Jump to Comments

Subaru view: The new STI rally car made its debut in Greece.

WRC

Chris Atkinson is hoping his new Subaru doesn’t let him down in Rally Turkey that begins on Friday.

The Australian, who sits third in the World Rally Championship, was knocked out of contention in last month’s Acropolis Rally when his brand new WRC08 STI Subaru suffered an electrical glitch.

His team-mate Petter Solberg was not affected by any such gremlins and proved the potential of the new car by bringing it home in second place.

Rally Turkey, which was absent from last year’s WRC calendar,  is a treacherous event with rough roads, lots of water crossings and several large rocks on the roads.

 Championship leader Sebastien Loeb, who has won the last two rallies is the favourite for the event, but will have to overcome the problem of starting first on the road.

“Once again, Daniel (Elena, Loeb’s co-driver) and I face the delights of ‘road-sweeping’ and that promises to be a big handicap, unless the conditions are damp,” said the Frenchman.

Loeb has fought hard to regain the championship lead after a couple DNFs and is keen to retain the lead in Turkey.

“It took two wins in a row to retrieve top spot, so there is no question of letting it slip from our grasp again,” Loeb said.

 “But I know Turkey won’t be easy. The stages are very varied, with a big range of difficulties.”

Atkinson acknowledges the rally in Turkey won’t be easy.

“Turkey will be difficult again as every stage is so varied. It’s also soon after Greece which was a tough rally so it won’t be easy,” he said.

The Queenslander hopes he will be able to find more speed in the new car.

“Ok, it’s only the second rally for the new car, but we have learned a lot already and I hope can take this into Turkey to take the little steps forward we’re after. We need to get some more drivers’ points, so I’ll be pushing.”

Solberg, who is on a high after his strong result in Greece, is hoping to be on the pace again in Turkey.

“I’m looking forward to going back to Turkey as the stages have suited us well in the pas,” he said.

“We were fast there in the old car, and we’ve shown what the new car can do in Greece, so I’m very excited to see what we can do again, to keep pushing and for the results to start coming. I have a good feeling with the new car, so if we can get the whole package working with the roads there, it could be very good.”

Rally Turkey is made-up of nineteen stages over 360 competitive kilometers across the Anatolian mountains to an altitude of almost 1800 metres above sea level.
The rally used to be held later in the year, but this year’s event will be run at height of the Mediterranean summer.

Strength sapping heat is therefore expected to test the new Subarus, the drivers and the crews.