be forced to retire from the event.
"The propshaft's like a f*****g banana!" said Solberg. "I can't believe how strong this car is - it's fantastic! I have never had such a big surprise or such a shock moment. The car was fine and then suddenly we were on our nose - watch the onboard, it'll be incredible. I thought that could be it, though.
"When we had such a vibration from the prop, I didn't think it would be possible - but it was and we set a fastest time."
Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson said: "When I saw the pictures of the damage, I thought there was no chance the car would make it back here. It's amazing."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The outrageous mountain-climbers that became Pikes Peak legends
Ranking lost WRC legend Richard Burns' 10 best rallies
What to expect from the WRC's venture to the Arctic
Solberg says WRC Hyundai car switch "easier" than expected
Oliver Solberg to make top class WRC debut at Arctic Rally Finland
Solberg: why Kubica will star in rallying
Verstappen on DTM protege Vermeulen: He is always within two tenths of me
MotoGP Spanish GP: Bagnaia on record pace in second practice
Toyota weighs up third Hypercar for WEC
Andretti Cadillac to hire 60 UK staff as F1 push continues
The eight minutes of madness that saw Ogier strike in Croatia
How Rovanpera showed his class above his WRC rivals in Kenya
How a new 'old' challenge is capturing the spirit of British rallying lore
How Lappi survived Swedish snow carnage to snap his lengthy WRC drought
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments