Oliver Solberg misses out on victory again in Japan: "It's costing us a lot in the championship."

Winner of seven special stages during this Rally Japan, winner of the Power Stage, and leader of Super Sunday, Oliver Solberg leaves Japan with regrets, unable to secure the overall victory.

Published 31/05/2026 à 13:38

Mathieu Chambenoit

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Oliver Solberg misses out on victory again in Japan: "It's costing us a lot in the championship."

© Nikos Katikis / DPPI

If ES2 cost more than 15 seconds Sébastien Ogier From the very first day, Oliver Solberg lost everything on SS10 this Saturday. Particularly strong in terms of pace, capable of winning six stages before the Power Stage, which he also dominated on Sunday, the Swede was cruising towards another victory, his first in Japan. Unfortunately for him, an accident during that fateful SS10 dashed all his hopes of overall victory, leaving him in 21st place at the finish.

"Today was very good. That was also the feeling I had all weekend." he explains to AUTOhebdo. Yesterday (Saturday, editor's note), the conditions were more difficult, however, I wasn't expecting that. This event is costing us a lot in the championship. But that's life. Now, back to the dirt.

Third in the championship WRCOliver Solberg, sandwiched between Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari, is part of the leading group, largely driven by ToyotaHowever, trailing leader Elfyn Evans by 49 points, Solberg will have to rely on the Welshman potentially encountering difficulties as the road opener on gravel rallies. Effective in challenging conditions, Solberg will need to once again prove his worth, trying to avoid costly mishaps in his upcoming events like those in Portugal or this weekend in Japan. Otherwise, his pace could finally pay off again.

ALSO READ > WRC 2026 Championship – Standings after Rally Japan

Interview conducted by Pierre Barré, in Japan.

Mathieu Chambenoit

Responsible for the single-seater categories (F2, F3, FRECA, Eurocup-3, F4...), I enjoy discussing F1, Endurance, or MotoGP.

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1 Comment (s)

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Joel Gaboriaud

31/05/2026 at 07:50 a.m.

I think the last sentence is poorly worded. A negative form would be better. Proofread, proofread.

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