Petter Solberg is the perfect example of a dramatic, extravagant and amiable Norwegian, if ever there was one. Born in 1974, almost two years after his brother Henning, Petter Solberg has been one of the more famous drivers to step onto the World Rally Championship's stage. As is his vibrant character, he is fondly known as 'Hollywood'.

Solberg has come in with a background in 'disco-dancing', which can, to some extent, explain his flamboyance behind the wheel of a Rally car. Petter started his career through rally-cross and hill-climbing events before eventually turning to rallying. He won the 1998 Norwegian Rally Championships but more importantly, he pushed and pulled Ford's boss, Malcolm Wilson to ensure that he gave Petter a test drive. So, the inevitable happened in 1999 when Wilson gave in to Petter's demands and driving skills, and gave him a car for the 1999 season. His best performance came in as a fifth place on the grueling Safari stage of the World Rally Championship calendar. Ford weren't very pleased with the path Petter took in 2000 as midway through the season, he jumped towards Subaru, now his home for many years.

Petter started of on the wrong foot. In his haste to impress the bosses, he got involved in a number of accidents, each costing the team enormous labour and capital to repair. An eager-to-impress Petter, with boundless enthusiasm, throughout the 2001 season, gradually turned into a more matured version in 2002 and by the end of the season, he proved his worth with his maiden Rally win at Rally Great Britain. 2002 saw Petter emerge as a major contender for the Driver's title and a definite star for the coming years.
Petter blazed 2003.

It was one of the finest displays of sheer grit, commitment and raw speed ever witnessed on the Rally circuit. Despite several instances where his tenacity got him into trouble, he emerged with renewed determination to leave everyone behind.

2004, 2005 and 2006 belonged to Sebastien Loeb. Loeb drowned out the opposition on his way to 3 consecutive titles but for Subaru, all was not lost. Solberg still displayed that there was hunger in his eyes and that it's just a matter of time before he gets back to his winning ways.

Petter has had disasters for his last few seasons. His luck has not been on his side as he still awaits a World Rally Championship win since round 12 of the 2005 season. 2007 saw Petter finishing 69 points off of Loeb, with just two podium finishes. Most of the blame, however, fell on the Impreza driven by the man. The car had been known to under-perform many-a-times with numerous reliability issues. All this seems to have become a thing of the past with the arrival of the new Impreza WRC2008. This hatchback variant, in its first outing in Greece'08, has propelled Petter to a second placed finish.

Petter has been far from a typical Scandinavian. He is proud to wear his heart on his sleeve and his loyalty to Subaru has been unquestionable. There isn't another driver who would share the same enthusiasm for the sport, as does Petter. This factor has brought huge fan following for the Norwegian who continues to be one of the fastest ever drivers to step behind the wheels of a Rally car.