Henning Solberg: Podium still possible

Having taken third in Norway in 2007, and finished a surprise fourth in Ireland two weeks ago, Solberg hoped he might even challenge for his first World Rally Championship victory this weekend.

But the Stobart Ford driver could not match the leaders this morning and then lost time when he had to switch to manual gear-changing due to a paddleshift glitch in the afternoon.

Those problems have left him seventh going into day two - 1:39 behind leader Sebastien Loeb, and 75 seconds adrift of third-placed Jari-Matti Latvala.

But Solberg is confident that he has now got on top of his problems and can charge back into contention tomorrow.

"The set-up was not exactly right in the morning so I couldn't go as fast as I wanted," he said.

"We changed a few things in service and that made it better to turn in and get some good times in the afternoon, but then we had a bit of a problem with the gear selector towards the end of SS6 and had to use the manual shift.

"The team will get it sorted tonight, though, and we will push again tomorrow for some more places.

"I still think top three is possible and the stages tomorrow will suit me better."

Solberg is currently only 23.9 seconds ahead of his Stobart Ford teammate Matthew Wilson, who holds eighth overnight after one of his strongest performances to date.

"It is a good feeling to have a strong first day in a rally and it has given me a boost in confidence for tomorrow," said Wilson. "We just need to keep the pace going."