Petter Solberg on Oliver's Heartbreak: It Hurts Tremendously, but I Am Incredibly Proud of Him

"My heart rate was high all weekend," Solberg Sr. told DirtFish. "Heading into this event, Oliver was completely fired up and genuinely believed he could clinch the title. I told him I appreciated his positive mindset, but the gap was still 21 points. The passion he drove with right from stage one was incredible. Of course, in the end, tears and disappointment followed after leading by 1.9 seconds just 200 meters from the finish. It was a mistake, but that's rallying. He won the rally itself by a comfortable margin and claimed second place in the championship in his first full season at the top level. He should be extremely proud, even though it hurts a lot right now."

"Honestly, it was the craziest event I've ever seen," Solberg continued. "The points dynamic was incredible—Neuville retired on Saturday, then Fourmaux had a puncture, and on Sunday Ogier was driving a bit slower. Nobody knew what was going on. I wouldn't call it a lottery, but it was absolute madness. Rallying is unique because it can deliver that kind of drama on the very final stage. Unfortunately, Oliver missed out on the title, but the tension was unbelievable. I'm completely exhausted, and I wasn't even driving."

"I told him to take only the positives from this. Evans fully deserved the championship as well—his family has worked relentlessly and tried so many times, so no one can take this achievement away from him. It was a fantastic battle and he won it with dignity. I tried to remind Oliver that he won the rally, has a bright future ahead, finished second in the world in his debut full season, and gets to attend the official FIA Prize Giving."

"We could look back at rallies like the Canary Islands, but the reality is that you have to go through the mistakes yourself, learn the lessons, and regroup so you don't repeat them. He is only 25 years old. Look back at drivers like Ott Tänak, Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, or even Loeb and Ogier—every single one of them walked this path. Rallying is a sport where you can't just explain what not to do until you experience it firsthand. Oliver was incredibly motivated and put together five fantastic final rallies. It doesn't matter whether you drop points because of a mechanical issue or driver error; what matters is that everything eventually falls into place."

"Being part of the next generation brings tremendous pressure. I personally secured the silver medal in my second full season. Now Oliver just needs to keep pushing forward, maintain the joy of driving, work hard alongside the team and the people around him, and the success will inevitably come."