Oliver Solberg relieved after the Rally of Portugal: "I'm a bit more in the game now."

Finishing second overall in the Rally of Portugal, Oliver Solberg felt no frustration whatsoever at having missed out on victory. Back on the podium for the first time since his win at Monte Carlo, the Swede was, on the contrary, delighted.

Published 11/05/2026 à 10:26

Mathieu Chambenoit

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Oliver Solberg relieved after the Rally of Portugal: "I'm a bit more in the game now."

© Paulo Maria / DPPI

Winner of the first round of the season WRC, then fourth at home, the start of the season suggested great things to come from Oliver Solberg at the wheel of a Toyota Rally 1. However, inconsistency began to creep into his results. 10e In Kenya, after coming close to success, and two frustrating rallies in Croatia and the Canary Islands, the WRC2 champion's potential didn't seem to be fully realized. Fortunately, the Rally Portugal seems to have placed the church back in the center of the village.

"The last podium finish was a long way off! It was a weekend full of twists and turns," he smiled into the AUTOhebdo microphone. I was in the lead, then fourth, then in the lead again, and then fourth again… Finally, we finished second, and that's fantastic. After the punctures yesterday and today, it was very difficult. We had decided to push harder for Super Sunday. I was calmer for the Power Stage, though; I wanted to secure second place after all the drama that happened with the others on Sunday. It was a really tough weekend.

Cautious to finish a weekend in which he alternated between excellent and less impressive performances, Oliver Solberg gave it his all on the roads of the Rally of Portugal. A kind of revenge tactic after some more difficult weeks in the championship. "The last two rallies were very difficult, confirmed the SwedeWe were fighting with Sébastien Ogier "Last time. In Kenya, we almost won the rally, but things didn't go our way. That's life! Now, I'm happy to finally be back in a good position. We're scoring good points."

Visu Alpine from 07/05/26

Although punctures ultimately hampered his somewhat lackluster performance at the Rally of Portugal, his confirmed podium finish brings his WRC standings to 92 points. Trailing Elfyn Evans by 31 points, he still has a long way to go, but another victory could very well shake things up for Oliver Solberg in the near future. "Compared to Elfyn (Evans, Ed.), I'm a little more in the game. Elfyn was also able to score the points he needed this weekend, but I'm just very happy." See you in Japan now, from May 28th to 31st.

Interview conducted by Pierre Barré, in Portugal.

ALSO READ > 2026 WRC Championship – Rankings after Rally Portugal

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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