Solberg claimed victory in a World Rally Championship event for the first time, doing so in dominant fashion in his debut outing with Toyota’s Rally1 car. The young Swede led the event from start to finish and secured a commanding win.
At the ongoing Rally Finland, Solberg has returned to his regular seat in the Toyota Rally2 car, competing in the WRC2 category, which is his main programme for this season. From the very start, he had been slightly off the pace of the front-runners, but things went completely wrong on stage seven.
Solberg went off the road and was forced to retire. Before the incident, he had been fifth in the WRC2 class, trailing leader Jari-Matti Latvala by 19.6 seconds. Solberg’s car bottomed out and slid off the road. The car rolled and was too damaged to continue.
After six stages, Latvala – who also serves as Toyota’s WRC team principal – was leading the WRC2 category with a 10.9-second advantage over Estonia’s Georg Linnamäe. Fellow Estonian Robert Virves was third in the class, just one second behind his compatriot.
Solberg’s retirement was unfortunate, but his sensational performance in Estonia remains a powerful statement – one that could well earn him more chances at the wheel of a Rally1 car, and perhaps even a full-time seat with Toyota for the 2026 season.
Solberg previously tested the waters in the top class during 2021–22 with Hyundai, though his performances at the time were inconsistent. Since then, he has focused on building experience and confidence in the WRC2 category, with strong results to show for it.
Three more special stages remain on Friday at Rally Finland. The event concludes on Sunday.
