Autosportfoto

Solberg ponders management move

Having won a WRC title alongside him, Petter Solberg now wants to follow Tommi Mäkinen into team management.

Solberg and Mäkinen shared the Subaru team when the Norwegian lifted his 2003 world title and now, having announced his decision to stand down from full-time competition at the highest level, Petter has once again identified the flying Finn as his role model.

“It is my dream to run a team with a manufacturer,” Solberg told wrc.com. “Rallying is my first love and my passion and to do what Tommi has done would be fantastic.

“Tommi and me worked so well together when we were both driving for Subaru, I could see how he worked and how driven he was to succeed. He has continued that into running the Toyota team and that’s what I would love to do in the future.”

Solberg ran his own private team in the WRC from 2009 to 2011.

“I took third place in the [drivers’] championship in 2010 with my own team and that made me so proud,” he added. “Then after that I won two World Rallycross titles running my own car before we started to work with Volkswagen Motorsport in WRX.”

Solberg’s PSRX Volkswagen Sweden squad won back-to-back teams’ and drivers’ titles in rallycross.

“I made a big decision recently and I have to say, I have been amazed at the messages from everybody all around the world. Messages of real support – thank you for that guys!

“But now, I want to be quiet for a while, I want to take a look at the options and stay calm before the next move. But, for sure, running a team in the World Rally Championship – or World Rallycross when it goes electric – would be really interesting and a big dream for me.”

Zdroj: wrc.com