Superspecial win for Solberg
Championship hopeful Petter Solberg started Rally Great Britain in style by taking victory on the opening superspecial stage in Cardiff this evening (Thursday). The Norwegian was over a second faster than all his rivals on the short 2.45km stage
The Subaru star competed head-to-head with Markko Martin on the track and stormed through 1.4s faster than the Estonian despite the Ford star making a great start.
Marcus Gronholm and Tommi Makinen tied for the third fastest time, 1.8s slower than Solberg. Makinen, who will retire from the WRC after this event was up against Harri Rovanpera, and came through two seconds ahead of his fellow Finn. Gronholm, meanwhile, was up against another WRC legend that won't be around next year, Colin McRae.
With the pairings for the superspecial determined by championship order, one of the most interesting match-up was the all-Citroen affair between joint points leaders Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz.
Sainz might be the only one of the three title chasers to have prior experience of a title showdown, but it was the Spaniard who looked the most susceptible to pressure, as he managed to spin before the start while warming up his tyres. Sainz also looked a little ragged on the stage, damaging his bumper after some contact with the wall, but he still managed to set the fifth fastest time, outpacing Loeb by 0.1s.
Loeb shared the sixth fastest time with Freddy Loix, who is making his Peugeot debut as a replacement for Richard Burns. The Belgian looked confident in his car, despite his limited mileage in the 206.
McRae wound up eighth fastest, while Harri Rovanpera, Mikko Hirvonen and Gilles Panizzi tied for the ninth fastest time.
The Wales Rally GB begins in earnest tomorrow, as it heads out into the Welsh forest. We'll have all the news right here on autosport.com.
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