The Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team announced this morning they would be parting ways with driver Oliver Solberg in 2023. What does this mean for Solberg’s WRC future?
Solberg’s 2022 WRC Season
Oliver Solberg’s 2022 season has been up and down, to say the least. Solberg started the year with a retirement at Rallye Monte-Carlo. This retirement would be caused by a mechanical issue on SS14. Solberg would have a bounce-back event at Rally Sweden however. Finishing the event sixth overall, two minutes behind Gus Greensmith. Unfortunately for Solberg, the Croatia Rally would end the same as Rallye Monte-Carlo. As Solberg would once again retire due to a mechanical issue, this time on SS9. Solberg would end up missing both Vodafone Rally De Portugal and Rally Italia Sardegna.
Solberg’s next WRC appearance would come at Safari Rally Kenya. Where he would finish 10th, nearly two minutes behind ninth. Rally Estonia would see Solberg place 13th overall, 3.3 seconds behind 12th. Secto Rally Finland would be short for Solberg. As he would, unfortunately, retire just a couple hundred metres into the second stage. Solberg would bounce back at Ypres Rally Belgium. Placing fourth overall, nearly three minutes ahead of fifth. This would be Solberg’s highest WRC finish to date. Solberg would miss EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. Making his next WRC appearance at Repco Rally New Zealand. Solberg would place fifth in New Zealand, nearly seven minutes ahead of Hayden Paddon who finished sixth. Repco Rally New Zealand will be the final WRC event for Solberg in 2022. Solberg currently sits 12th in the WRC standings, three points ahead of Pierre-Louis Loubet.
Who Could Solberg Race With In 2023?
Solberg’s 2023 WRC commitment won’t be known for a while. That is if Solberg commits to the WRC again in 2023. With only three manufacturers at the WRC1 level, there aren’t many options for Solberg. Remove Hyundai from that list and it becomes even shorter.
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
Much like Solberg, the M-Sport Ford WRT hasn’t had a great year. Only winning one rally to this point. This can be explained by M-Sports’ number one driver Craig Breen struggling this year. The M-Sport group of drivers is young and lack experience at the WRC1 level. With drivers like Gus Greensmith, Adrien Fourmaux and Pierre-Louis Loubet filling most of their lineup. M-Sport does however have some experience in their lineup with the likes of Craig Breen and nine-time WRC champion Sebastian Loeb who is racing at select events.
Oliver Solberg could be a perfect fit for the young M-Sport crew who are trying to build up the next generation of WRC drivers. What better name to add than Oliver Solberg who is bursting at the seams with potential. If Solberg were to join M-Sport he’d likely have the ability to race every event on the 2023 calendar aswell as potentially learn from a rally legend in Sebastian Loeb, that is if Loeb races in 2023.
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
The Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT is on top of the WRC at this point. Having the youngest ever WRC champion in Kalle Rovanperä. Alongside eight-time WRC champion Sebastian Ogier. What’s not to like about Toyota at this point? They have a car that proved to be the most stable in 2022. They’ve been on top of the WRC for four straight years. Toyota would be a logical fit for Solberg if he wanted a stable team behind him as well as an experienced one. If Solberg wants a chance to learn from the best in the world, Toyota is the right choice.
My name is Joe Moore. I am a writer for Belly Up Hockey, Belly Up Racing, and Belly Up Sports. You can find me on Twitter.
