Oliver Solberg dominates win at WRC Rally Estonia

Oliver Solberg dominates win at WRC Rally Estonia

20th July 2025 0 By Kamron Kent

Oliver Solberg, Toyota, has secured the win at the World Rally Championship’s Rally Estonia in his debut appearance in the team’s Rally1 Yaris.

Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool

Solberg has finally become a WRC Rally Winner on his one-off appearance for Toyota Gazoo Racing, his first Rally1 start in three years, when he previously raced for Hyundai.

The 23-year-old put in a stunning performance on the first stage of Friday to take the rally lead. From there, Solberg was never really put under pressure as he worked to extend his rally lead over the two trailing Hyundais.

After Friday’s action, he led by 12.4 seconds before increasing this up to 21.1 seconds on Saturday night, as the two Hyundais, Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville, battled each other.

The winning margin increased to a maximum of 25.2 seconds over second-placed home hero Tanak.

Speaking at the end of the rally, an emotional and teary Solberg said:

“After everything, for so many years trying and trying and trying and dreaming, Elliott [Edmondson] and I have finally made it!

“I don’t know how to describe it. I just want to say a big thank you to Toyota, to the team and to the test team who have helped me get so comfortable. I’ve never had such a good time in my life, so thank you.”

Solberg’s victory in Estonia has also provided Toyota with 100 WRC rally wins as they return to the top spot after losing their unbeaten run in Greece last time out.

Tanak finished the event in second place, at his home event, as the pressure eased off on Sunday thanks to Neuville’s 10-second time penalty for a jump start. But the Hyundai pairing completed the top three in second and third, respectively.

The Estonian now holds the championship lead now, with 162 points to his name, dethroning Evans from the top spot by a single point. It is the first time to see a championship lead change since Sweden, back in February, when Evans took over from Monte-Carlo winner Sebastien Ogier.

Rally Finland is next on the calendar, another fast gravel event, which will take place on July 31 until August 3, 2025.

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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.

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About the author

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.

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