Oliver Solberg followed in the footsteps of his world champion father Petter, claiming a stunning maiden FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) victory at Delfi Rally Estonia on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Swede stunned the WRC elite with a commanding display across the high-speed gravel roads of southern Estonia, sealing his breakthrough win on debut in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 - nearly 20 years after Petter’s final WRC success in 2005.
Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson were drafted in for the one-off outing just weeks before the rally and had only two days of testing under their belts. Remarkably, it marked their first Rally1 start since Repco Rally New Zealand in 2022 - but they wasted no time in making an impression, storming into the lead with their first-ever stage win on Friday’s opener stage and remaining unchallenged throughout the weekend.
That momentum carried through into Super Sunday, with Solberg setting the pace on two of the day’s three tests in damp and slippery conditions.
Unfazed by the change in grip, he calmly extended his advantage to take the win – Toyota’s 100th in the WRC - by 25.2sec over local hero and 2019 world champion Ott Tänak.
"After everything, so many years trying and trying and trying and dreaming, and me and Elliott finally made it,” said Solberg. “I just want to say thank you to Toyota, to the test team who helped me get so comfortable, for all the help this weekend from this beautiful, beautiful team. I've never had such a good time in my life.
Tänak, the pre-event favourite, struggled to get the best out of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 on sections where grip was inconsistent. A stall on Saturday morning cost him around seven seconds, but the immediate threat behind eased on Sunday when team-mate Thierry Neuville, who started the day just 4.0sec adrift, incurred a 10-second penalty for a false start on SS18 and ultimately finished 23.1sec behind Tänak in third.
Despite missing out on the win, Tänak’s result was enough to overhaul Elfyn Evans and move into the lead of the drivers’ championship by a single point. Evans, who placed sixth, will at least benefit from not running first on the road on day one of the upcoming Secto Rally Finland.
Kalle Rovanperä showed improved pace in the damper conditions but was unable to mount a podium challenge. The two-time world champion and three-time Rally Estonia winner had to settle for fourth in another Toyota, finishing 7.3sec adrift of Neuville.
Adrien Fourmaux’s hopes of contending for top Super Sunday and Wolf Power Stage points were dashed when his Hyundai nosedived after a jump, damaging the front aero. The Frenchman ended the rally in fifth, ahead of Evans.
Takamoto Katsuta had slipped behind Evans to eighth earlier in the day and was forced to retire his Toyota before the Power Stage due to a technical issue.
After grappling with intermittent power loss on Friday, Sami Pajari brought his Toyota home in seventh overall. The top 10 was rounded out by M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 youngsters Mārtinš Sesks, Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster.
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 ...
(Results as of 12:30 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 8:
1 Ott Tänak 162 points
2 Elfyn Evans 161
3 Sébastien Ogier 141
4 Kalle Rovanperä 138
5 Thierry Neuville 114
6 Adrien Fourmaux 71
7 Takamoto Katsuta 63
8 Oliver Solberg 52
9 Sami Pajari 38
10 Grégoire Munster 19
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 8:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 399 points
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 347
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 111
4 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT2 68
What's next?
Rally Finland (July 31-August 3) is the fastest rally on the calendar, run over smooth gravel roads containing many jumps. It’s also a home rally for TGR-WRT, which has its headquarters close to the service park in Jyväskylä.
