Oliver Solberg surprises at Rally Estonia with a dominant performance and leads the field on his Rally1 comeback, while his rivals struggle
Toyota driver Oliver Solberg caused a huge surprise on Friday morning at Rally Estonia, the eighth round of the 2025 World Rally Championship (WRC): The WRC2 leader immediately took the lead in his Rally1 comeback for Toyota – and did so with impressive dominance.
Together with co-driver Elliott Edmondson, the 23-year-old Norwegian quickly gained confidence in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on his first start in the top class of the WRC since 2022. Solberg took the lead after just the second stage. On the 24.35-kilometer “Peipsiääre” special stage (SS), he left the competition standing and was 5.3 seconds faster than his teammate Kalle Rovanperä. It was his first SS victory in the highest rally category.
“A dream has come true,” said Solberg emotionally at the finish. “I was shocked, surprised and a little overwhelmed. I’m not actually here to win the rally. We’ve already achieved our goal.”
But that wasn’t all: Solberg triumphed again in SS4, this time with a 2.8-second lead over Rovanperä. He narrowly missed the fastest time in SS3 and SS5. After the morning loop, Solberg was 8.5 seconds ahead of local hero Ott Tänak in the Hyundai, with Rovanperä following in third place, 10.7 seconds behind.
Tänak struggles with car – Rovanperä and Neuville battle with Hankook tires
Tänak, who has won the rally several times, did not see himself as the favorite going into the event. He was proven right. “The car isn’t driving the way I need it to. I’m too old to learn new tricks,” said the Estonian self-critically. Although he won SS3 and SS5, he complained of massive problems with the balance of the car on the front axle.
Rovanperä also struggled, but with the new Hankook tires. The three-time Estonia winner failed to get into his stride, despite performing strongly in Thursday’s shakedown. “We need to find more traction during the service. The grip is just too low at the moment,” said the Finn.
Teammate Takamoto Katsuta fought his way to fifth place despite intercom problems. World championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota), who was the first to take to the track, lost significant time on the loose surface and is now 0.5 seconds behind Katsuta in sixth place.
Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville, who was still in the lead after winning the opening stage, fell back to fourth place on Friday morning. The Belgian, who desperately needs points for the title fight, couldn’t find his rhythm: “The confidence just isn’t there. The grip is super low, it feels very strange.”
Problems for Pajari, solid pace for Fourmaux – M-Sport trio slip up
The morning was disappointing for Sami Pajari in the fourth Toyota: a problem with the drive cost him a lot of time and confidence. He is now in eighth place, 55.5 seconds behind.
Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) started too cautiously but was able to pick up the pace and is now in seventh place. Behind him are the three M-Sport Ford drivers Josh McErlean, Martins Sesks, and Gregoire Munster, all of whom made driving errors. Munster also suffered a puncture in SS4 after contact with a rock.
