For Oliver Solberg, nothing’s changed. The dream is still very much alive and as real as it’s ever been.
The 21-year-old’s focus remains firmly fixed on one place: the World Rally Championship’s top table. He’s sat there once and has every intention of being back.
“That is the dream,” Solberg told DirtFish. “It has never changed and it never will change. I love this sport. We say it a lot in my family, but it’s true: rallying is our life. I am doing everything I can to be back in a Rally1 car for next season.”
But what are the chances of a premier class return for the rising star dropped by Hyundai Motorsport at the end of last season?
“It’s tough,” he said. “You don’t need me to tell you there are not many seats around right now. All I can do is keep pushing and keep talking and, of course, keep driving.”
Rally Chile will mark the end of Solberg’s WRC season next month, with a lack of budget keeping him out of the Central European Rally and Rally Japan.
“It’s a long time [from Chile to the start of next year],” he added, “but I have some ideas of how I can keep driving after Chile – you will know more about this soon.
“If it’s not possible to be in Rally1, we have to be ready with a plan B. For me, that would be to make a private team for WRC2 with Monster Energy. I’m so fortunate to have this partnership with Monster Energy – it would be cool to be able to build that out and run our own car. What car? I don’t know, I guess this would be completely open.
“I want to be clear, this is something I think about; this is nothing to do with Toksport – that is one of the best teams I ever drove for. Honestly, Serkan [Duru, Toksport team owner] is a guy who has so much enthusiasm and just wants to make everything happen all the time. A fantastic guy!”
Asked if he could remain with the German-based Toksport team, Solberg added: “Definitely. I guess you could call this one plan C.
“It’s good to talk about these plans, but the fact is, right now, I have nothing for next year and I have a lot of work to do to get things in place for Monte Carlo in January. That’s OK, my family is always working, always talking and always finding opportunities. We will get there.”
While he will miss out on this year’s WRC2 title, Solberg remains the driver with the most stage wins and the driver leading rallies for the longest.
