Next year, Solberg will begin his first season as a factory driver for Toyota in the top category of the World Rally Championship. Over the weekend he had the chance to familiarise himself with the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 at the Dévoluy winter rally, an important part of his preparation for the 2026 season-opening Rally Monte Carlo.
Last summer, Solberg received a single opportunity to drive Toyota’s Rally1 machine, and he immediately delivered a sensational victory at the fast gravel round in Estonia. In France he gained a new experience, as it was the first time he had driven the car at speed on asphalt.
“The sensation is different. On gravel it feels quite natural, you are limited anyway by the grip. You are always floating so you can feel your way to the aero. Here you need to learn the aero and you need to trust it,” Solberg explained to RallyJournal.com.
“Here you have a lot of grip and then in some of the fast corners, you’re like, okay, I can go fast. So it’s a bit different.”
Solberg started the Dévoluy asphalt rally with a base set-up. After almost every stage there was a service break, giving the Swede an opportunity to adjust the car.
“I didn’t have a test, so I didn’t know what idea I should have. Then you just have to feel a little bit and see what you can do. Now I have an idea in my head what I need, what I want,” Solberg said.
In France, Solberg was able to compare his pace with Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who drove the same test event last year in Rally1 machinery. Fourmaux initially pulled ahead, but on the second day the Toyota driver was faster than the Frenchman.
“Some of these fast corners I’m lifting or maybe braking a bit because I don’t know. So it’s a lot to learn with the pacenotes with the speed. In a Rally2 car I know the right speed exactly,” said Solberg, who won the WRC2 title this season with Toyota’s Rally2 car.
Solberg will have one more test day before Rally Monte Carlo is held in late January.
