ERC24 has exclusively been chosen by the Petter Solberg Rallycross Team as the only website dedicated to Rallycross to present ‘Petter’s Blog’ in 2014. Find part #6 of May 8 here.
11 years have passed since I drove to my first WRC victory. The experiences from that triumph have burned into my memory. In the first ever FIA World RX race, I got a close encounter with the same feelings again.
The thoughts of all the work we have put into this project and all of those people who have helped along the way to make it possible, make it a relief that I performed under pressure and met the high expectations. The mental and physical emotions when I finally – after a long, long time – again stood on the top step of the podium where phenomenal.
Nine years had passed since the last time I was there… There were some tears of joy for both, for Pernilla, for myself and others in our PSRX Team. Strong emotions came to the surface after all the work that is laid down. We have pushed a lot of limits on our way to this success.
The two victories that are 11 and a half years apart are strong memories to take forward in life. But I will never rest on this victory from Portugal. I’m hungry for more and will work even smarter in the future to achieve the really big goal of mine.
“The mental and physical emotions after my victory where phenomenal.” © JKR/ERC24
The new focus on Rallycross is the second part of my career. The first part gave a lot of success and fun in the WRC. Now it’s all about Rallycross, and the first milestone was a World RX win. Now that is completed. I am incredibly proud to be the first ever World RX winner!
We built up last year’s team and the car in record time last winter. When we met up at the legendary Lydden Hill track on March 29 for the first Euro RX round, we stood there without experience, without knowledge, and neither team trailer or a competitive RX car. Looking back at it all, we should never have gone there, nor the next two or three races. But without all the experience from last year, both negative and positive, I’d never been standing here as the first World RX event winner ever.
Rallycross is a completely different sport than Rallying. 3 or 4 high-intensity minutes in the car on the track and with 600 horsepower right in front of the driver is something completely new. The level of drivers in this sport is sky high.
Almost 25,000 people hailed Petter Solberg after his overall victory at Montalegre. © JKR/ERC24
The development of vehicles and equipment is going forward in record time and the interest in the championship is running wild. Therefore my life will carry on straight back into everyday life. My mechanics remained an extra day in Portugal to prepare the cars of both, Alexander Hvaal and myself after the race. When vehicles and equipment return to Torsby towards the end of the week, we’ll work just as hard for the next race.
Although there was success and victory for one of the team’s cars if the first race, there remains a great deal of work on both of them before we go on to Lydden Hill for the next World RX round in two weeks. This is probably the situation in all other teams too. All teams, cars and drivers will be better prepared, and so should we.
The PSRX Team made a very good start to the season with overall victory, four heat wins, improving the track record three times and currently we’re third in the team championship. Now our journey continues towards the big goal: the World RX Championship title.
Not often emotions are too strong for the extroverted Petter to talk about his feelings… © JKR/ERC24
Top photo: Pushing it to the limits – ‘Hollywood’ en route to victory in the first ever WorldRX round. © JKR/ERC24