Oliver Solberg says he will go on ‘maximum’ attack in his quest to seal the 2018 RallyX Nordic presented by Cooper Tires title after extending his lead in the overall standings with the run to the podium in Kouvola.
Having begun the penultimate round of the season tied on points with defending champion JC Raceteknik’s Thomas Bryntesson, Solberg’s second place finish has swelled that advantage to six points over now Oliver Eriksson – winner in Finland – with just the season finale at the Tierp Arena on 6-7 October remaining.
On a busy weekend for the 16-year old having dovetailed Sunday’s RallyX Nordic commitments by competing in Estonia’s Louna-Eesti Rally on the Saturday, Solberg recovered from a poor start in the final to recover to a welcome second place finish.
“It was a strong weekend and the speed was certainly there,” the Norwegian driver revealed. “I initially fell behind “Csucsu” I managed to get back through and almost catch Oliver before the car suffered a technical problem that slowed me down.
“Once again it was a tough competition between myself, Thomas and Oliver but second place in the final was a good result and we secured some crucial points.”
With 12 points covering the top three and a maximum haul of 30 points still up for grabs, Solberg anticipates the title will come to the final corner of the final lap
“It will be a great fight of course. Oliver and Thomas are very fast, it will be a great for fans. It is so tight in the championship, I just need to focus, compete at my maximum and get the points I need to get the title.”
Adding another intriguing factor into the mix, the newly-built rallycross track at the modern Tierp Arena facility in Sweden will level the playing field for the much-anticipated title showdown.
“I have seen some images of the new venue and it looks good. It has gravel, which I love because you can attack. I think it is going to be a great addition to the calendar.”
