› On the ultra-fast gravel stages of the new world championship event, Oliver Solberg and co‑driver Elliott Edmondson achieve their second WRC2 win of the season.
› With the Toksport WRT run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, the Swedish-British pairing scores fastest WRC2 times on twelve of the rally’s 20 stages.
› Five Škoda crews finish inside the top ten of WRC2.
Liepāja (LVA), 21 July 2024 – Toksport WRT’s Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) dominated WRC2 at Rally Latvia, eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The 22-year-old Swede and his British co-driver led the category from start to finish, promoting Oliver Solberg to the WRC2 overall lead.
Oliver Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) took the WRC2 lead already on Thursday’s super-special on Latvia’s only permanent race track, Biķernieki. Again on Friday, the Toksport WRT crew was in a class of its own and posted fastest WRC2 times on six of the day’s seven stages. Solberg/Edmondson led the category by more than 30 seconds after the first 120 competitive kilometres.
Sharing another Toksport WRT run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, Joshua McErlean and co-driver James Fulton initially held third position in WRC2. Until they ended up in a ditch with the car on its side (SS6). With the help from some strong spectators, the Motorsport Ireland backed crew could continue. Their car suffered only cosmetic damage. But the mishap had cost more than minute. After some more troubles on Saturday, McErlean/Fulton eventually finished eighth in WRC2.
With a healthy lead in the pocket, Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson on Saturday again had to face the challenge of being first WRC2 competitors on the road. Forced to sweep a fresh line after the wider, more powerful Rally1 cars had been through, the Swedish-British pairing wasn’t as dominant as during the first leg. But they had to give away less than five seconds to second-placed Finnish crew Mikko Heikkilä/Kristian Temonen.
On the four Sunday stages, Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson didn’t hold back, but posted another three fastest times. “It's a fantastic feeling to finally win again. There's been a few tough rallies but it is amazing to be back on speed. Winning in Latvia is especially emotional, as I have won rallies here before,“ Solberg concluded. With this victory, the son of former FIA World Rally Champion Petter Solberg took the WRC2 overall lead.
Competing outside the WRC2 classification, Toksport WRT’s Gus Greensmith and co-driver Jonas Andersson used the fast Latvian stages as warm-up for the upcoming Rally Finland. The British-Swedish Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew finished fourth in RC2 class.
Armin Kremer and co-driving daughter Ella Kremer, sharing a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of team Baumschlager Rallye & Racing, dominated the WRC Masters Cup. The Germans celebrated their fourth victory in as many events in the category for drivers 50 years and over. While Italian Mauro Miele, one of Kremer’s main title rivals, rolled his DreamOne Racing Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, the former FIA European Rally Champion extended his lead in the overall standings.
Armin and Ella Kremer even finished ninth in the WRC2 overall classification. Also inside the top ten of the category: Škoda crews Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo Der Ohannesian (Team RaceSeven) in fourth and Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti (Delta Rally Team) in sixth position.
The next WRC event is less than two weeks away: Rally Finland awaits the WRC2 crews in Jyväskylä from 1 to 4 August 2024 with another set of highspeed gravel stages.
Number of the rally: 12
On the way to its second WRC2 victory of the season, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson posted fastest WRC2 times on twelve of the 20 stages.
Rally Latvia, 18-21 July 2024, Result WRC2
1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (SWE/GBR), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, 2:40:25.5 hours
2 Mikko Heikkilä/Kristian Temonen (FIN/FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +37.4 seconds
3 Sami Pajari/Enni Mälkönen (FIN/FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +44.8 seconds
4 Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo Der Ohannesian (PRY/ITA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +3:01.8 minutes
5 William Creighton/Liam Regan (IRL/IRL), Ford Fiesta Rally2, +4:27.7 minutes
6 Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti (ITA/ITA), Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo, +4:45.3 minutes
Standings WRC2/Drivers (after 8 of 13 events)
1 Oliver Solberg (SWE), Škoda, 86 points (from 5 rallies)
2 Sami Pajari (FIN), Toyota, 83 Points (from 5 rallies)
3 Yohan Rossel (FRA), Citroën, 71 points (from 4 rallies)
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