Solberg masters tyre strategy as Toyota fight tightens in Rally Chile
Oliver Solberg’s pace was matched by a more measured approach to tyre management in Chile, where Evans’ late puncture and another Power Stage win moved the Toyota driver closer to the championship fight
Oliver Solberg, below, turned up the heat in the WRC with a win for Toyota in Chile – the third of his WRC career
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With the final day still looming on Rally Chile, Oliver Solberg was pondering a reversal of his usual 2026 fortune. “We’ve found a really good balance between risk and reward with tyre management and choosing the right time to push,” he said. “It’s tricky to know how to manage your tyres when Seb is the master of it.”
The interesting thing here is that Solberg seemed more worried about the World Rally Championship’s maestro Sébastien Ogier than Elfyn Evans in what had turned into an all-Toyota fight at the front – with Hyundai ace Adrien Fourmaux just about clinging on to the leading trio of GR Yaris Rally1 weaponry. It was Evans, after all, who was in second place, with Ogier third…
This was a scintillating performance from Solberg. Since his stunning Monte Carlo Rally victory at the start of his first full season back in the Rally1 ranks, he had sometimes been the architect of his own downfall. Also, as he pointed out: “The last two rallies have been very strong but there’s always some small details with either rain or starter motor or whatever happens.”
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That certainly was not the case in Chile, the second of two successive South American rounds. Sami Pajari had continued his mid-season purple patch to win for Toyota in Paraguay, but the Finn was off the pace a fortnight later. The other big name, Hyundai man Thierry Neuville, rolled out on the first stage of day two.
All the while, Solberg carried on setting fastest stage times – he leads on 58 to the 48 of Ogier for 2026 – as he continued an unlikely climb back into championship contention against points leader Evans and Pajari. Then final-day heartbreak for Evans, who had to stop to change a puncture on the penultimate stage, dropping to an eventual fifth. Could the Welshman mitigate the damage by topping the bonus-points Power Stage? No, that went to Solberg too – by 0.5sec.
“It’s been an unbelievable weekend,” bubbled the Swede. “Finally a little bit of luck on my side and I can just focus on my job.”
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Driver briefing notes
F3’s US champ, and Palou takes a fifth IndyCar title
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