Oliver Solberg: "Another disappointment on the tarmac"

Once again, a tarmac event has not smiled upon Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmonson this season. The duo in the #99 GR Yaris Rally1 had just gained more than three seconds on leader Elfyn Evans in SS9 when everything went wrong in the tenth timed section of the rallyCaught out on a left-hand corner, Solberg lost control at the rear, hitting a post at the side of the road. With his right rear suspension broken, the rally ended there for the Swede, although he will be able to return to the track on Sunday to score as many points as possible during "Super Sunday".

"Unfortunately, this is another disappointment on the tarmac for me.", says Solberg. “I felt good in the car, really comfortable, and I wasn’t attacking in a completely crazy way, I was just trying to do what I’ve been doing since the start of the rally. There were a few slightly slippery corners, but I didn’t expect it to be so slippery when I got to that spot. I braked a little too late, hit that post and broke the right rear suspension.”

Keep fighting

As the World Rally Championship reaches its halfway point this weekend, Solberg is not giving up on the title, despite a string of disappointing results and Elfyn Evans extending his championship lead. With only gravel rallies remaining, the championship could be decided, as Solberg will start further back on the first day of the next round, and potentially subsequent ones, giving him the opportunity to close the gap on his teammate.

“We’re also good on gravel rallies, and there I’ll be able to benefit from a good starting position in the upcoming rounds. There are only gravel rallies left now, I still believe anything is possible, I still have confidence in my abilities, in the pace I can set and the consistency I can maintain. It was really on tarmac that it was difficult; I need to learn for the future and retain the positives because there were some.”

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