Petter 'Hollywood' Solberg - 2003 World Rally Champion

[saif]

Petter Solberg crashes his Impreza during the Memorial Bettega 2008




Watch 35sec onwards.

[Julia]

Petter Solberg crashes his Impreza during the Memorial Bettega 2008




Watch 35sec onwards.

OMG i heard about this episode but newer seen it

thanks!

[emmetyak]

That reminds me... Does anyone know where there's a clip of Petter doing his legendary Margam Park run at WRC Wales?
Can't remember the year, but it was a close battle between McRae, Solberg, Loeb and Burns to win the title.
Petter convinced everyone that he was having car troubles, the hammered through the stage, finishing 40 seconds ahead of his gobsmacked rivals. The footage was astonishing, especially the 'little' jump in the middle.

That was one of the reasons Petter achieved legendary status in the WRC, the other was breaking the stage record at Ouninpohja, Finland. The FIA split the stage into two section after that, because Petter had exceeded the 130kph max AVERAGE(!) on the stage. Heartstopping stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMLbn4PmGes

[Lucke]

Wasn't sure where to put that, but Petters thread seems to fit it :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmba3C1BeME

You can also download that from torrents, its old Discovery Channel series: "Engineering The World Rally" it is about whole year of Subaru and Petters highs and mostly downs in 2006 shown in 6 episodes.
It's great thing to watch if You wanna learn about WRC behind the scenes

[sleenster]

Petter

Solberg's 2011 Misfortune

Rarely has one driver been beset with such terrible misfortune as Petter Solberg in the opening three rounds of the 2011 WRC season.

The Norwegian driver finished fifth at Rally Sweden after incurring a driving ban for speeding on a road section (meaning co-driver Chris Patterson was forced to step into the driver's seat for the final test), fourth at Rally Mexico after his Citroen DS3 WRC was hobbled by electrical problems in the early stages and fifth at Rally Portugal after suffering four punctures.

He now lies fifth in the Drivers' championship, 27 points behind joint leaders Mikko Hirvonen and Sebastien Loeb. Such a significant point deficit could prove impossible to overcome (although I sincerely hope not).

This is especially galling for the 2003 World Champion because he's proven to be the fastest driver of the new season. He leads the Hard Chargers Alternative Championship by a clear margin and has set more fastest stage time than Ford's duo of works drivers, Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala, combined. Only Loeb has won more stages; 15 compared to Solberg's 14.

Although much of the blame for Solberg's Swedish nightmare can be levied at the man himself, the electrical gremlins in Mexico and oft deflating tyres in Portugal were well beyond his control.

I asked Solberg, after Rally Portugal, when his luck would change: "You tell me! I don't know. Maybe we should have tested more, but I don't know why we got so many punctures. I'm still pushing. I'm not giving up."

Solberg's unwaivering determination and boundless enthusiasm for a sport that has at times been so cruel is truly remarkable. The 36-year-old's resilience should be applauded. Time will tell if it's to be rewarded.

I suspect Solberg's currently realising the true value of factory status. As a privateer, he lacks the means to focus singularly on strategy and the exhaustive preparation ahead of each rally of the Ford and Citroen drivers. His relatively inadequate approach to rallying in 2011, though commendable, appears to be manifesting itself as ill fortune.

Rumours abound that Petter Solberg has signed a mega deal to drive for the putative forthcoming Volkswagen World Rally Team in 2012 and beyond. With the might of a superbly well-financed factory effort behind him and the combination his undying determination and evergreen driving talent, I reckon we'll soon see Solberg mounting his most convincing title bid since 2003.

http://www.mudsnowandtar.com/featured/s ... misfortune

[sleenster]

Solberg Delays Pikes Peak Attempt

World Rally Championship star Petter Solberg has delayed his participation in the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb until 2012.

The Norwegian driver had hoped to contest the world famous event this year (June 26), but scheduling difficulties have forced the 2003 WRC champion to postpone his record attempt on the Colorado hill climb until next year. The seventh round of the 2011 WRC season, Acropolis Rally, ends just a few days before the Rocky Mountains classic begins.

Under the banner of the Petter Solberg World Rally Team, the 36-year-old had planned to campaign a purpose-built, unique hill climb car with the ambition of becoming the first person to complete the 12.42-mile course in under 10 minutes. The current record is held by Nobuhiro Tajima at 10:01.41, set in 2007.

"I really really wanted to be there this year," explains Solberg. "However, I think we have made the correct decision and regrettably not go there in June. When we go there, we have one aim and that is to be the fastest. To be fastest we need to have everything else at 110 per cent in shape. Since we decided to join, we have taken on several other projects, this has left us with less time to focus on the Pikes Peak Hill Climb project. Pikes Peak; we will be there in 2012!"

http://www.mudsnowandtar.com/latestnews ... ak-attempt

[momo]

Solbergs to star in Cars 2 movie
01 Jul 11

World Rally Championship aces Henning and Petter Solberg will lend their voices to the new Cars 2 movie when it's released in their native Norway next month.

Henning is a rusty Cadillac, while Petter provides the voice for Lewis Hamilton, a sleek grand touring sports car in the film, titled Bilen 2 in Norway.

“It was great fun doing this movie,” said Petter, who is better known for driving a Citroen DS3 WRC in the world championship. “It has been possible to do things like this before but it made the most sense to do a film about cars. It wasn’t really hard to do it but I’ve got such a bad memory that I’ve forgotten my lines already.”

The Solbergs spent one day in the Norwegian capital Oslo earlier this month to record their parts.

“I had a few different lines and [the real] Lewis Hamilton will actually provide his voice for the film in Britain,” continued Petter. “It will be a good film for kids and adults and my son Oliver is already a big fan. He was with me in the studios when we made the film.”

Henning added: “I did not say so much but the biggest thing you had to do was to speak when the car is moving its mouth. That was something you had to learn.”

Cars 2 is the sequel to the 2006 film Cars and centres on the World Grand Prix in Japan and Europe. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios it was released in the United States on 24 June. Its UK release is set for 22 July, while movie goers in Norway will get their chance to watch the film 29 July, when both Solbergs will be competing on Neste Oil Rally Finland.

After seven rounds of this year’s WRC, Petter Solberg is fifth in the drivers’ standings with older brother Henning, who drives a Ford Fiesta RS WRC for the M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team, ninth.

http://www.wrc.com/news/solbergs-to-sta ... ?fid=14966