Oliver Solberg drives a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC at Arctic Rally Finland
- Oliver Solberg makes his World Rally Car debut in the WRC
- The teenager drives a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC at the WRC’s second round
- Oliver ready for the step from world rallying’s second tier to the sport’s big league
- Maiden Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC outing comes in familiar wintry conditions
Oliver Solberg will make his debut at rallying’s highest level when he drives a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC at the Arctic Rally Finland later this month.
Less than two years on from making his maiden stage rally appearance in a four-wheel drive car, the 19-year-old drives Hyundai Motorsport’s i20 Coupe WRC on the Rovaniemi-based World Rally Championship qualifier.
Oliver will get his first taste of the 2C Compétition-run Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC at a test in Lapland on Saturday.
Predictably, the Hyundai Motorsport driver is thrilled to take the next step of his career — a step which comes just over a month into his career with the Alzenau-based squad. In that month, Oliver and co-driver Aaron Johnston have already delivered two head-turning performances aboard an i20 R5, finishing on the podium at the Arctic Lapland Rally and then posting a pair of top-five stage times overall at Rallye Monte-Carlo.
The Monster Energy driver said: “The first thing is for me to say is a very big thank you to Andrea [Adamo, Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal], Alain [Penasse, Hyundai Motorsport Team Manager] and everybody for giving me this opportunity and for putting their trust in me to drive this rally in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC.
“This really is a dream for me. To think I have only been competing for four years and now I’m here; it’s just a dream to be making my debut in a World Rally Car from the World Rally Champions!
“Honestly? I’m counting the minutes until I get to sit in this fantastic Hyundai for the first time.
“Obviously, I did Arctic [Lapland Rally] last month with the Hyundai i20 R5, so that gave me an idea of what’s coming later this month.”
Delighted to drive the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC anywhere, anytime, Oliver’s particularly pleased to make his debut in the car on a surface and in surroundings he knows well.
“That is,” he said, “one of the good things about driving the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC in Lapland — the snow and ice conditions should be consistent, which is a nice way to learn about a new car. The consistency will help me to understand the grip and how any changes we make to the car will affect it.
“And we go there with just one tyre, Pirelli’s Sottozero Ice which is also nice and certainly less complicated than on the first round of the WRC, Rallye Monte-Carlo, where we had four tyres to choose from and so many conditions it was sometimes quite crazy!
“If I had to choose a rally to take a debut in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, it would be my home event at Rally Sweden, of course! But I have to be honest and say the snow in Finland is pretty good as well.
“I have driven quite a lot on the snow and I know this type of condition quite well.”
While Oliver’s got a good idea of what’s coming from the conditions, the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC is something quite different.
“The Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC is completely new for me,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot for me to take on and understand. For a start, the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC has one more gear than I’m used to: it’s six instead of five. And, of course, there’s a paddle shift and a lot of data to learn from the centre differential.
“Probably one of the bigger challenges I will face is understanding and using all of the aero grip which is coming from the car. This is one area where I haven’t done so much in the past — but Finland is a good place to come to understand how much downforce a World Rally Car like this one can generate; the roads around Rovaniemi are really fast.”
Oliver has offered a brief glimpse into the differences between the Hyundai i20 R5 and the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. In circuit racing terms, it’s Mick Schumacher’s step from a Dallara Formula 2 car into a Haas VF-20 Formula 1 car.
The Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC is the car Hyundai Motorsport used to win the last two FIA World Rally Championship titles. By definition, it’s been the fastest and finest World Rally Car since the start of 2019.
Side-by-side the Hyundais look similar, but the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC offers 25% more power. It uses state-of-art transmission technology to deploy 380bhp to the road allowing Oliver to rocket from standstill to 100kph in under four seconds. On any surface.
And once the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC is at that speed, bespoke suspension and braking systems work to keep the car planted through the corners. A significant aid to the highest corners speeds in the sport’s history is the aerodynamic package fitted.
North of 100kph, the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC generates more and more downforce with every added kilometre per hour.
The Hyundai i20 R5 is a car developed with the customer in mind, so it’s much more cost-focused, utilising more stock components in the engine, transmission, brakes and suspension. It’s still a tremendously capable competition car, but it’s not quite in the same league for speed as the World Rally Car. Click here for further information.
So, now he’s joined the top flight, what’s possible for Oliver at Arctic Rally Finland (February 26–28)?
“The only target for me in Lapland is to learn and take the experience,” he said. “I want to come out of every stage understanding the i20 Coupe WRC more than when I started it. At the same time, I do want to see progression with the times, that’s also important for me.
“It’s a real privilege to drive the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. I was so impressed with the i20 R5 when I was in Finland and on the Monte last month — any time I can get in a Hyundai and drive it, I’m definitely going to be happy for that. My focus for 2021 is for WRC2 and I’m looking forward to starting that programme later this year, but right now it’s very, very good for me to be building my understanding and experience of Hyundai’s fantastic rally cars!”
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Andrea Adamo said he wanted to see Oliver make the most of the opportunity. And he wants to see him smiling.
“We are,” Andrea said, “very happy that Oliver has the opportunity to drive the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC in Arctic Rally Finland.
“We are keen to see his performance level, of course, but there is no pressure on his shoulders in his debut WRC event. He has to enjoy the rally and take all the experience possible. It will be his first time at the top level of world rallying but it is more of a test than anything else; he has to acclimatise and get acquainted with the high-speed nature of the car in these wintry conditions.
“We hope to see him at the arrival, the end of the Power Stage, with lots of enjoyment and happiness — that’s the main target.”
