Solberg began Rally Kenya in excellent form, leading the WRC2 class after six special stages.
He had pulled over 40 seconds clear of his rivals, but then disaster struck on the Camp Moran stage. Solberg became stuck in soft sand and was forced to retire.
There was nothing Solberg could do in the situation. Even a tow truck on site couldn’t free his Toyota from the sand – it only came out with the help of a tractor.
Solberg’s fate drew sympathy from his fellow competitors as well. The Swede had to open the road in Kenya, and that role proved too harsh.
Gus Greensmith, who went on to win the class, was asked after the rally whether the Safari Rally was too tough for Rally2 cars.
“I think the only way I can say that it maybe crossed a line a little bit was with Oliver. I think whoever was the first Rally2 car was getting stuck,” Greensmith told DirtFish.
However, Greensmith didn’t feel the route was otherwise too tough.
““In terms of roughness elsewhere, I don’t think it’s an issue. It’s what makes Safari Rally really special and drivers have to look at it in a different way. A lot of people call rally drivers the best in the world because we’re adaptable to everything. This is one of the reasons why,” Greensmith pointed out.
Runner-up Jan Solans had a slightly different view from Greensmith regarding the toughness of the route and directed criticism towards the event organisers.
“I have to say that Oliver also proved that Camp Moran was too rough,” said Solans.
“This was not a stage to do for the Rally2 cars and he paid the price for that and I’m sorry for him because his speed was amazing, but the problem was that the stage was too rough,” Solans added.
After the retirement, Solberg was able to rejoin the rally and eventually climbed back to fifth place. The Swede himself took his fate calmly.
“That’s life. You’ve got to bite the sour apple and then move on,” Solberg said.
