There has been intense speculation around the 51-year-old for some time. His name has been strongly linked with the Japanese manufacturer Subaru, the brand with which he clinched his world title 22 years ago.
Solberg’s own active career is long behind him, but the family lives and breathes rallying. The son of Petter and Pernilla Solberg, Oliver Solberg, has risen to the top of the sport and will compete next year as a factory driver for Toyota in the main category of the World Rally Championship.
The family also has facilities in Torsby, Sweden, suitable for rally car servicing. Solberg has already held behind-the-scenes discussions about running a WRC team, but he emphasises that nothing is certain.
“We’ve been working on this for a long time, but you can never force anything to happen. So you take it one step at a time. There are a lot of things that have to fall into place,” Solberg told the Norwegian outlet Parcferme.no.
“We’ve done a lot of work in the background, but everything is far away until you have something signed,” he added.
The World Rally Championship’s technical regulations will be renewed for the 2027 season, with the aim of attracting more manufacturers to the top category.
In Solberg’s case, one option could be that he would run a team in the WRC on behalf of a manufacturer – in the same way Tommi Mäkinen once worked with Toyota.
“I’m in dialogue with many people, but we’re still a long way from signing anything. There is so much strategy and marketing involved. It’s not an easy thing either,” Solberg said.
“But the only thing that really matters to me is that rallying will be in a good place in the future, and that you get more car brands, more teams and more drivers who get an opportunity. So no matter who ends up getting deals or doing things, that’s not really the most important part. The new regulations will look very different. There will be more opportunities, maybe not straight away, but it will turn out well,” the Norwegian legend noted.
