ROC Sweden 2023: Solbergs secure nations cup for second time
29th January 2023Race of Champions Sweden: Snow and Ice got underway on Saturday, and saw both Petter and – his son – Oliver Solberg secure their second victory in the Nations cup.
Team Norway retained the nations cup at ROC Sweden: Snow and Ice, at the hands of father-and-son pairing, Peter and Oliver Solberg. The two former World Rally Drivers defended their maiden title, from last year, against the very best drivers in the world as they marched off to victory on Sweden’s icy conditions.
Due to the, natural, icy conditions of which the stage was laid upon, the drivers were not allocated into a group stage. Instead they were placed into a knock-out system. In a bid to make it as fair as possible at the event, the races were decided over four heats.
In the event of a tie (2-2), the team with the fastest overall time would progress through to the next round.
The competing drivers all came from a world class background which consisted of; Formula 1, Formula 2, the World Rally, IndyCar, Le Mans, World Rally Cross, W Series and more.
The Norwegian rally aces pulled a good start, securing four out of four wins in the quarter finals, after they demolished Team France which consisted of Sebastien Loeb and Adrien Tambay.
Despite Petter Solberg’s age and experience, it was his son who dominated the semi’s and helped his father progress into the finals. The heats were 2 – 2 at the end of the quarters, against Team Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom and Johan Kristoffersson, and the young Norwegian’s sheer pace put the duo out in front.
While P. Solberg was demoted to second-best, after his son secured both of his races against the Swedish pairing, the older Norwegian secured the tightest finish in ROC history – losing out the win by one-thousandths of a second to Ekstrom.
The duo were left with Team All Stars at the final which consisted of two unlikely contenders, Thierry Neuville and Felipe Drugovich.
After the first couple of runs, the score was tied at 1-1 after Neuville secured the first win ahead of the young Solberg’s victory on the second run. However, P. Solberg got the pairing into a good position going into the final race after he beat Drugovich to put the score 2-1.
The young Norwegian was left to contend with former WRC teammate, Neuville, in the final event. However, after clearing the final two corners cleanly it allowed Solberg to edge out his former teammate to secure victory.
Due to Oliver Solbergs performance, going unbeaten throughout the day, the young Norwegian will be entered into the events individual race of champions on Sunday.
That’s all for the article; ROC Sweden 2023: Solberg’s secure nations cup for second time!
What did you think of Oliver Solberg’s performance? Let us know in the comments!
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
