World RX 2016 round two in Germany is go!

Hosted on a specially constructed track, built inside the famous Sachs Curve stadium complex, the boiling hot conditions and dusty dirt sequences are a far cry from the deep rutted mud in Montalegre, on which Petter Solberg claimed first blood of 2016.However the defending World champion is having to stay quietly cautious, after the first two qualification races were hampered by mechanical issues, pushing him down the order to seventh overall.

Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block and Andreas Bakkerud will be putting in the hard work overnight too, after broken drive shafts and smashed carbon fibre on both cars in the two opening heats saw them placed 14th and 16th respectively.

Liam Doran has been on point and in full attack mode, bouncing his JRM Racing Mini RX off the limiter, and fighting dust and dirt, to place 12th in the overnight standings, just three points adrift off nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb.

Petter Solberg – 7th “We had a test in Höljes before this round and made a few small changes to the car, and found more performance. I am very competitive, and of course I’m not going to be mega happy with seventh, but it is ok. We just have to work hard; there is a lot to do overnight. We broke a center diff in Q1 and had issues with the launch again in Q2, but my team are flat out trying to fix the problems. Even when you look back at where we were in Portugal we were in a worse situation at the end of day one! We just need a clean run tomorrow, its very tricky to overtake, and the joker has almost the same time as a normal lap. We are aiming for the semi final and then will fight to win it. It’s not over until it’s over!”

Liam Doran – 12th “There’s more to come from me and the car that’s for sure. I was feeling confident coming into this weekend, as I was fast here last year. Now with the Mini, and the consistency and stability it provides; we are in a good place. I made a mistake during Q1 and clipped the tyre barrier; I just got caught up in the dust. Q2 was a clean one, and I just pushed as much as I could. The organisers wet the track before Q2 to keep the dust down which made it a little slippery, and I think there is still some more improvement I can make in my driving. I’ll work with the team to analyse the data overnight and come back strongly in Q3 and Q4. The aim is to get to the semis and fight on from there.”

Ken Block – 14th “Honestly I felt pretty good on this track today, I struggled a little in Portugal with the layout and the conditions, the heavy rain; so coming here in sunny weather is a little bit of a relief if anything. This circuit is much more suited to my driving style and I’m feeling good in the car. Unfortunately we’ve had problems today. I broke a differential in practice and then had a prop shaft failure in Q1, which effectively made the car two wheel drive. Then in Q2 I got a puncture on the second to last lap. I guess it’s a case of bad luck and a developing car. My times have been ok though compared to the guys in my qualification races. We are doing the best we can, Ford Performance and M-Sport are doing a great job to iron out all these small issues on such limited testing. We will keep pushing tomorrow. I’m sure we will get there!!”

Andreas Bakkerud - 16th “First of all, the job that the team at Hockenheim have done with the track is incredible, the dirt layout is so much fun and it’s awesome to be able to drive on a track that is longer to the normal layouts we are used to. The laps are around the 55-second mark and usually it’s close to 40. It all means more time in the car! The top of the field is really close here this weekend, and everyone is on form. Q1 didn’t quite go how I wanted; I clipped the barrier and broke a part of the drivetrain, which meant I couldn’t finish. Q2 was much better – great in fact. I was very aggressive at the start. I was in the first race for Q2, and they had wet the track, which meant it was a little slippery to begin with. Because it’s so hot here, the track dried out quickly and the later races were faster, but I was still 6th and we played the joker really well. I’m feeling quietly confident going into tomorrow for sure.”