Solberg sets sights on victory at the 'Magic Weekend'

After confirming his participation in the Euro RX1 battle at Höljes in July, Oliver Solberg has made it clear that he intends to vie for victory at the ‘Magic Weekend’ – in what will be his first competitive rallycross appearance in two years.

Yesterday, Solberg – the son of two-time FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg, and a champion in the dual-surface discipline in his own right in RallyX Nordic’s headlining Supercar category in 2018 – announced that he would team up with Hedströms Motorsport for the event, one of the most famous on the international calendar.

The 20-year-old Swede’s last rallycross outing came at the same circuit two years ago, when he piloted his father’s title-winning Citroën DS3 to a podium finish behind multiple world champion Johan Kristoffersson and World RX event-winner Robin Larsson.

On 2-3 July, Solberg will take to the track in the Hyundai i20 driven by team owner Peter Hedström last season, with the car benefitting from the attentions of both Hedströms Motorsport and PSRX technicians, as well as an engine refresh by Pipo Moteurs in France and a two-day test at Höljes to ensure nothing is left to chance.

Both team and driver are targeting the top step of the rostrum in the second round of the 2022 Euro RX1 campaign, where Solberg will be partnered by countryman Anders Michalak in Hedströms’ Volkswagen Polo.

“This is going to be really fun,” enthused the Hyundai FIA World Rally Championship star. “We have now done a lot of work on the details of the i20 according to our own philosophy we had from the PSRX cars, which together with Peter and his team’s experience of the Hyundai will be really beneficial. Victory is what counts, and while that will be tough, we will bring a good car to the event.”

“When the Hyundai became available, it struck me that Oliver would be a perfect match for it at Höljes,” added Hedström, a multiple Swedish Rallycross Champion and seven-time podium-finisher on the European stage. “I called and he immediately jumped at the opportunity. Everything then went very quickly and together with Petter’s mechanics, we have taken another big step forward with the car’s development.”