Petter Solberg - How good is he really?

I think Petter is a very good driver, but not a Loeb. When talking abt Mäkinen it is important to remember that his last year with Subaru was filled with mech. problems and bad luck. Without studying the matter more thoroughly I am not sure you can say that Petter was faster then Mäkinen in 02. Regarding the battle with Bosse in Sweden one also has to remeber that Bosse was driving a whale.

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Originally Posted by Magnus

I think Petter is a very good driver, but not a Loeb. When talking abt Mäkinen it is important to remember that his last year with Subaru was filled with mech. problems and bad luck. Without studying the matter more thoroughly I am not sure you can say that Petter was faster then Mäkinen in 02. Regarding the battle with Bosse in Sweden one also has to remeber that Bosse was driving a whale.

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And Loeb was driving Xsara so what is your point?

Petter does not need to be a Loeb in the first place, he could be the best and not being a Loeb. Different cars, different personalities, different styles..

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Originally Posted by Sladden

Petter is a bit tricky to judge..
He has been in the same team for 7 years now.. 2000-2004 models were all competetive and drivers as I recall were happy with them.
But 2005-2007 neither competetive or driver friendly.

2000-2004 Petter was very quick...
2005-2007 Petter making mistakes and car falling apart.

I think he is VERY quick and can beat anyone in a last stage fight.
2003 Finland.. he bent the pedals on the last stage fight with Burns and won!! Pushing like crazy....and consequentialy crash sometimes.

I dont think he has REALLY deserved any drivers title yet. In 2003 Grönholm and Loeb was better overall.

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Petter had the necessary luck in 2003 to be WC. It could have been gone both ways.

What most people don't remember is that he in 2004 was clearly the fastest driver/car combo. More than 30 fastest stage wins more than Loeb if I recall correctly, but it was the "watersplash"-problem ++ car - so he lost too many points on car trouble to challenge for the title.

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Originally Posted by Halvis

Petter had the necessary luck in 2003 to be WC. It could have been gone both ways.

What most people don't remember is that he in 2004 was clearly the fastest driver/car combo. More than 30 fastest stage wins more than Loeb if I recall correctly, but it was the "watersplash"-problem ++ car - so he lost too many points on car trouble to challenge for the title.

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I agree! If people call Petter's 2003 title was because of luck, I must say Petter lost 2004 title because of bad luck with watersplash. In 2004, Petter+Impreza was the fastest combination. Loeb was lucky that Impreza drowned every time went through water.