Subaru U.K. test summary 2003-03-07

Petter Solberg and Phil Mills travelled to the Lake District on Monday this week to carry out a two-day tyre development test. The 555 Subaru World Rally Team regulars completed 339 kilometres of testing on two separate roads over the two days.

On day one Petter tackled a 3.2km stage that featured a hard base with a covering of loose gravel and a variety of corner types. The Norwegian notched up 162 stage kilometres, concentrating mainly on evaluating new Pirelli tyre compounds but also working on the ongoing development of the engine.

A slightly shorter (2.7km) and slower stage was used for the second day, again with a hard packed gravel surface but with more twisty corners. The weather had improved from the previous day, and although overcast, there were no downpours as seen on day one. Further testing was completed on new prototype tyre compounds and development work was also carried out on engine, transmission and suspension.

The team's next event is the Propecia Rally New Zealand, round four of the FIA World Rally Championship. The team will travel to Auckland in less than a month for the rally, which will take place 11-13 April.

Petter Solberg: "We had a good test, mainly looking at new tyre developments, as well as suspension, engine and drivetrain work. We found some improvements that look good for New Zealand but in general it was a development test - not a time to set-up the car for NZ. Our luck hasn't been what we would have hoped so far this year but we have some good gravel rallies coming up and the car feels positive for those events."

Period of Test: 4-5 March 2003
Location: Two stages in the Lake District, UK
Surface: Gravel
Purpose: Tyre development test
Weather: 6-10°C, rain and fog on day one, overcast but no rain on day two
Driver: Petter Solberg

-subaru-