Oliver Solberg secured a sensational victory on debut for Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team at Rally Estonia on Sunday, claiming both his first win and the 100th for Toyota in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship.
As part of TGR’s commitment to provide a path for young talent to reach rallying’s top level, Solberg was handed the opportunity to step up for the high-speed gravel event after his strong results driving the GR Yaris Rally2 car in the WRC2 category, where he currently leads the championship. It was his first start in the highest category since 2022 and his 13th in total.
After two days of testing in Finland to familiarise himself with the GR Yaris Rally1, the 23-year-old Swedish driver and his British co-driver Elliott Edmondson instantly looked at home in the car. They scored their maiden career stage win in the first fast forest stage on Friday morning to claim the rally lead.
After two further stage wins through the rest of Friday, Solberg took a lead of 12.4 seconds into Saturday when, despite any road position advantage over the WRC’s top drivers now being reduced, he won four more tests and extended his advantage to 21.1s over local hero Ott Tänak (Hyundai).
On Sunday, rather than be overawed by the occasion or the arrival of rain on the stages, Solberg took two more stage wins in the first two tests – taking his tally for the weekend to nine – before a third-fastest time in the rally-ending Power Stage was enough for him and Edmondson to secure one of the most remarkable victories seen for many years, by 25.2s.
Solberg’s previous best finish was fourth during his first stint driving Rally1 machinery. He joins his father Petter (the 2003 World Rally Champion with Subaru) as a winner in the WRC and is the third youngest driver to win a round, behind his team-mate Kalle Rovanperä and Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala.
He also becomes the 16th driver to win behind the wheel of a Toyota car, his victory bringing up a century of wins for the Japanese manufacturer since Walter Boyce triumphed in the inaugural season of the WRC in 1973 at the Press-on-Regardless Rally in the United States.
Rovanperä couldn’t match the form that had taken him to victory in the WRC’s last three visits to Estonia but did win the Power Stage and finished second to Solberg in the Super Sunday classification, scoring valuable extra points alongside fourth position overall with co-driver Jonne Halttunen.
Once more tasked with running first on the road and sweeping the loose gravel stages on Friday, Elfyn Evans also had a strong final day with co-driver Scott Martin, gaining sixth overall and finishing fourth on Super Sunday and fifth in the Power Stage to leave just one point behind the championship lead. TGR-WRT continue to lead the manufacturers’ standings by 52 points.
Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston had been running ahead of Evans until the penultimate stage but had to retire before the final test due to a mechanical issue. Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen finished seventh in their TGR-WRT2 entry, building their feeling and pace on fast roads after an early mechanical issue was resolved on Friday lunchtime.
In Solberg’s absence from the WRC2 category this weekend, two more GR Yaris Rally2 drivers finished on the class podium, with Estonian driver Georg Linnamäe (RedGrey) securing second on home soil and Finland’s Roope Korhonen (Rautio Motorsport) taking third.
Welshman and second in the WRC championsihip Elfyn Evans (above) said, “It’s been a tough weekend. Of course, our road position did hamper us a bit on Friday but I also think we didn’t have the speed to challenge like we wanted to. We tried our best today and scored a few extra points but we can’t be too satisfied at the end of the weekend. I’m looking forward to Rally Finland like always and we’ll keep working together with the team to find a bit more speed there.”
Oliver Solberg added, “It’s been the most amazing weekend. I’m feeling so overwhelmingly happy, after so many years of dreaming and working for this moment. I want to say a big thank you to Toyota for giving me this opportunity and the chance to prove myself and have fun driving this amazing car.
“Thank you to the test team who helped me get so comfortable. I also never thought I’d get to celebrate on a podium with Juha, who has been a hero of mine since I was a kid and someone I’ve been looking up to, together with my father. Now this weekend he has been supporting me so well, keeping me calm and telling me what to do. I’ve never had such a good time in my life, so thank you.”
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY ESTONIA
1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h36m35.1s
2 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +25.2s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +48.3s
4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +55.6s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m33.0s
6 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m43.4s
7 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m55.6s
8 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m36.0s
9 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m29.8s
10 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m57.5s
Retired Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1)
