Solberg tops shakedown
Petter Solberg grasped the early initiative in the three-way WRC title battle by setting the fastest time on the shakedown for this weekend's Wales Rally GB, despite packing up early because of a gearbox problem
The Nowergian Subaru star completed the 4.04km stage in Resolfen forest twice, with a fastest time of 2m21.5s.
Citroen Colin McRae was best of the rest with a fastest time of 2m22.9s. The Scot completed five runs through the stage. Outgoing world champion Marcus Gronholm was next up, with a best time of 2m23.0s after completing three runs.
Solberg's title rivals Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz were both working hard and were closely matched. Loeb completed six runs and managed a best time of 2m23.5s, while his Citroen team-mate Sainz ran the stage one more time and wound up on 2m23.7s.
The shakedown was run on a different stage than had originally been intended after drivers' complained after the recce that the original stage was too soft.
The rally begins with a run around Cardiff's superspecial track at 19.30 GMT tonight (Thursday). We'll bring you all the latest news from the event on autosport.com.
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