Oliver Solberg believes he “100%” has a shot at winning the World Rally Championship crown after an impressive drive hauled him into the victory fight at the Rally Italy Sardinia title showdown.
The Toyota driver headed into the title decider 21 points adrift of long-time championship leader Elfyn Evans and admitted that his title chances were a long shot. Solberg said before the event that a maximum 35-point haul would realistically be his best option to snatch the title.
The 25-year-old has given himself every chance of achieving such after ending Friday 12.3s from the lead held by Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville despite starting from third on the road, and suffering a slow puncture.
With Evans completing the day in sixth overall (+1m08.9s) and fellow Toyota title rival Sami Pajari sitting in fifth (+40.2s), Solberg will have a significant road position advantage for Saturday’s stages, which he is keen to maximise.
Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
It will still, however, require an impressive Saturday and Sunday performance, with Evans needing 19 points to guarantee the title regardless of what Solberg or Pajari achieve.
“I think for sure Hyundai was very strong today, but also I think with our road position, a bit unlucky, lucky with our puncture this morning, we are still in a great position. Only 12 seconds off, and I did the best I could today with the road position and the risk that I managed. So I’m still very happy,” Solberg told Motorsport.com.
“I’ve 100% got the shot. Elfyn is not in a great position, and he will not be for the rest of the weekend with the road cleaning.
“Hopefully we can still be a little bit clever. It’s still a long weekend ahead, so we still need to keep calm. But at least I’m not too far away. At least I have a shot. That’s the most important thing. As long as you have a shot, you need to do your best.
“I think for tomorrow I just continue a bit like today, but hopefully with the road position, everything is a bit closer, and hopefully I can maybe catch a little bit of time. Let’s see Hyundai has been strong. They are normally very strong on this type of roads, so I will do the best I can.
“Let’s see if it’s if I’m in a good position after tomorrow, then Sunday is flat out.”
Evans: Solberg is the danger man
Elfyn Evans, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
As it stands, five-time title runner-up Evans remains remains in control of his bid for a maiden world title after a solid Friday, considering the disadvantage of starting first on the rough gravel stages.
Importantly Evans avoided any major delays or punctures but felt that he could have taken a little bit more risk. Reflecting on Friday’s results, Evans is wary of the threat coming from Solberg.
“I don’t think you can call it a relief. I think it’s been a tough afternoon, obviously with the position we are in,” said Evans. “I don’t know what more we could have done realistically.
“We tried to do what we could within reason. Of course, there’s room to take a little more risk. It didn’t feel like we were going so bad, but time hasn’t been there this afternoon.
“It is relatively close for now. I think Oliver is the danger man at the minute being quite close to the lead, and of course we know that if he ends up in that position where he is the leader of the rally, then obviously that puts a bit more pressure on us to score a few more points.
“We have to keep at it.
“It is a better road position tomorrow but it is favourable for others behind and they are all fast drivers. It won’t be easy to climb our way forward but let’s see.’
Pajari: Nothing is lost but we need to keep pushing
Sami Pajari, Marko Salminen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
Pajari started the weekend as Evans’ nearest rival 17 points adrift of the Welshman, but as it stands, the Finn has slipped behind Solberg in the championship standings.
After starting second on the road, Pajari felt he had maximised his road position, although the 24-year-old lost grip of fourth overall to Toyota team-mate Sebastien Ogier by 2.8s on Friday’s final stage.
Asked about his title hopes, he remained positive looking ahead to Saturday’s six stages.
“It is always unfortunate to lose one position like that. I think considering the road position we had, we had quite a decent day. But of course, you always want a little bit more. But you need to accept that. We were clearly faster than Elfyn on every stage so it shows how crucial the road position is,” said Pajari.
“Nothing is lost. So we clearly need to keep pushing.
“I think we just try to do more or less the same as we did today. The road position will help us tomorrow. It’s much better at least than we had today.
“So maybe it will automatically be slightly better. But of course it’s hard to judge how much risk you want to take because the issue can arrive even if you back off or you go flat out. But of course it’s more likely to happen when you go absolutely flat out.”
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