Competing in a Toyota Rally1 car for the first time, Solberg started the final day of the high-speed gravel rally with a commanding lead. The mission was clear: avoid mistakes, and he’d be celebrating his maiden WRC victory.
But the situation got more complicated when rain started falling on Sunday morning.
“I had said, ‘Please, no rain.’ And then I saw it raining like crazy on the road section. On the first stage, I was so nervous,” Solberg admitted.
He found himself in uncharted territory, having never driven the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 in wet conditions before.
“I didn’t even know where the wipers were,” Solberg laughed.
After a bit of fiddling, Solberg got the wipers working and put his foot down. The result? A stage win.
“I had just opened the dampers a bit to get some traction. I had a pretty good, clean feeling. I didn’t push, but it was clean and the time was good,” Solberg recapped.
After the rainy stage at Hellenurme, Solberg still had to tackle the Kääriku test twice. His nerves and focus held strong all the way to the finish.
An emotional celebration followed at the end, with Solberg’s parents, Petter and Pernilla, there to congratulate their son on his first WRC win.
“It was just incredible after the stop line with my family and everyone. Now we really have to understand what I’ve done,” Solberg said.
Next week, Solberg will return to the Toyota Rally2 car for Rally Finland, where he’ll battle for WRC2 points.
