Rally Norway entry list: Solberg and Mikkelsen are in!

Close to 50 competitors have submitted their entries to Rally Norway, taking place 12-15 February. The start list includes drivers from twenty nations as well as ten Norwegians and is a strong field for the WRC’s second event of 2009.

The WRC’s youngest ever points scorer Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen, who caught the rally world’s attention last year with a history making Swedish Rally 5th place finish, is the big favourite in the PWRC category this year at his home event. This year Mikkelsen is competing in the Norwegian national Subaru Cup series, which combines rally and circuit racing, and the nineteen year old no doubt hopes Rally Norway will not be his only 2009 WRC entry. Mikkelsen is entered with a Subaru Impreza N14 in the PWRC category where he will compete with Patrik Flodin, Patrik Sandell and Martin Prokop among others.

As entries closed at 3pm today 13th January, Petter Solberg was also on the start list but without a specified car. The FIA has accepted Solberg’s request to notify them of this information at a later date.

Sebastien Leob, Daniel Sordo, Jari Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen are also entered and of course Henning Solberg who hopes to win Rally Norway with his renewed Ford deal, giving both his brother and all the other manufacturer drivers a fight to the finish.

Fellow Norwegians Mads Østberg and Anders Grøndal join Henning and Petter Solberg in the WRC category. In PWRC the Norwegian drivers are Andreas Mikkelsen, Sveinung Bieltvedt, Eyvind Brynildsen, Anders Kjær, Øyvind Sulland and Bernt Kollevold.

A healthy entrant field is also evident in the N4 and A8 classes, along with several participants in the much-speculated new S2000-cars.

Rally Norway opens with a show at Bjerkebanen horse racing track in Oslo on 12th February.

Stig Rune Kjernsli, Rally Norway’s Clerk of the Course said, “It’s no great surprise that we have fewer entrants than in 2007, but having said that we actually have more four-wheel drive cars this year. We have a very good quality start list and it’s a good signal that Rally Norway has more than matched the start list of WRC season opener Rally Ireland.”

Download unofficial entry list (per 13.01.09) for Rally Norway 2009
Updated: Official Entry List 27 January 2009

Images with winter rally action from Norway can be found on our website http://www.rallynorway.no/no/media/foto/

CONTACT US

Clerk of the Course Stig Rune Kjernsli, mobile +47 90 63 46 32,
Press Officer Vidar Julien, mobile +47 95 93 31 93,

Published: 2009-01-13 19:02