Sardinia: Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Team - FinishHenning Solberg/Cato Menkerud finished just one place outside the podium, helping their Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team strengthen its position in the Manufacturers' Championship at this weekend's Rally d'Italia Sardegna, round
seven of the FIA World Rally Championship.
The team has now extended its lead over Subaru's factory outfit to three points, maintaining third spot in the manufacturers' race, and claiming the second highest team points haul this weekend. With Solberg's fine effort he now sits locked in a battle for fifth in the Drivers' Championship with brother Petter.
Early rally leaders Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila led a WRC event for the first time in their, and the Stobart Team's, history. They overcame retirement on leg 1 to set more fast times on the final six stages of the rally; ending their exciting weekend on a high and ready to tackle the next event in Greece.
After retiring from day 2, Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr finished on a positive note with their improved performance being accredited to more accurate and confident pace-notes as they climbed up to twelfth outright by rally's end.
Today's leg saw a move to the north of event headquarters in Olbia, running a short series of stages around Tempio Pausania and Arzachena. Again conditions were testing and road position played a key role on this very successful day for the Stobart Team. In typical Mediterranean fashion weather conditions could not have been any better for the fourth running of this event.
Surface temperatures reached 38 degrees celsius as drivers tackled 1061.84 kilometres of total event distance.
The island again provided rough, narrow stages which took every ounce of concentration for crews to muster. Its rock-hard base with a loose sandy gravel coating left no room for error, just an inch off the racing line and your Sardinian dream could be shattered. True to tradition the massive crests which flourish throughout Sardinia's gravel roadways have offered a great spectacle for photographers and spectators alike.
The battle was on between Solberg and Sordo for the final podium spot. The pair exchanged blows throughout the last day with the Spaniard, Sordo, just taking the place by 14.8 seconds. Solberg put up an incredible fight winning two stages and, at one point, closing the gap to a mere 3.9 seconds.
Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila also had a day full of fast stages including a second fastest time over the opening test of the morning. Leading the rally after three stages, before retiring with a broken suspension on stage 4, the flying Finns will be ones to keep a very close eye on come next month, when the WRC heads to Greece for the Acropolis Rally.
After stopping eight kilometres into stage 10 with a broken suspension, Wilson picked himself up for the final leg setting some impressive times despite the fact he was given the difficult task of sweeping the road as the number one competitor off the blocks.
It's also been a successful weekend for Stobart Motorsport in the Fiesta Sporting Trophy with Scotsman Barry Clark and co-driver Scott Martin completing at hat-trick of wins in the highly competitive series. The pair have won all three rounds of the championship this year in their Stobart-backed Ford Fiesta ST.
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Team
