Solberg Wins Japan’s Inaugural Rally

Subaru’s Petter Solberg has won the inaugural Rally of Japan. By the end of the second leg, Solberg had built up a lead of more than a minute over Citreon’s Sebastien Loeb.

Solberg’s victory means he moves into second place in the world rally championship with 54 points, closing the gap between him and the leader, Loeb, to 30 points. Estonia’s Markko Martin finished in third place, followed by Markus Gronholm, whose Peugeot suffered gearbox problems.

Pirelli’s KM and KP tyres were used in the rally, which the company claims “proved to be ideal for the tricky Japanese stages.” Fiorenzo Brivio, Pirelli’s rally manager commented: “It’s been a brilliant rally and a fantastic final result for Petter, who led from start to finish. Our P Zero KM tyres really made the difference in Japan thanks to their narrow cross-section which was particularly effective on the hard but gravelly surface that is so typical of this area.”

Pirelli is bound to see the win as a triumph over Michelin because Subaru is the only team whose tyres are not supplied by Michelin.

“We’ve had no problems at all with the car – it worked well – and that was the best thing about it. I can’t really think about the championship. I’ve just got to keep doing the best job that I can at each and every event and then just see what happens,” race-winner Petter Solberg told the BBC.