Solberg leads WRC2 championship after triumphing in Latvia

The 22-year-old Swede led from start to finish on the high-speed gravel fixture, taking out maximum points in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to overtake Sami Pajari and Yohan Rossel, who was not competing, in the race for the championship title.

After winning seven out of eight stages to open a commanding lead of more than half a minute on Friday, Solberg managed his speed accordingly over the closing two legs to ensure he kept Mikko Heikkilä – who took home the WRC2 Challenger honours in his Toyota GR Yaris – at bay.

He now leads the series by three points from Pajari after ending the four-day fixture with a 37.4sec winning margin.

"It's a fantastic feeling to finally win again,” said Solberg. There's been a few tough rallies, but it is amazing to be back on the speed. The car has been working well over the weekend, thanks to the team for keeping it up to speed.”

Pajari was frustrated to finish 7.4sec behind Heikkilä in his similar Toyota, with the Finnish hotshot feeling as if his performance inside the car wasn’t reflected on the stage times. Pajari will step up to the big-league next month when he debuts a Rally1-specification GR Yaris on his home round from 1 – 4 August.

Fau Zaldivar equalled his best result of the season so far, ending more than two minutes back from the podium with fourth in his Škoda. The Paraguayan was comfortably clear of fifth-placed Ford Fiesta man William Creighton at the finish, while Italy’s Roberto Daprà completed the top six.

Armin Kremer bagged his fourth WRC Masters Cup victory in a row and now leads the series by 37 points. Meanwhile, Estonian driver Joosep Nõgene was never headed in his pursuit for WRC3 glory after his main rival Kerem Kazaz suffered broken suspension on the rally’s opening stage.