Subaru buoyed despite retirement
The Subaru team remain positive about their improved pace in the Rally Turkey despite Petter Solberg retiring from second place in the penultimate stage of leg two
After several months of struggling for both speed and reliability, Solberg was Marcus Gronholm's closest challenger in Turkey, and was catching the leader when he struck a rock and became stuck in a ditch in SS14.
"I can't believe the contrasts of today," said team boss Richard Taylor.
"It started so well with Petter's fourth consecutive stage win and, with another one this afternoon, he was edging closer to the lead.
"Then, on the second last stage, he hit the rock and his rally was over.
"We will take some positives from here and take a little consolation that, while there is still a lot more to do on the car development, we are certainly now heading in the right direction."
Solberg had been thrilled to be in contention for victory for the first time all season.
Although he was frustrated to retire in such a manner, the Norweigan believes that his performance marks a turning point in Subaru's season.
"We came around a corner and the car hit a rock in the road," Solberg explained. "We bounced off the stage and into a ditch.
"I can't believe this after we've had so many positives earlier in the rally.
"It was an incredible feeling to again be fighting at the top, and it's very good to see that everyone's hard work is showing with more speed.
"There's still more to do, but we're getting back again."
Solberg is expected to rejoin the event for leg three under SupeRally regulations, but the penalties for not completing SS14 and SS15 have put him down to 14th place, ten minutes behind Gronholm and six minutes away from current eighth-placed man Francois Duval.
Subaru may yet salvage a podium from Turkey, though, for Solberg's teammate Chris Atkinson made steady progress up the leaderboard during leg two and closed to within 18 seconds of third-placed Henning Solberg.
"We went for a steady run and were cautious trying not to get caught out by the snow, ice or mud," said Atkinson.
"There's no need to be a hero. Tomorrow we will just continue this approach and try and make up more time and positions."
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