The Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship team are excited to announce that 2003 World Rally Champion and true motorsport superstar Petter Solberg is to compete on the final round of the 2024 season, the Clare Forest Rally, on October 5th.
The Scariff based event is the first Gravel rally to take place in Clare in 42 years, and it is a huge testament to the hard working team in Clare Motor Club who have not only made this event a reality on the back of what was an incredibly difficult year for the club, but have created a rally so irresistible that many in the Rally community are raving about the stages and has now has attracted one of the biggest stars in Rallying.
Petter Solberg raced to the 2003 WRC title in what was arguably one of the sports golden eras, and the Norwegian claimed 13 event wins while driving for the leading Factory teams such as Subaru and Ford, while he also campaigned Citroen WRC machinery under his Petter Solberg Engineering team.
Success on the world stages was continued by Solberg when he transitioned into Rallycross, as the adaptable star, known as Hollywood for his high drama driving style and character, won the World Rallycross title back-to-back in 2014 & 2015. In recent years, Petter has focused on developing his son Oliver, who has become one of the most exciting young talents in Rallying.
The visit to Ireland will see Solberg compete in the Bowler Defender Series on the Clare Forest Rally, the event marking the first time that this series had made a visit to Irish shores. Across seven loose surface events, crews compete in identical Land Rover Defenders which have been converted into Rally machines by Bowler.
The series is fully supported by Tata Elxsi, BF Goodridge & Castrol, and it is through these partnerships that the idea to have Petter Solberg compete within the series became a reality as he becomes the twelfth crew to register for the Clare Forest Rally, amongst them the Boyzone star Shane Lynch who returns to Irish stages having last competed here over 20 years ago.
There is Irish interest within the series, as Donegal’s Denis Ferry and navigator Barney Gillespie are in their second season competing in the Bowler Defender, decked out in Sligo Pallets stickering. Denis has actually had the Bowler Defender out on the stages here before when he acted as Sweeper on Round 6 & 7 of the 2023 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship.
Speaking this evening, Championship sponsor Andrew Mullen was delighted with the news of Solberg competing in Clare. “To see a star as big as Petter Solberg compete on our shores is incredible, but for him to do so within the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship is really special for me and all the team. We hope he enjoys himself, and we’d be delighted to have him back again in the future!”
The Clare Stages Rally takes place on Saturday, October 5th, and over six gravel stages some of the finest Rally talent in Ireland will compete, from the stars-of-tomorrow in J1000 that allows youngsters from 14-17 to compete, right through to the fastest and most advanced Rally2 machinery that is equivalent to those seen in the European and World Rally championships.
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