Son of Petter Solberg took his Yaris fully sideways to please the crowd
January 28, 2025 at 13:16
- Stewards believe Solberg put spectators at risk with his daring driving.
- Fortunately for the Swede, he wasn’t competing for points during the event.
Rally drivers are, without question, among the most talented humans behind the wheel, capable of performing feats most of us wouldn’t dare dream of attempting. But over the weekend, 23-year-old Oliver Solberg discovered that even this elite skill set doesn’t grant immunity from the watchful eyes of stewards. During the Monte Carlo Rally, Solberg was slapped with a five-minute penalty for what officials described as “exhibition driving” through the streets of the tiny yet glamorous Principality.
The son of World Rally Championship legend Petter Solberg, Oliver was competing in the Rally2 class, piloting a Toyota GR Yaris throughout the weekend. During the last day of the Monte Carlo Rally and while heading to Parc fermé, Solberg pulled his car’s handbrake at Monaco’s famous hairpin, performing a beautiful drift around the famous corner.
Read: New Toyota GR Yaris Special Editions Tuned By Its WRC Stars Get Donut And RWD-Biased Modes
While the epic powerslide got fans crowding Monaco’s streets very excited, officials weren’t so pleased. They claim that Solberg created a “potential unsafe situation” by driving so close to the crowd, declaring it an act of “exhibition driving,” which is strictly forbidden by the regulations. They slapped him with a five-minute penalty for the stunt.
“The Stewards reviewed video evidence. The incident happened on the road section on the way from the final podium in the Principality of Monaco, in the corner ‘Fairmont’,” the report said. “The driver admitted that he was driving sideways in front of spectators. The driver apologized for his lapse, adding that in his opinion he did not create an unsafe situation.”
Of course, it’s a little ironic Solberg copped such a hefty penalty when, during WRC stages, spectators and drivers frequently get a little too close for comfort and at much higher speeds than this ‘incident.’ It’s not as though the Swede is an inexperienced driver either, having finished second in last year’s WRC2 title chase. Fortunately for Solberg, the five-minute penalty didn’t impact him too much, as he’d already opted out of scoring WRC2 championship points for the weekend.
H/T to Motor1
