Solberg pulled ahead of the others during Friday’s driving day and then focused on securing his first place. On Sunday, Solberg extended his lead enough to win the Power Stage special stage as well, taking full class points from the Baltic event.
He achieved the top spot with nearly a 40-second lead over Mikko Heikkilä, who competes in a Toyota Rally2 car. Sami Pajari, on the other hand, trailed Solberg by 44.8 seconds.
“It’s a big relief, to be honest. And to come here where I started my career and to do it in this way. I wasn’t very confident going into the weekend after Poland, but somehow the speed was there. Of course, I’m very happy,” Solberg said to RallyJournal.com.
Solberg once followed in the footsteps of Kalle Rovanperä and began his rally career in Latvia, where it is possible to compete at a younger age than in the Nordic countries. Rovanperä won the top class in Latvia, and Solberg supported this with a victory in the second class.
“This was quite special. It’s known that we both started here, although, of course, we drove at different times. Harri (Rovanperä’s father) actually encouraged me to come here and race. Now we have both won with Kalle, so the feeling is fantastic,” Solberg told.
Just a couple of weeks ago at the Rally Poland, Pajari was able to dominate Solberg, but now the roles have reversed. Solberg sent his thanks to Heikkilä, who managed to come between the pair. This was beneficial for Solberg’s championship pursuit.
Both young prodigies have competed in five point-scoring events this year. Like Solberg, Pajari has also secured two class victories and is three points behind the Swede.
“I was really happy that Heikkilä was so fast. A big thanks to him. Mikko drove really impressively. I’ll have to help him out another time,” Solberg laughed.
Solberg and Heikkilä were also the top two in the early summer ERC Rally Sweden.
“When I drove the ERC Rally Sweden, I already said then that the level at the top is just as high as in the WRC. Maybe the WRC has more top drivers, but the level is still the same,” Solberg stated.
