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Patience paying off for Solberg as top flight WRC opportunity awaits
Oliver Solberg is one of the World Rally Championship’s brightest young talents and after two-and-half years of hard graft he’s earned a coveted opportunity to rejoin rallying’s top class at Rally Estonia this weekend.
Reigning world champion team Toyota has handed the 23-year-old and co-driver Elliott Edmondson a chance to graduate from the second-tier WRC2 class, to pilot one of its five GR Yaris Rally1 cars at the fast gravel event, that marks the eighth round of the season.
The drive represents a second chance competing in rallying’s top class after a challenging season sharing the Hyundai’s third factory Rally1 entry with Dani Sordo in 2022. After Hyundai opted against extending its contract with the Swede, who scored four points finishes that season, Solberg has been waiting for another chance to shine at the top level.
For the last two-and-half years, the son of 2003 world rally champion Petter Solberg has been plying his trade in WRC2, patiently honing his craft. Last year Solberg finished runner-up in the WRC2 title race and this year he leads the standings having already taken three wins. Solberg has been linked to Rally1 opportunities since 2022, but the rising star has decided to wait for the perfect opportunity, and now the patience is paying off.
"I’m still only 23 and when I take the next decision I want it to be 110% sure for the future,” Solberg, who received a shock call from Toyota, 24 hours after winning the WRC2 class in Greece last month, told DAZN News.
“I feel definitely that the patience now and everything is starting to to come together and it is paying off. Everything that I have believed in, in myself is coming together. For sure, it has been tough at times.”
“They [Toyota] called me on the Monday night after Greece and I was like, ‘oh s—t ok’. I took some time to think about it and I asked about preparation and then I said yes. It took a bit of time to understand what was going on, but it has been incredible.”
Since that call it has been a whirlwind two weeks that has included two days testing the GR Yaris Rally1 and working with the team in Finland to help prepare for Rally Estonia’s high-speed gravel roads. While the car is a significant upgrade compared to the Rally2 version of the GR Yaris Solberg has been driving the year, he feels well prepared.
“It has been super intense we have been driving and testing probably everything,” he added.
“There has been a lot of thinking and a lot of work but I got into that very quickly and the speed has been really good straight away apparently. The car is incredible, it is definitely something else. In some areas you will learn stage by stage with the different aerodynamics and braking, but at least the base driving and understanding of the car is much better.
“I still feel I got a lot of driving in and the team have been working so good to get me feeling good in the car and get me comfortable. It has been an amazing couple of days with the team. I feel comfortable at least and happy to start.”
How Solberg plans to manage his Rally1 return
Toyota GR
It is only natural that Solberg will want to impress Toyota, to put himself in the team’s mind for the future. However, looking ahead to Rally Estonia, Solberg says he doesn’t feel any pressure to perform, with his eyes firmly focussed on just completing the rally.
“I think it is going to be a very hectic week. I think my calm place will be when I’m in the car,” he said.
“I think results-wise and speed-wise I think you have to take it as it comes. The [top guys] guys are going to go flat out fighting for the championship, so I think the speed level is going to be high from the beginning. I think I will go step by step from the beginning. I want to enjoy it and get to the finish and get all the mileage in the car and see where I can end up.
“I don’t feel like I need to win the rally and I don’t feel that I need to put that pressure on. It is not a shootout rally in that sense. I will have fun, do the mileage and respect the opportunity. If you have fun and you feel comfortable, then the speed comes automatically.”
Solberg’s Rally1 return is set to begin on Thursday night’s opening stage, scheduled to begin at 1805 BST.
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