2 December 2007

The Subaru World Rally Team ended a consistent weekend with the Impreza of Petter Solberg and Phil Mills finishing in fourth place on the Welsh co-driver's home event. Team-mates Chris Atkinson / Stephane Prevot and Xevi Pons / Xavier Amigo both finished inside the top ten.
The final day of Wales Rally GB and also of the 2007 WRC season was the toughest of the rally, and amongst the most treacherous of the year. The heaviest rain of the weekend soaked the stages, turning the routes into deep muddy tracks. Coupled with the foreboding skies, the conditions demanded absolute focus from the crews just to stay on the road.

Petter Solberg had a solid opening stage, before suffering some handling difficulties on the second after running over a rock in the middle of the road. After losing time to Sordo (Citroen) just behind in fifth, he started the afternoon third fastest to ensure he stayed ahead. He and Phil Mills finish the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship fifth overall.

Atkinson struggled in the morning loop, dropping almost 23 seconds to slip behind rally-long rival Wilson (Ford) into seventh. Unhappy with the balance of his Impreza on the morning loop, his pace improved after a setup change during service. He and co-driver Stephane Prevot climbed one place in the championship standings to finish the season seventh overall in the drivers' contest.

Xevi Pons completed the morning's stages suffering from a fogged windscreen, but persevered with a solid drive to complete the first loop of the event's toughest stages with reduced visibility. With a comfortable cushion over Ostberg (Subaru) from leg two, Pons and Xavier Amigo retained their position of ninth overall.