Oliver Solberg stands on the brink of a landmark FIA World Rally Championship triumph after extending his advantage during Saturday's blisteringly fast penultimate leg at Delfi Rally Estonia.
The 23-year-old Swede, making a one-off appearance in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 alongside his regular WRC2 campaign, will carry a 21.1sec lead into Sunday's three-stage finale.
Victory would see him join an exclusive group of drivers to win on debut with a new team at rallying's top level.
Solberg has led since Friday morning and added a further four stage wins on Saturday, calmly increasing his margin from 12.4sec over the course of 125 competitive kilometres.
Overnight changes to the set-up of his GR Yaris gave him renewed confidence and he duly posted fastest times on three of the morning's four tests. In the afternoon, his approach shifted to risk management on stages around Otepää and Kanepi - backing off slightly but losing minimal ground to the chasing pack.
"It's been an absolutely amazing day," said Solberg, whose father Petter was the 2003 world champion. "Really consistent speed, no mistakes, just trying to keep it clean. It wasn't the plan to extend the gap, but hey, it's fantastic.
"I'm just doing my thing and trying to do every stage as good as I can and as clean as I can with no mistakes, and today there have been no mistakes. They are pushing so hard behind, and I can feel it - it's tense."
Lining up behind Solberg are no fewer than three world champions, led by 2019 title-winner Ott Tänak. The local favourite, driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally1, is locked in a fierce duel with team-mate Thierry Neuville for the runner-up spot. The pair traded positions six times throughout the day, with Tänak ending just 4.0sec ahead of the Belgian.
Tänak's advantage could have been greater, but a costly stall after clipping a chicane bale on the opening stage saw him shed around seven seconds.
Kalle Rovanperä, three-time Delfi Rally Estonia winner and WRC champion in 2022 and 2023, ended the day in fourth. Despite pushing as hard as he felt comfortable, the Finn admitted he was struggling to match the leaders' pace.
"That's the harsh truth - the speed is what it is," he said. "We tried to be fast, but it's not close. I'm pushing all the time, no mistakes."
Rovanperä did manage to edge further ahead of Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux, who climbed to fifth after overhauling Takamoto Katsuta early on Saturday. Fourmaux ended 8.6sec ahead of the Japanese driver, who in the afternoon reported "something weird with the car". Katsuta now holds sixth, just 13.6sec clear of his championship-leading team-mate Elfyn Evans - the Welshman rounding out a steady day in seventh.
Sami Pajari continued to hold a solitary eighth place in his Toyota, comfortably clear of the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1s of Mārtinš Sesks and Josh McErlean, who completed the top 10.
End of day three (Saturday):
1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h08m05.4s
2 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +21.1s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +25.1s
4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +51.6s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m08.2s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m16.8s
7 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m30.4s
8 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m14.5s
9 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m48.5s
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m13.6s
(Results as of 18:30 on Saturday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
What's next?
Three stages form Sunday’s route with a total of 60.19 competitive kilometres. The first stage, Hellenurme, is new for the drivers while Kääriku uses part of last year’s Mäeküla test and is run twice, with the second pass serving as the rally-ending Power Stage.
