Zoom A tough event for Henning Solberg

Jari-Matti Latvala scored a championship point with his eight position finish in Germany ahead of Matthew Wilson, while it was a tough event for Henning Solberg who was classified 13th. Team Principal Malcolm Wilson declared himself satisfied as the team did not lose any ground to its nearest rival Subaru.

Jari-Matti Latvala
“This has been a good but very difficult event. We came here to finish the rally, complete all the stages and get more experience. This is exactly what we have done and as a bonus we have scored both driver and manufacturer points. On the other side, my speed has not been as good as I would have liked but I have learnt a lot here. My confidence was not good when the road was dirty and in the cuts but this is what I need to learn. This championship is all about experience and I know that I need to get more to be able to increase my speed safely. But the car and tyres have been fantastic and we have done a good job here; now the confidence will be good going into New Zealand.”

Matthew Wilson
“It was good to get to the end of the rally and finish every stage but I wasn't happy with my pace but this is one of those rallies that is hard to get into a rhythm because of the different types of surfaces. This makes it really hard to learn how you should drive on a tarmac event. I made a couple of silly mistakes during the weekend which cost us time here and there but it all adds up in the end. Still we were lucky with the weather this weekend and it is important for me to have finished all the stages and get the mileage. All weekend we were receiving excellent information from our safety crew which made it a lot easier to push harder over the stages.”

Henning Solberg
“The rally was always going to be hard for me as I have not competed on many tarmac events before and I knew I would have a tough weekend ahead. It was difficult to learn about driving here and to get a good feeling on asphalt as the stages have different surfaces, very slippery and so easy to make a mistake. I'm disappointed that I didn't get all the stages completed but we have learnt a lot here and the set-up of the car will now be better for the next asphalt event in Spain. The car has worked perfectly and I think that some of the things I have picked up on this rally will also help me with my driving style on a gravel surface. We have got some points for the team so that has also been a bonus.”