Title still possible, says Subaru

Subaru ace Petter Solberg closed the gap to the Frenchman by two points at last weekend's Wales Rally GB after taking the win in a nail-biting climax on the final leg. There are now four rounds left to contest, including two Citroen-friendly asphalt rallies, but Lapworth still believes the contest is wide open.

"For us, the only way to win the championship is to go for wins," he said. "There's nothing else to think about. We're clear that we're going to go out and try to win every rally to the end of the year, and I think we can do that. Each rally is winnable for us - you never know. We always seem to finish the season stronger than we start it - it seems to be a tradition for us.

"We've probably left it a little bit late for a sprint finish, but it won't stop us from having a go and, you never know. If we can close the gap a bit, maybe the pressure [on Loeb] builds up. But that's not the way we're thinking at the minute. We just think rally by rally, how we're going to win this one."

It was the tactic that Solberg employed last weekend, but the Norwegian admitted that he thought he was seconds away from retirement after giving his all on the penultimate stage, the Margam, which he won by over 9s from Loeb.

"I knew I needed something extra if I was to win the rally - maximum attack - and this was in my thoughts," he said. "It looked good for a while until I went off and hit a small tree. I almost lost touch, but I got back on track again, and I didn't give up.

"At the end of the second stage in the morning, my front-left wheel bearing was very bad. I remember this before in the Safari once, so I know a wheel can come and pass you very quickly! I thought we'd never get through the stage, it was that bad. On the first part of Margam it was very slippery. I hit rocks and everything, but when it dried I though, right, let's go and I absolutely nailed it. I tried everything, but it worked out."