Five milliseconds was the difference. Petter said: ”How can you measure that gap? You can’t. When I came off the joker lap I saw [Mattias] Ekstrom from the corner of my eye, but as we crossed the line I really didn’t know. Was it enough? Was I first? Then I saw some spectators giving me the thumbs up and I knew I’d done it. The hat-trick… three wins in a row and four in the season so far. Fantastic!
”All wins are special, but I’ll remember this one for a very long time. At times this weekend, winning the final looked quite a long way away. After the third heat, I dropped to eighth in the standings and I have to admit I started to get some real nerves. It started to rain in the fourth heat and things started to look up for me. I took a win in the semi-final after I spotted a gap at the first corner. Then, I was ready for the final.
”The start wasn’t so good for me in the last race and I was ready to settle for the second place. I didn’t want to take so many risks, but then I saw a mistake from Robin Larsson. I spotted a gap and went for it around the outside – I was going flat out for the lead. I made it. But then I had a small problem with the intercom and I couldn’t hear my chief mechanic. I didn’t know how many laps left! I just pushed harder, gave it everything. Coming off the joker, and into the finish line, I saw Ekstrom coming…
”It was close. So close, but it doesn’t matter. We won! We have a good lead in the championship – 50 points, but don’t forget that can all go away with one bad weekend. Staying focused and staying cool is so important and that is what we have to do in Italy. Winning this championship is everything right now. Especially as my son Oliver has now won two championships!
”Just two weeks after he won the Swedish Crosskart title, Oliver won the NEZ Crosskart Championship as well this week. That was the perfect way for him to celebrate becoming a teenager – which he also did last week. I’m so proud! We will have some big celebrations for him when I get home. But they won’t be long celebrations, not with Italy coming in just a few days.”
The end of the race wouldn’t have been a good time to blink; blink and you’d have missed it. It takes twice as long to blink as it did for Petter’s PSRX Citroen to lead Mattias Ekstrom across the finish line.
Just before we go, hat-tricks are nothing new for Petter. This time it’s Canada, France and Germany, but in the 2004 World Rally Championship the then defending world champion won Rally Japan, Rally GB and Rally Italy in succession with Subaru.
One thing we liked about Estering:
Coming across the finish line with such a comfortable gap to the car in second place…
One thing we didn’t like about Estering:
The first-corner craziness: there was a lot of action in that first right-hander!
Final result:
1 Petter Solberg 3m52.115s
2 Matthias Ekstrom 3m52.120s
3 Robin Larsson 3m54.169s
4 Pontus Tidemand 3m55.784s
5 Toomas Heikkinen 3m56.265s
6 Timmy Hansen 3m57.538s
Championship positions:
1 Petter Solberg 211pts
2 Toomas Heikkinen 162pts
3 Reinis Nitiss 158pts
4 Timmy Hansen 137pts
5 Andreas Bakkerud 135pts
6 Timur Timerzyanov 128pts
Next time out (World RX of Italy, September 27-28)
It’s Italy. Northern Italy. Near Monza. Near Brescia. Motorsport nirvana. Just when the FIA World Rallycross Championship couldn’t get any better, we’re going to a country where our sport is lived, breathed and worshipped. And the pasta’s not bad either. But, if you really want to try the best of the Lombardy cuisine, sing risotto alla Milanese to the waiter of waitress. And then let them sell you a good Barolo. Ah Italia, see you in a day or two.
The race is at the Franciacorta International Circuit, Brescia, by the way…
