STOBART FOCUS ON PODIUM IN FINLAND
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford drivers Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson are preparing to take on one of the most hotly anticipated events on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar, Neste Oil Rally Finland, the ninth round of the championship. One of the oldest events on the calendar, Rally Finland is also a firm favourite with drivers and fans alike as it lives up to its fearsome reputation as the fastest rally of the year where only the most skilful and brave drivers will succeed.

The team arrive in Jyväskylä after a strong performance at Rally Poland, which saw Solberg and co-driver Cato Menkerud take their second podium finish of the season. That rally proved to be excellent preparation for Rally Finland, with the fast, flowing stages giving the crews a taste of what to expect when they take on one of the calendar’s classic rallies next week.

Pre-event testing in their reliable Ford Focus RS WRCs in the lead up to the event should also ensure that both Stobart crews are on top form when the rally gets underway on Thursday night.

Solberg was frustrated by his car on the opening day of Rally Poland as he fought to find the right set-up. But things came good for the Norwegian as the rally progressed and a hard-charging performance on the closing day saw him move up to take a hard-fought third place. That result, and the knowledge gained from his experience in Finland last year where he was lying third after day 1, should put him in contention for another podium battle.

Wilson and co-driver Scott Martin also performed well in Poland and, with three years’ experience of Rally Finland now under his belt, Wilson is ready to make the step up from his previous best finish of ninth, in an event that is rarely won by anyone who did not grow up on the blisteringly fast roads of the Finnish lake district.

The rally gets underway on Thursday night with the traditional opening Super Special Stage at the Killeri trotting track where thousands of fans are expected to turn out and cheer on their idols over the 2.06km course. A season-record 90 cars have been entered for the rally with competition set to be fierce throughout the field.

Around 50 per cent of the stages used in last year’s rally remain in the itinerary for this year’s edition but many others have been modified while three new stages have been introduced to the schedule. Gone are the famous, but ultra-fast, Ouninpohja tests but the unique challenge of Rally Finland still remains.

Day 1 will take the crews to the north west of Service Park through 130.84kms of high-speed gravel roads where the accuracy of their pacenotes will be properly tested for the first time in the rally. Fearsome crests in the stages hide fast bends and the drivers will also have heavy demands placed on their concentration.

Day 2 features the longest stage of the rally SS19 Vaarinmaja at 29.29kms along with one of the rally’s new stages, SS18 Kavala where the Stobart team will be relying on the Pirelli Scorpion gravel tyres on the hard-packed gravel roads. The last day of the rally provides just 47.44kms of stages before returning to Rally HQ at Paviljonki for the finish ceremony.

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team news since Rally Poland
Matthew Wilson and Scott Martin set themselves the gruelling summer challenge of completing the Raid des Alpes, a 700km bike trek over some of the highest peaks in the French Alps. The duo, along with trainer Barry Johnson, completed the ride from the shores of Lake Geneva to Antibes on the Mediterranean coast in less than a week.

Wilson and Martin will take part in a short pre-rally test in Hauhanpohja on Monday to complete their preparations for the rally.

Henning Solberg and Cato Menkerud will also test on Monday. While Menkerud has been continuing his training for September’s Berlin Marathon, Solberg swapped his car for a boat as he joined brother Petter at the Norwegian round of the Class One World Powerboat Championship in Arendal. Continuing the long-running family rivalry, Petter was fastest in practice but Henning took family honours in the race.

Solberg will be back in a car this weekend when he takes part in the third round of the Nordic Rallycross Championship in Strangnas, Sweden in his Ford Fiesta.

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Matthew Wilson said:
“Doing Rally Poland before Finland was really good preparation for us. We picked up a lot of things in Poland, including changes with our pacenotes that will really help in Finland. Hopefully we can get a good feeling with the car at the test. It always helps to have some time in the car in Finland before the rally starts as it is such a technical event and the speeds are so high. I’ve been there three times before so I’m in a much better position now as it is a rally where you do need experience.”

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Henning Solberg said:
“I’m feeling very upbeat after the podium finish in Poland although it took me a couple of days to settle into the characteristics of the rally there. I hope that I will be able to start quicker in Finland. It is an important rally for my sponsors Expert, who have a big presence in Finland, so it is imperative for me to get a good result for them. I was third after day 1 last year and I hope that I can repeat that kind of pace this year; two podiums in two rallies would be amazing.”

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson said:
“Matthew has gained invaluable experience in this event over the past three years and is now ready to step up and take a good points finish for the Stobart team. He and Scott learned a lot from their strong result at Rally Poland and should be able to translate that into another consistent and reliable performance in this challenging event. Henning has a good record at Rally Finland in recent years and we hope that he will be able to maintain the momentum that he built in the last rally to produce another excellent result for the team.”

Event Information
Date: 30 July-2 August 2009
Round: 9 of 12 FIA World Rally Championship
Based: Jyväskylä, Finland
Stage surface: Gravel
Total stage distance: 345.15km
Number of stages: 23
Longest stage: 29.29km (SS19) Vaarinmaja
Service Park: Jyväskylä Paviljonki
Super Special Stage: 2.06kms (SS1/SS10) Killeri

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