Solberg shrugs off late overshoot to complete WRC Monte Carlo Rally victory

Oliver Solberg (above) survived a late scare and held his nerve through a treacherous final leg to win the Monte Carlo Rally, heading an all-Toyota podium on the World Rally Championship’s season-opener and most iconic event.

In the end, the 24-year-old Swede maintained his near-minute overnight advantage to celebrate a first victory on what’s been the toughest Monte in years, with crews facing snow, slush, ice and mud on many of the asphalt stages in the French Alps and rolling the dice on tire selections.

Starting Sunday’s four-stage final leg with a seemingly comfortable 59.3s cushion, Solberg’s run to glory was briefly threatened on the morning’s second test. On the icy hairpins of the 14.6-mile La Bollene-Vesubie 1 stage, he was caught out and overshot his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, momentarily facing the wrong way. He recovered quickly, shedding only a handful of seconds before regaining his composure and momentum and going on to set second-fastest times on the two remaining stages.

“I don't understand it at the moment," said Solberg, before the cars headed out of the Alps and back to Monaco for the ceremonial finish. “It's another emotional day. This was the most difficult rally I've done in my life. It's my first rally on [asphalt] in the car and here we are, winning the thing. I just want to say a big thank you to Toyota for the trust and the belief. The teamwork has been exceptional.”

Oliver Solberg soaks in his first Monte Carlo Rally win with his dad, 2003 WRC champ Petter. Toyota Gazoo Racing photo

The win marked Solberg’s first WRC start as a full-season driver in Toyota’s factory roster. The 2025 WRC2 champ impressed the Toyota Gazoo Racing brass when a one-off Rally1 drive for the squad on last year’s Rally Estonia ended with his first WRC win. He was called up for a full 2026 campaign in the top tier when two time WRC champ Kalle Rovenpera exited to go open-wheel racing in Japan’s Super Formula Championship.

Behind Solberg, Elfyn Evans secured second overall in his GR Yaris, 51.8s adrift of the winner. The Welshman delivered a clean final day to fend off lingering pressure from teammate Sebastien Ogier and claim more Super Sunday points than any other Rally1 driver. His haul included the five bonus points for fastest time on the rally-ending Wolf Power Stage, a second pass of La Bollene-Vesubie.

Elfyn Evans couldn’t get near his Toyota teammate, Oliver Solberg, but ended his Monte on a high with the Power Stage win. Toyota Gazoo Racing photo

Ogier, the nine-time and reigning WRC champion and 10-time Monte winner, ended 1m10.4s adrift of Evans, admitting he had no answer for his teammates’ pace in the constantly changing conditions.

Adrien Fourmaux was the only driver able to disrupt Toyota’s dominance, bringing his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 home in a measured fourth place after racking up two fastest stage times during the rally. His teammate, 2024 WRC champ Thierry Neuville, endured a frustrating conclusion to a difficult week, with the Belgian’s hopes of salvaging final-leg bonus points ending early on Sunday when he clipped a rock and suffered a puncture, consigning him to fifth.

Sunday morning brought heartbreak for M-Sport Ford, and particularly its Rally1 debutant Jon Armstrong. The northern Ireland driver had been running an impressive sixth overall, but saw his result unravel less than a half mile into the penultimate stage when he slid off the road and retired.

To compound matters, Josh McErlean, who’d already been off the road on Thursday and Friday in the second of the Puma Rally1s, also crashed out on the same stage, while Gregoire Munster retired his car before the day’s opening test with a mechanical issue.

After looking on course for sixth place on his Rally1 debut, M-Sport Ford’s Jon Armstrong slid into retirement on the penultimate stage. M-Sport photo

Of the other Rally1 entries, Takamoto Katsuta climbed to seventh overall in his GR Yaris, having previously been plagued by power steering issues on Friday, while Hyundai WRC returnee Hayden Paddon just missed out on a point in 11th.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Leo Rossel claimed the biggest victory of his career, keeping his cool while chaos unfolded around him to secure a commanding maiden class win on home asphalt.

The Citroen C3 driver reached the finish with a dominant 2m9.5s advantage over Robert Dapra – a result that belied the intense pressure Rossel had faced for much of the weekend from the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale of Nikolay Gryazin on the car’s WRC debut.

While the result appeared comfortable, Rossel’s success was forged through a titanic duel that was cut short on Saturday afternoon when Gryazin, who’d rebounded impressively from rear suspension damage on Thursday, slid off the road and into a field, ending his hopes of victory. He later restarted, but reached the finish a distant sixth in class.

With Gryazin out of the picture, the fight for the remaining WRC2 podium spots intensified. Dapra claimed second in his Skoda Fabia RS, while Hyundai i20 N Rally 2 driver Arthur Pelamourgues turned heads with a stunning drive to third on his WRC2 debut.

Citroen C3 driver Leo Rossel completed an ultimately dominant WRC2 win after a weekend of soaking up pressure. Red Bull Content Pool

The WRC resumes next month with Rally Sweden, Feb. 12-15, the season’s only pure snow and ice winter event (despite this year’s Monte doing its best to dispute that…). Crews will tackle the frozen forests around Umea, bouncing their cars off the rally’s defining snow banks, on the second of 14 WRC rounds.

WRC Monte Carlo Rally, final positions after Sunday/Leg Three, SS17

1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 4h24m59.0s  
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +51.8s
3 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m02.2s
4 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5m59.3s
5 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +10m29.8s
6 Leo Rossel/Guillaume Mercoiret (Citroen C3 – WRC2 winner) +12m58.4s
7 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +13m05.4s
8 Roberto Dapra/Luca Guglielmetti (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +15m07.9s
9 Arthur Pelamourges/Bastien Pouget (Hyundai 120 N Rally2 – WRC2) +18m09.4s
10 Eric Camilli/Thibault de la Haye (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +18m36.4s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 1 of 14 rounds

1 Solberg 30 points
2 Evans 26
3 Ogier 18
4 Fourmaux 17 
5 Neuville 10
6 Rossel 8 (and WRC2 leader)

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 1 of 14 rounds

1 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 59 points 
2 Hyundai Word Rally Team 35   

• There’s LIVE Wolf Power Stage coverage from every FIA World Rally Championship round on the RACER Network RACER+ App. Next up, it’s action from the snow and ice of Rally Sweden on Feb. 15.

• Plus, for a deeper dive into the FIA World Rally Championship, watch the WRC Magazine Show on RACER Network. Check the listings to catch the next episode before Rally Sweden.  

• Get 6 print issues of RACER Magazine, unlimited digital access to the RACER archive, and 24/7 motorsports streaming on the RACER+ App for just $129.99 for one year. CLICK HERE and subscribe now for the ultimate motorsports fan experience.