ARA
21 Mar 2019
Credit: Matt Stryker/Subaru Motorsports USA
Oliver Solberg impressed on his American rally debut at the 100 Acre Wood Rally by finishing second, just 6.8 seconds adrift of event winner Barry McKenna.
The son of 2003 World Rally and 2014-15 World Rallycross champion Petter Solberg wasn’t just competing in North America for the first time, but it was also his first full rally on gravel in a four-wheel-drive car. The Swedish teenager previously competed in the junior category of the Latvian Rally Championship in a front-wheel-drive Peugeot 208 R2 and has had a pair of outings on snow in a Volkswagen Polo R5 this year.
After a strong run early on in the rally, Solberg began to set his signts on the overall lead of the rally – something he initially was expecting to do on his first time out.
Solberg was watched on by his three-time world champion father – Credit: Lars Gange/Subaru Motorsports USA
“Coming into this event I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Solberg said. “When the time was there on the first gravel stage, everything changed.”
“You keep telling yourself, stay calm and keep doing what you’re doing, but when you’re in the top three, you’re always thinking about the win,” he added. “That was crazy, to be thinking to the win on my first event, but it shows how comfortable I felt with the car and the team straight away.”
Solberg won six stages throughout the event in Missouri, but suffered a puncture on the opening day of the rally, before having to contend with an open bonnet towards the end of Saturday’s running. Nevertheless, he fought back to finish just behind McKenna, and ahead of his eight-time US rally champion David Higgins who had his own fair share of bad luck.
Solberg won six stages on his US debut – Credit: Ben Haulenbeek/Subaru Motorsports USA
“We had tough luck on Saturday, but otherwise a very encouraging start to the season,” said Higgins. “We’ve been away from 100 Acre Wood for a few years and it’s great to have it back on the calendar – these are some of the fastest stages we see all year, and the fans come out in big numbers. For us, the focus is on defending our championship title, so we have to be patient and the wins will come.”
Solberg and Higgins will once again go head-to-head at next month’s Olympus Rally in Washington, the next round of the ARA national championship.
Subaru Motorsports USA will be in action next at the Olympus Rally in April – Credit: Ben Haulenbeek/Subaru Motorsports USA
