It was all very apt.
On a rally named Royal Rally of Scandinavia, Scandinavia’s royal rallying family was out in full force – producing a show nobody could miss and creating memories that can never be erased.
“Passion, I have,” smiled Petter Solberg, reflecting on a mega weekend where he, his wife Pernilla and brother Henning were just some of the Solberg stars to compete in the Legends event.
And to top it all off, it was the youngest active member of the Solberg clan who took victory in the main event.
“I hope everyone enjoyed it,” Petter said, humbly. “The passion we have for rallying and motorsport, we just want the best for everybody.”
The fact the 2003 World Rally champion received the loudest cheer of the day as he took off over Colin’s Crest perfectly answers that question – as if it even needed to be answered.
But this wasn’t just for the fans. To be competing together as a family clearly meant a great deal to everyone – not least Petter’s mom Tove who rode shotgun in her son’s Citroën C4 WRC.
“All the time, I say no. No I don’t want to sit in a rally car,” Tove told DirtFish.
“But I’m now over 70, so I think why not?
“He was so focused, it was amazing.”
Maud Solberg – mother of past Junior WRC and WRC2 champion Pontus Tidemand as well as Oscar Solberg – had a similar feeling sitting alongside her husband Henning in Petter’s Toyota Celica ST185.
“This was one on the bucket list,” she said, “to sit with Henning in a proper car on a timed stage.
“Colin’s Crest – to go there was next on the bucket list. And I did it!”
Following on from DirtFish’s trip to the event last weekend, David Evans and Luke Barry sat down for this week’s SPIN, The Rally Pod to debrief all the European Rally Championship action and digest the super Solberg show.
Hear from both Petter and Pernilla themselves as they share their experiences, as well as a preview of what’s to come this weekend in the American Rally Association where a champion can be crowned, and at the Goodwood Festival of Speed where plenty of World Rally Championship stars and cars will be in action.
