ERC24 has exclusively been chosen by the Petter Solberg Rallycross (PS RX) Team as the only website dedicated to Rallycross to present ‘Petter’s Blog’ in 2014. Find part #3 of March 10 here.
50 days. That’s what’s left until the first ever World RX Championship starts. We have only got half of that time to complete our two cars and start both engines for the first time, in order to do some crucial testing in the beginning of April.
But do not despair! We are on track and in very good spirits. Only last week we received our first engine to the workshop in Torsby, Sweden. It was brought here only to be fitted into the car, then it was packed down and shipped back to France in a hurry for even more development at Pipo Moteurs.
The French engine manufacturer is my supplier this season – which I am extremely proud of. In my opinion Pipo Moteurs is the best of the best in the motorsport business, and I can tell from the details of their work that this is top notch material.
French company Pipo Moteurs will be our engine supplier for the FIA World Rallycross Championship. © PSRX/ERC24
I am truly sorry that I can’t provide you with many details about the engine. In this business we need to keep secrets in our development work – and that goes especially for our new engine.
Pipo Moteurs have been in the business for a long time, and the last 12 years they have been extremely successful in the WRC: 200 podium cars, 50 victories, 2 World Driver’s Championships, 5 Manufacturers Titles…
The success started with Marcus Grönholm’s Peugeot (206 & 307) and continued with Ford Focus and Fiesta. Ken Block is the only other RX driver with Pipo Moteurs engine under the hood.
For each day and hour that goes by, it’s getting evermore tense in the PSRX Team. We are all extremely excited about what we’re up against this season. Almost daily the news comes rollin’ in about new competitors in the World RX; Jacques Villeneuve, Tanner Foust, Ken Block are amongst them.
I am still convinced that the World RX Championship is the right place to be and that the right time is now. It’ll be awesome fighting for the first ever World RX Title!
In the last few months I’ve been preparing myself for the showdown. It’s impossible to predict what will happen, who will be winners and who will not. I am doing all that I’m capable of to make sure that the PSRX Team with Alexander Hvaal and myself will be at the front of the field.
The technology world has come far further in Rallying than in Rallycross, something I am trying to take maximum advantage of. The layout of the car, weight distribution, attention to detail, handling, professionalism, reliability and of course the engine are key concepts that we work on tirelessly.
The 2014 Citroën DS3 SuperCar in the making at our workshops in Torsby. © PSRX/ERC24
At the moment there are two carbon covered cars on axel stands in my workshop. The 2013 edition of the Citroën DS3 Supercar will be driven by the youngster Hvaal. A brand new 2014 version is being developed and built for me on the basis of last season’s many experiences.
A dedicated team of 15 PSRX crew members is working all day and many nights to find the winning formula for us.
The story is just beginning.
Top photo: 2013 and Petter Solberg flying his Citroën DS3 Rallycross SuperCar over the famous Höljes jump. © JKR/ERC24
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