WRC
Solberg: ‘Everything came together’ as Chile win revives title charge
Oliver Solberg believes Rally Chile BIOBÍO marked the weekend when all the pieces finally fell into place, turning recent rally-winning pace into a controlled third WRC victory.
Speed has rarely been the question for Solberg in recent months. Converting it into the result he felt was possible has been the harder part.
He finished runner-up to Sami Pajari in Finland after losing significant time when caught in some of the worst of Friday’s rain, then looked immediately capable of fighting for victory again in Paraguay. There, Solberg won the opening two stages and led the rally before a stall and subsequent tyre change cost him around four minutes on Friday. He eventually recovered to fifth and won the Wolf Power Stage.
Chile was different.
There was no costly interruption, no recovery drive required and, crucially, no need for Solberg to operate permanently at the limit.
“Over the last three rallies I’ve had that feeling that I’m able to fight for victories,” he explained. “There have just been a few small bits of bad luck that have interrupted the chances.
“But finally now, everything went smoothly with the car, with myself, with everything. I could just focus on my thing and drive.”
© WRC
The statistics back that up.
Making his first Rally1 start in Chile – an event he had already won twice in WRC2 – Solberg was fastest on six of the 16 stages and led after all but one of them. He ended Friday 10.1sec clear, absorbed a sustained Saturday attack from Sébastien Ogier and then extended his advantage to 19.1sec before Sunday’s finale.
What stood out to Solberg was not necessarily another step in outright speed, but the way he managed the rally around it.
“I’m very happy with the consistency and with the control of knowing when to push and when not to push,” he said.
“It wasn’t an easy weekend, but it was an incredible weekend.”
That judgement was especially visible on Saturday’s abrasive stages. As Ogier attacked, Solberg repeatedly resisted the temptation to respond immediately, managing his tyres before striking later in the longer loops. Toyota itself described the balance between “risk and reward” as central to his performance.
Asked whether that meant he had been driving more within himself, Solberg rejected the suggestion that anything fundamental had changed.
“I pushed when I had to push, but I just drove the same way I always drive. There’s no difference.
“You just need all the details to be with you all the time to make the complete package, and finally it came together.”
The timing could hardly have been better.
Solberg travelled to Chile third in the drivers’ standings and 41 points behind championship leader Elfyn Evans, his hopes having taken a hit when Pajari won three consecutive rallies in Estonia, Finland and Paraguay.
His Chile victory, combined with Evans’ late puncture and Pajari’s more subdued weekend, has put a different complexion on the run-in.
© WRC
Solberg insists he never completely abandoned thoughts of the title, even when the mathematics made it appear a long shot.
“When I came to South America the plan was to win both rallies,” he revealed.
“I feel we had the chance in Paraguay to do that, but here everything came together well and we could take a lot of points, which was very important.
“The others luckily didn’t have as strong a weekend, so there was a bit of luck as well. But you need that sometimes. I’ve had my bad luck, so it’s nice that everything has kind of come together.
“I’m not too far away now, so it’s nice.”
Two rallies remain for him to find out just how far this renewed challenge can go: Rally Italia Sardegna at the start of October, followed by the Saudi Arabia finale in November.
