How a child watching his father compete became a WRC champion
In short: Before he was even one year old, Oliver Solberg was already attending rallies to watch his father compete. Today, the Swedish-Norwegian driver is a dominant force in the World Rally Championship, proving that a lifetime of motorsport immersion can lead to the very top of the podium.
Oliver Solberg, born 23 September 2001, first encountered the WRC during the 2002 Cyprus Rally prior to turning one. While his parents encouraged him to explore other sports like football and ice hockey, his path into motorsport was deeply rooted in family tradition. He is the son of 2003 WRC champion Petter Solberg and former rally driver Pernilla Solberg, and his grandfather and uncle are also experienced drivers.
Solberg's professional career began at just 15 years old in 2017. Due to his age, he initially competed in the Latvian Rally Championship, where he and co-driver Veronica Engan had to swap seats between stages because he was too young to drive the road sections. By age eight, he was already winning races in crosskarting, eventually becoming the 2018 RallyX Nordic Champion.
His ascent through the ranks has been marked by rapid success and high-stakes transitions. After winning the 2020 FIA ERC1 Junior Championship, he moved between WRC2 and top-level WRC seats with Hyundai Motorsport and Škoda Motorsport. In 2025, he achieved a significant milestone by winning his first WRC overall victory at the Rally Estonia. He concluded that season as the 2025 WRC2 champion, securing the title by 36 points. In 2026, he transitioned to a full-time driver role with Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, where he finished as the runner-up in the driver's title race, losing by just 5 points to teammate Elfyn Evans.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Oliver Solberg
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