Ostberg to use older Subaru S12b model on Rally Sweden

Norwegian driver Mads Ostberg has taken the unusual step of switching to an older version of the rally car he used in last year's World Rally Championship for the opening round of the 2010 season, Rally Sweden

Accompanied by co-driver Jonas Andersson, Ostberg will tackle Rally Sweden in an S12b spec Impreza WRC2007 - the last of the saloon bodied Imprezas - having decided against the S14 WRC2008 hatchback he campaigned throughout 2009.

Ostberg, 22, has stuck exclusively to Subaru World Rally Cars since making his WRC debut on the Swedish round in 2006. But with limited options to fine tune the set-up of the Japanese firm's most recent model, Ostberg is instead pinning his hopes on a tried and tested package.

"The homologated diffs for the Subaru WRC2008 do not suit my preferences on slippery winter roads", explained Mads. “I have inherited a package of diffs, I did not have any possibility to influence the package and the regulations stop us from making new alternatives. Therefore I have decided to use the 12b in Sweden. I am aware that many doubted if this car was competitive with Ford and Citroen already in 2007. On paper that is possibly correct, a car built in 2006 is obviously a 'veteran car' in this game in 2010. But I like the S12, I am motivated to use it in Sweden and I will do all I can to perform well with it.”

Ostberg and his Adapta World Rally Team tested in Norway this week, on roads close to the Swedish border. Further testing is planned for the weekend of 23 January, when he will tackle the second rally of the Norwegian Championship, an event which has also attracted an entry from Ford Focus WRC driver Henning Solberg. "That is perfect because it gives us a good bench mark for car and driver," said Mads.

Mads is planning on using the re-prepped car two weeks later in Sweden, but has a fall-back option of the S14 should he change his mind.

Beyond Sweden, Ostberg's WRC plans for the rest of the season are uncertain. Team principal Morten Ostberg told wrc.com that more rallies would follow, and that World Rally Car outings were being considered as well as a possible S-WRC campaign starting with Rally Jordan in April.

For more information please visit www.wrc.com.