The long-awaited news was announced on Tuesday: Oliver Solberg will compete in the WRC2 category of the World Rally Championship with Printsport’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car.
Read more: Now it’s confirmed! Oliver Solberg jumps to Toyota’s Rally2 car
But that’s not the whole story.
Solberg is still officially a private team driver bringing sponsor money to Printsport. However, what’s significant is that Printsport and Toyota’s WRC team are now closely linked.
Officially, Solberg is not yet a Toyota driver, but he couldn’t be much closer. The same setup was seen this year with Sami Pajari. Toyota played a major role in ensuring Pajari got behind the wheel of Toyota’s new Rally2 car—officially as a Printsport driver. When the Finnish driver delivered strong performances, the doors to the WRC team eventually opened for him.
Now, Solberg is in a similar position. He holds the best possible cards to work his way back to the top tier of the World Rally Championship. It’s highly likely that Solberg’s “collaboration agreement” includes clauses for the future as well.
The comments from Oliver Solberg and his father Petter Solberg on social media strongly support this notion.
“My new chapter in life, joining the Toyota family,” Oliver began in his post.
“Toyota are an iconic brand in rallying, with lots of talented and passionate people – as well as some familiar faces – and I am confident the future looks very bright for Oliver, Elliott (co-driver Edmondson), Printsport and Toyota together,” echoed Petter.
Next year, Toyota’s WRC team will field four full-season drivers—Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta, and Pajari—along with Sebastien Ogier on a part-time basis. If Solberg delivers strong results in the WRC2 category with Toyota’s Rally2 car, it’s not out of the question that he could also be seen behind the wheel of Toyota’s Rally1 car next year.
A perfect opportunity for this could be, for example, at Rally Finland…
To ensure this doesn’t remain mere speculation, let’s lay down some facts.
Toyota will need new drivers for its team in the future. Ogier is still enjoying his part-time schedule, but at some point, the Frenchman will step aside. Two-time world champion Rovanperä may have many years of driving ahead based on his age, but how long he chooses to continue rallying is another matter.
Toyota must prepare to integrate new rising stars into its team, as it did with Pajari. Meanwhile, the World Rally Championship promoter has stated it will continue supporting the introduction of young talents to Rally1 cars next season. If Toyota gets additional funding to run Solberg in a Rally1 car, it should undoubtedly seize the opportunity.
Solberg divides opinions strongly among fans. But one thing is clear: he possesses the raw and natural speed required for top-level success. If Solberg can keep everything together, he could still mature into a true top-tier driver.
