Subaru vow to turn fortunes around

Subaru have yet to win this season, with the 2006 Impreza struggling for both speed and reliability.

"Okay, it's been a difficult situation recently and we haven't won as much as we want, but I've seen the plan and the strategy and how things are going to work out," said Solberg.

"That's why I'm feeling very positive about signing for Subaru again - I know that they have always been in the top of this sport and they will be back at the top and start to win rallies again very soon.

"It is a difficult situation at the moment but that's how it is sometimes, there are ups and downs and when things are going badly it's very easy to run away, but that's not me. I want to stay and get back to the top again with the people I was on top with before."

Solberg and co-driver Phil Mills have taken 13 rally victories and the 2003 WRC title since joining Subaru from Ford in 2000.

Subaru WRT managing director Richard Taylor said that the team appreciated Solberg's show of support.

"We've had a difficult start to this WRC season and our recent performance has fallen below the standards we set ourselves," he said, "but Petter's decision is the clearest endorsement of our ability to get things back on track."

Taylor is confident that Subaru understand the reasons behind the WRC2006's poor performances.

"We believe that some of the problems have been caused by a previous development process where the latest car and tyre packages were not developed consistently together," he said.

"In addition, some elements of the design direction we have followed have not worked as well on rallies as our testing suggested they would. We're now correcting these elements. We have a clear plan for the future and we firmly believe our rally car will very soon be fully competitive.

"We expect that Germany will be a tough rally for us, but we will target podium finishes on all remaining events. We still believe we can win the rallies in Japan, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand."

He denied suggestions that the fault lies primarily with tyre supplier Pirelli.

"We are dealing with a combined car and tyre package issue, not just a tyre issue," said Taylor. "In Greece we saw real improvements in our performance because we had been working more closely with Pirelli.

"We're conscious of the fact that Pirelli has suggested that for marketing reasons the WRC might not be the place for them in the future. If and when that decision is made we will respect it."

Subaru manufacturer principal Toshi Azuma admitted that their form would have to improve to justify Subaru's continued participation in the WRC, but he is confident that this will happen.

"If the current situation continued, then obviously there would be little point in Subaru continuing to rally," said Azuma.

"We are one of the top teams and should always be in contention for victory. It is not easy at all to maintain the position as world's best, but we've already taken every possible action to achieve it again. If we can demonstrate it to the world, then long-term commitment to WRC will come naturally.

"Our biggest commitment can be seen in the fact that we will be competing with Petter for the coming three seasons."