Solberg, 49, revealed on Thursday that he will participate in the Royal Rally of Scandinavia, the Swedish round of the European Rally Championship, in mid-June.
Karlstad will host the Swedish ERC event from 13-15 June. The special stages will be held in the same Värmland region where the Rally Sweden used to take place. Solberg’s home is also in this area.
Last year, Solberg drove one special stage in the Royal Rally of Scandinavia as a demonstration, but this time he will compete in the full rally.
Solberg will start the rally in his Volkswagen Polo R5, with co-driver Jonas Andersson. The last time the Norwegian legend competed seriously was in the 2019 Wales Rally GB, where he sensationally won the WRC2 class.
According to Solberg, he could no longer resist the temptation.
“Every time I was in the workshop, the car was telling me to use it! You can’t ignore that,” Solberg jokes.
“Last year, I took my mother for a ride in my Citroën C4 WRC on one stage of the Royal Rally. That was nice, but Oliver was having all the fun and winning the rally. I want to have some of that fun. The rally is really close for us; we have a lot of friends and family close by,” Solberg explains his decision.
Last year, Oliver Solberg dominated the Royal Rally of Scandinavia. He beat New Zealander Hayden Paddon by 22.5 seconds in the fast gravel rally.
This time, the elder Solberg gets to challenge the stars of the ERC.
“I am Rocky coming back!”
“I don’t go there trying to win; it’s for the show and to enjoy the driving. We know there are a lot of very fast drivers in ERC – it’s one hell of a competition. It will be tough. It’s been five years since I did Wales Rally GB, nothing since then. The speed is incredible in the championship, and you can’t just switch it back on,” Solberg notes.
