Solberg seals Rally Estonia win in stunning one-off Rally1 return

Oliver Solberg claimed his first FIA World Rally Championship victory at Rally Estonia after a stunning one-off drive with Toyota’s factory Rally1 team.

The 23-year-old Swede (above) led home the WRC elite on Sunday with a commanding display on the high-speed gravel roads of southern Estonia. He sealed his breakthrough win on his debut in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – almost 20 years after his father, 2003 WRC champ Petter’s final top-level win in 2005.

Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson were drafted in for their one-off top-tier appearance just weeks before the rally and had only two days of testing under their belts heading into the event. It marked their first Rally1 start since Rally New Zealand in 2022 with Hyundai.

Solberg’s prime target in 2025 is winning the WRC’s second-tier WRC2 title in a Printsport-run Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, but he wasted no time in making an impression in the top-level Rally1 category in Estonia. He stormed into the lead with a first-ever stage win on Friday morning’s opening stage and remained unchallenged throughout the weekend.

That momentum carried through into Sunday’s short final leg, with Solberg setting the pace on two of the day’s three stages in damp and slippery conditions. Unfazed by the change in grip levels, he calmly extended his advantage to take the win – Toyota’s 100th in the WRC – by 25.2s over local hero and 2019 world champion Ott Tanak in a Hyundai.

"After everything, so many years trying and trying and trying and dreaming, 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, and for all the help this weekend from this beautiful, beautiful team. I've never had such a good time in my life.”

Oliver Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson made the most of their top-tier Toyota one-off with a Rally Estonia win. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Tanak, the pre-event favorite, 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 teammate Thierry Neuville, who’d started the day just 4.0s adrift, incurred a 10-second penalty for a false start on the morning’s opening stage. Thierry, the reigning WRC champ, ultimately finished 23.1s behind Tanak in third. 

Despite missing out on the win, Tanak’s result was enough to overhaul Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and move into the lead of the WRC drivers’ championship by a single point. Evans placed sixth in Estonia after another opening leg running first on the road and sweeping gravel for the cars behind. As some small comfort, the loss of his points lead means it will be Tanak doing the day-one sweeping at the upcoming Rally Finland...

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak could only finish second in front of his home fans, but still takes the WRC points lead. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Kalle Rovanpera showed improved pace in Sunday’s damp conditions, but was unable to mount a podium challenge. The two-time WRC champ and three-time Rally Estonia winner had to settle for fourth in his GR Yaris Rally1, finishing 7.3s adrift of Neuville.

Adrien Fourmaux’s hopes of contending for a maximum haul of 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, still ahead of Evans, but 37.4s behind Rovanpera.

Takamoto Katsuta had slipped behind fellow factory Toyota driver Evans to seventh on Sunday’s second stage and was forced to retire his GR Yaris before the rally-ending Power Stage due to a technical issue.

After grappling with intermittent power loss on Friday, Sami Pajari brought his Toyota home in seventh overall, some 40.4s ahead of Martins Sesks in the best of the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1s.

Estonian Sesks’ eighth-place finish was a confidence boost after a run of poor results for the Rally1 part-timer. He finished a whopping 1m53.8s ahead of M-Sport Ford regular Josh McErlean in ninth, with Gregoire Munster’s Puma a further 27.7s back in 10th overall.

Martins Sesks was best of the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 trio in a confidence-boosting eighth overall.

In WRC2, Robert Virves secured his first-ever win in the second-tier category, delivering a measured performance across the weekend to take a popular home win – despite a late time penalty.

The 25-year-old Skoda Fabia RS driver controlled the class from start to finish and completed Sunday’s three stages with a winning margin of 18.4s over fellow Estonian Georg Linnamae. A 10-second time penalty for a false start on the morning’s opener briefly raised hopes of a late battle for the WRC2 win, but Virves remained out of reach, having built a sufficient cushion over his rivals earlier in the event.

The result capped off a composed and mature drive from Virves, who had battled through food poisoning on Friday and class road-sweeping duties on Saturday, before bringing the win home in Sunday’s damp conditions.

Linnamae, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, was second throughout the weekend and had conceded on Saturday that his only hope of victory would come from a mistake by Virves.

Skoda Fabia RS driver Robert Virves earned his first WRC2 win on his home event, leading the class from start to finish. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Next up, the WRC’s European summer of speed continues in less than two weeks with the fastest event on the calendar, Rally Finland. The “Finnish Grand Prix” takes place on the high-speed gravel stages around host city Jyvaskyla, July 31-Aug. 3.Catch more 2025 WRC action on RACER+ and the RACER Network. There’s LIVE Wolf Power Stage coverage from all remaining rallies on the RACER+ App, plus same-day airings on the RACER Network.

From the high-speed dirt roads of Finland, to a fast-paced South American double-header in Paraguay and Chile, to the all-asphalt blasts of Central European Rally and Rally Japan, and finishing with an all-new gravel challenge in Saudi Arabia, it’s all on RACER+ and RACER Network.

WRC Rally Estonia, final positions after Sunday/Leg Three, SS20
1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h36m35.1s
2 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +25.2s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +48.3s
4 Kalle Rovanpera/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 Martins Sesks/Renars Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m36.0s
9 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m29.8s
10 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m57.5s
11 Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 winner) +8m43.4s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 8 of 14 rounds
1 Tanak 162 points
2 Evans 161
3 Sebastien Ogier 141
4 Rovanpera 138
5 Neuville 114
6 Fourmaux 71

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 8 of 14 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 399 points   
2 Hyundai Word Rally Team 347   
3 M-Sport Ford 111
4 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 68

• Catch more 2025 WRC action on RACER+ and the RACER Network. There’s LIVE Wolf Power Stage coverage from all remaining rallies on the RACER+ App, plus same-day airings on the RACER Network.
• From the high-speed dirt roads of Finland, to a fast-paced South American doubleheader in Paraguay and Chile, to the all-asphalt blasts of Central European Rally and Rally Japan, and finishing with an all-new gravel challenge in Saudi Arabia, it’s all on RACER+ and RACER Network. You can find out more about the RACER+ App at racerplus.com.