Oliver Solberg has been stripped of his first ever European Rallycross Championship victory at Höljes due to his Hyundai i20 Supercar weighing in 3kg overweight.
Solberg, returning to rallycross as a one-off in a gap with his World Rally Championship program with Hyundai Motorsport, had enjoyed a stellar weekend – topping qualifying overnight before eventually finishing second after four heats to championship leader Anton Marklund.
But Solberg won his semifinal to start on the front row of the main event, and a controlled drive allowed him to win the RX1 final ahead of Marklund and Jean-Baptiste Dubourg.
However, Solberg’s Hedström Motorsport Hyundai failed post-event scrutineering and he was therefore thrown out of the classification, handing victory to fellow Swede Marklund.
“In scrutineering our underbody protection was 3kg overweight – our car was overweight for the whole weekend and it was agreed that it gave no performance advantage, but rules are rules and sadly we’re disqualified from the final,” said Solberg.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever been disqualified for being overweight!
“Of course it’s a huge disappointment, but we try and keep positive about our performance this weekend and keep pushing next time.”
There were troubles for other big hitters across the ‘Magic Weekend’ too.
Reigning and four-time world champion Johan Kristoffersson had started alongside Solberg in the final but a flat tire ruled him out of the running.
Andreas Bakkerud was therefore promoted to second behind Solberg but was forced to retire late on with a technical issue.
