Petter Solberg launches comeback with own team

Norway's Petter Solberg has overcome Subaru's abrupt departure from the world rally championship by setting up his own team for his home event this weekend.

The 2003 world champion was left out in the cold when the Japanese manufacturer decided to quit in December, forcing him to miss the season-opener in Ireland won by Citroen's five-times champion Sebastien Loeb.

The Norwegian has been busy in the meantime, putting together his own Petter Solberg World Rally Team that will see him behind the wheel of a 2006 specification Citroen Xsara on his country's snowy roads.

If all goes well, he intends to contest the remaining rounds of the championship as well.

"This is a dream come true," said Solberg at the launch of the team in his home town of Spydeberg.

"I have wanted to put together my own WRC team for a long time, but I must admit I had not planned for it to happen in exactly these circumstances or in this timeframe," added the Norwegian, who has not won a world championship race for three years.

With Solberg's car unlikely to be much of a match for Loeb and the works Citroen teams, Norway's hopes are perhaps higher for his older brother Henning.

The Stobart driver completed a Ford top three-sweep by finishing third behind Mikko Hirvonen and the now retired Marcus Gronholm when the rally was last a world championship event in 2007.

The 23-stage event is based in Hamar, which staged some events at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics.