Rally Sweden took place around mid-February, and the next event is scheduled for the end of March in Kenya. Between these two competitions, there was a gap of six weeks or, to be precise, 39 days, 22 hours, and 35 minutes.
In motorsport, such a period can feel like an eternity. So, how do rally drivers spend this time?
“It’s been quite a long break, but it’s actually quite nice,” WRC2 star Oliver Solberg told Dirtfish.
“It gives me time to relax a little bit. I took myself up to the cottage (in the Swedish countryside) and did a bit of skiing. I caught up with as many friends and family as possible, celebrated a few birthdays, and just enjoyed life,” Solberg shared.
“When you have the time, it’s nice to do it.”
Solberg isn’t just about rallying. He also spent some time during the break indulging in another of his favorite sports.
“I got to a few Färjestad (ice hockey club) games in Karlstad. They are one of the best teams in Sweden so I always go with my friends when I can. I played ice hockey quite a lot as a kid, so I like it a lot,” Solberg revealed.
Färjestad won the regular season of Sweden’s SHL and heads into the playoffs as one of the top contenders for the championship. However, Solberg won’t be able to follow the playoffs closely, as preparation for the next WRC rally in Kenya is already underway.
“I have driven on snow so much this winter, so it was actually very nice to get back on gravel and a warmer climate! We all need that this time of year. (Kenya) should be warm, so it should be nice,” Solberg said.
Solberg competed in Kenya last year as well, but the event didn’t go as planned. The stewards penalized him with a time penalty. Fortunately, Solberg didn’t score any points in Kenya last year, so the time penalty didn’t affect his championship battle. This year, however, Solberg is competing for points in Safari Rally.
“I love the rally, so I thought why not try to score some good points and skip some rallies that we were a bit more unlucky on last year, choosing a bit more cleverly which events to do this year. So that’s why I took Africa (as a point-scoring round),” Solberg explained.
