WRC Rally Estonia win in Solberg’s sights after fast, flawless Saturday

Oliver Solberg stands on the brink of his first FIA World Rally Championship victory after extending his advantage during Saturday’s blisteringly fast penultimate leg of Rally Estonia.

The 23-year-old Swede (above), making a one-off appearance in a factory-prepped Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 alongside his regular WRC2 campaign, will carry a 21-second lead into Sunday’s three-stage final leg.

A win for Solberg would see him join an exclusive group of drivers to win on their debut with a new team at rallying’s top level. It would also be vindication for his previous top-tier chance in 2022, when he was dropped at season’s end by the Hyundai WRC factory squad after a run of crashes and poor results. Since then, he’s concentrated on the series’ second-tier class, WRC2, and currently leads the points battle.

Solberg, the son of 2005 WRC champ Petter, has led since Friday morning and added a further four fastest times on Saturday, extending his overnight margin from 12.4s to 21.1s through the second leg’s nine stages and 78 competitive miles.

Overnight changes to the setup of his GR Yaris Rally1 gave him renewed confidence and he duly posted fastest times on three of the morning’s four stages. In the afternoon, his approach shifted to risk management on stages around Otepaa and Kanepi, backing off slightly, but losing minimal ground to the chasing pack.

"It's been an absolutely amazing day," said Solberg. "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 WRC champions, led by 2019 title winner Ott Tanak. The local favorite is locked in a fierce duel with Hyundai teammate and reigning WRC champ Thierry Neuville for the runner-up spot. The pair traded positions six times throughout the day in their i20 N Rally1 machines, with Tanak ending the leg just 4.0s ahead of the Belgian.

A win is a stretch, but Estonia’s Ott Tanak is edging a scrap for second with Hyundai. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Tanak’s advantage could have been greater, but a costly stall after clipping a chicane bale on the day’s opening stage saw him lose around seven seconds.

Kalle Rovanpera, a three-time Rally Estonia winner and WRC champion in 2022 and 2023, ended the day in fourth in his GR Yaris. 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.”

Rovanpera did manage to pull clear of Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who climbed to fifth after overhauling Takamoto Katsuta early on Saturday. Fourmaux ended 8.6s ahead of the Japanese Toyota driver, who’d reported “something weird with the car” in the afternoon loop.

Katsuta now holds sixth, just 13.6s clear of his teammate Elfyn Evans, the Welshman rounding out a steady day in seventh as he seeks to conserve a diminishing championship points lead over Tanak and an absent Sebastien Ogier (who’ll be back in WRC action next time out in Finland).

Elfyn Evans is seventh in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Will he still be leading the WRC points, post-Estonia? Toyota Gazoo Racing photo

Sami Pajari continued to hold a solitary eighth place in his GR Yaris, comfortably clear of the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 trio of part-timer Martins Sesks and full-season drivers Josh McErlean and Gregoire Munster, who held ninth to 11th respectively

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Estonia’s Robert Virves inched closer to a maiden class triumph after maintaining a comfortable lead through the penultimate leg.

Having battled through the effects of food poisoning on Friday, Saturday posed a different kind of challenge for 25-year-old Virves. As the first WRC2 car on the road, he was forced to sweep a clean line through the loose gravel behind the Rally1 contenders, compromising grip on the super-fast stages.

The result was a less dominant showing for the Skoda Fabia RS driver in terms of stage wins – he added just one to his total after taking seven on Friday. But crucially, the Estonian was able to control his lead, conceding only 8.8s to fellow Estonian Georg Linnamae in a Toyota GR Yaris WRC2. The pair are now split by 26.5s heading into Sunday’s final leg.

Having shaken off a bout of food poisoning, Skoda Fabia RS driver Robert Virves controlled his WRC2 class lead. McKlein/Getty Images

That leg features a short, sharp 37.4 miles of competition, kicking off with Hellenurme before two passes of Kaariku. The second run hosts the rally-ending, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage and will be live on the RACER Network and RACER+ app.

WRC Rally Estonia, positions after Saturday/Leg Two, SS17
1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h08m05.4s
2 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +21.1s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +25.1s
4 Kalle Rovanpera/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 Martins Sesks/Renars Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m48.5s
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m13.6s

• Watch the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage action from Rally Estonia LIVE on RACER Network and the RACER+ App on Sunday, July 20 at 6:00-7:30am ET, with a same-day re-airing on the RACER Network at 9:30pm ET and Monday, July 21 at 12:30am ET.
• Plus, for a deeper dive into the FIA World Rally Championship, check out the WRC Magazine Show on RACER Network. Catch the latest episode on Sunday, July 20 at 5:30am ET and 9:00pm ET, and Monday, July 21 at 12:00am ET and 5:30am ET. You can find out more about the RACER+ App at racerplus.com.