Lightning strikes twice for Petter ‘Hollywood’ Solberg! After just missing out on a top result at the previous round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship in Austria last weekend – when his car stopped on the start line of the final – Petter ‘Hollywood’ Solberg didn’t possibly imagine that lightning could strike twice. But he was wrong. The final round of the series, at Buxtehude in Germany, contained an even bigger heartbreak for the popular Norwegian, who won the World Rally Championship in 2003. Just like Greinbach, Petter had enjoyed a perfect weekend right up to the final, winning three of the heats and claiming pole position, as well as setting a new track record. Estering was a circuit that ‘Hollywood’ loved, with the carbon black Citroen DS3 Supercar seemingly unstoppable over the mixed gravel and asphalt course. At long last, after nine rounds of hard work, it looked like the Norwegian was finally going to achieve the rallycross win that he so richly deserved. Petter made a brilliant start, having established himself as the man to beat, but then he was hit from behind before the first corner and shoved into the wall. In total, his final lasted for less than 100 metres. Not just Petter, but all his fans, were distraught. Could this really be happening? Again? For once, ‘Hollywood’ was actually lost for words. “I just can’t believe it,” he reflected afterwards. We had the best weekend of the whole year with three heat victories, a fantastic semi-final, the circuit record, pole position and a track that was really made for me and my driving style. I loved it and I knew that we had a really good chance this weekend. And then this takes place. I’ve just got no words for what happened. I haven’t been this angry for years!” It was a bitter blow for the entire Petter Solberg RX Team, which has worked so hard since the beginning of the year to build and develop the Citroen DS3 Supercar from scratch, as well as raising the budget to run it. But while the top step of the podium has eluded Petter this year (although he has finished second and third) there are plenty of positives for the Norwegian to take away, having established himself as the fastest and most spectacular driver of the year. And ‘Hollywood’ never stays down for long. “It’s not just about the results: it’s important to put on a really good show as well,” added Petter. “We’ve tried as hard as we can all year, really given it everything, and you can’t do more than that. Everything I do, I do with passion and more than 100% commitment. But this has certainly been one of the biggest challenges of my career.” Petter has yet to announce his plans for next season, but the growing promotion and buzz around rallycross is sure to make it an extremely popular option for 2014, with yet more investment and television coverage expected in future.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 17:25:58 +0000
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