Zoom Atkinson doing very well this season

The Subaru World Rally Team returns to Rally d'Italia Sardegna, an event won by its driver Petter Solberg at the conclusion of the 2004 edition. The sixth round of the World Rally Championship marks a return to Europe following the rally held in Jordan a few weeks ago.

Whereas Chris Atkinson secured his place on the third step of the podium following the Dead Sea race, Petter Solberg suffered through a broken damper on Day One and crashed his Impreza on Day Three.

The Italian event this week-end is a return to better-known territory and offers the opportunity for a fifth podium finish this season.

"Sardinia presents a completely different challenge to the last round of the Championship in Jordan only two weeks ago," said Team Principal David Richards. "Our test team has been working extremely hard to resolve the problems that Petter encountered with his shock absorbers and I am confident we have made significant progress in this respect. "

"Petter has won this event before so I am sure he goes into it with confidence and hoping that all our work has been worthwhile, enabling him to challenge strongly for a podium position," Richards added.

"This has traditionally been a tough rally, especially because the stages are so soft and the surface becomes badly deteriorated by the second passes," pointed out Paul Howarth, the team's Operations Director.

"With the combination of the soft surface and rocks in and at the sides of the roads, it'll be tough on tyres. This rally is all about reliability and consistency as all the stages are hard on the cars. The soft surface will present a very different challenge for the drivers and the setup of the car to the very hard roads we saw last in Jordan," Howarth explained.

D.B. © CAPSIS International