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The very first leg of Rally Germany was packed with contrasting affairs for the Subaru team. The tricky track, the reliable mechanical auto parts, the changing the weather, the remarkable speed, and the elusive podium finish.
Friday's route took crews north east of Trier into the Mosel vineyard region. Leg one contained six special stages, totaling to 128. 6 competitive kilometers, Supersport reported. Even though many of the stages are unchanged from previous years, some sections have already been re-surfaced, making grip levels unpredictable. Despite the reliability of the Subaru radiator and all other rally parts, it had been hard for the team to achieve the utmost goal.
Subaru World Rally Team managing director Richard Taylor said: "It's been each day of mixed fortunes for the team. We're really pleased with the pace of all three cars on the asphalt, but the positions we hold at the end of the day do not certainly reflect the performance and potential we've shown. Both Chris and Petter could have been comfortably in the top five, nevertheless they both paid heavily for small mistakes. After he went off on the 2nd stage, Chris did a great job this afternoon, running very strongly at the front of the field, and the fastest time on the last stage was deserved and needed.
Petter's day started well, but the steering damage caused by the rock on SS4 dropped him to the budget of the top-ten. Apart from a few spins and a faulty handbrake, Xevi has had a great day. Over all we are able to be happy with the pace that we've shown. It's encouraging for the rest of the weekend, " Taylor added.
"Our pace today was excellent and the car was handling well. It's very good on asphalt; a totally different car. Unfortuitously I arrived to a hairpin throughout SS5 and hit a rock with the inside wheel which damaged the steering. There was nothing we could do to repair it until we returned to service and it was very difficult to operate a vehicle, so that meant we lost amount of time in the final two stages which are the longest of the day, ? explained Petter Solberg.
"The car felt good today. I am building my confidence back up; in the beginning of the day I didn't feel 100 per cent right, but by the end it's really a great feeling to finish the last stage fastest. We've had awesome pace today and for that reason being fastest does not come as a big surprise, it's just a shame that i made a mistake, and I am sorry for the whole team. I really think we could have been fighting for a podium here. It's very encouraging for people and shows how quick we could be on asphalt, ? said Chris Atkinson.
Xevi Pons has this to state: "Today was over all a good day as there were occasions when we really showed our pace. It had been difficult day because it was my first competitive outing on asphalt with the team, and the stages listed below are tricky. "
Despite only getting one of their three cars to the finish on the Rallye Deutschland, Taylor was still pleased about the function, reported Yahoo! Eurosport.
"We can certainly carry on to the following three asphalt rallies confident that people can be quite competitive there. It is a reflection of all hard team-work that we have been doing throughout the last couple of weeks, and over all we can come from this weekend with a positive feeling and look forward to the remaining season, " Taylor summed-up.