Rally blow for Solberg

Petter Solberg’s hopes of a fifth consecutive Wales Rally GB victory suffered a major blow today.

The Norwegian, whose four wins put him alongside Hannu Mikkola as the two most successful drivers in the event’s history, lost half a minute to leader Marcus Gronholm on stage seven, the first of day two.

Resuming 25.8 seconds behind the Finn, Subaru star Solberg dropped to third place behind Austria’s Manfred Stohl having suffered understeer problems on the Crychan test.

The 32-year-old’s most costly moment came when the understeer caused him to go straight on at one corner and he briefly got stuck before being able to continue.

But there were no such dramas for two-time former world champion Gronholm, who extended his advantage to 55.8secs over Stohl on stage eight as he sought his seventh win of the season.

Top British performer Mark Higgins slipped one position to ninth as he swapped places with last year’s runner-up, Francois Duval.