How Ogier mastered the fine margins in epic Solberg WRC duel

“Being fast is important, but being at the end is even more.”

These are the profound words delivered by Rally Islas Canarias winner Sebastien Ogier that Oliver Solberg should take note of after the nine-time world champion won one of the most intense duels he has faced.

Reigning world champion Ogier is arguably the WRC’s greatest because he is blindingly fast but more often than not the Frenchman selects the perfect level of risk versus reward strategy required to deliver results. Last weekend Ogier nailed it while Solberg cut a frustrated figure on the side of the road in the penultimate stage after putting Ogier under intense pressure rarely witnessed. 

Rally Islas Canarias is as close to circuit racing as the World Rally Championship gets, it’s a rally of where fractions of seconds are critical and fine margins decide the winners and losers.

Few are able to go toe-to-toe with Ogier but it appears Solberg is now part of that club. The pair played out a tooth-and-nail fight for tenths as they traversed the Spanish island’s high-grip, race track-like asphalt roads that wind through stunning mountainous terrain.

Solberg had already shown his potential in this department after beating his “hero” at a tricky snow and ice-affected Monte Carlo in January. And now on clean asphalt he demonstrated the electric pace to fight with the WRC’s GOAT, which is incredibly impressive given this is the 24-year-old’s first full-season in Rally1. But as the rally proved, speed is not everything without perfection, and there are small details Solberg needs to brush up before he can take the next step.

Solberg took the fight to Ogier, but pushing slightly too hard lost it all on the penultimate stage

Photo by: Toyota Racing

The fight between the pair was simply extraordinary in a rally that was the polar opposite in terms of drama compared to a chaotic-filled Croatia just two weeks previous. This was dull in comparison, and a slow burner only lit up by the Ogier versus Solberg fight. 

In truth, you could bet your house on a Toyota victory in the Canary Islands. The GR Yaris is simply untouchable in this environment. Last year Kalle Rovanpera led a 1-2-3-4 and this year that was repeated as the Japanese marque won all 17 stages that were run. Hyundai and M-Sport-Ford simply could not live with the pace of the GR Yaris. 

Ogier v Solberg in battle for the ages

After Friday’s leg, which featured the cancellation of stage three due to fans parking in an unsafe location, Ogier and Solberg had begun to edge clear as 8.9s separated the pair in Ogier’s favour. But it was on Saturday when Solberg stepped up his pace and managed to close to the gap to 3.8s in stunning style.

"I don’t want to be one of those drivers who drives fast sometimes and ends up in P5 and P6. I can easily do that but that is not my dream, my dream is to push on" Oliver Solberg

The numbers from Saturday’s leg are mind boggling. After the 13.7km Arucas - Firgas - Teror test the team-mates posted identical times and across the afternoon’s 56 kilometres 1.5s was all that split the pair on the time sheets.

“It cannot be more intense than that,” said Ogier, describing the fight. “With times being so close like this all the time, it doesn’t happen so often.”

Solberg admitted it was a dream come true to be able to fight with his idol, a situation that only increased his desire to push: “Every time Seb is there I get more motivation because he is such a fighter, and he is my hero. Every time he is here I need to step up my level. It is very good learning for me. When you drive against him you have to drive the best.”

Ogier against Solberg was a new chapter in their master vs apprentice dynamic

Photo by: Qian Jun / MB Media via Getty Images

After crashing out on the opening stage in Croatia, Solberg admitted that his approach was to be steady at the start of the rally. Scoring a strong result was at the forefront of his mind, for his championship hopes. The Monte Carlo winner declared that he would only try to snatch the win on Sunday if he got closer to Ogier.

Solberg lived up to his word after taking 1.6s out of Ogier by winning Sunday’s opening loop of stages held in damp conditions. Now only 2.2s adrift, as Solberg put it “when you are that close you have to try”, but on this occasion it ended in the worst possible fashion on the penultimate stage. 

A right-hander over crest, which was much faster now the road had dried caught out Solberg and Elliott Edmondson as their GR Yaris drifted into the Armco barriers. It effectively handed Ogier, who was six tenths up in the stage, the victory and left Solberg dealing with the heartache of zero points. It represents harsh lesson to learn for the future.   

“It is a very big disappointment. Maybe I should have been satisfied with a second place. Maybe I was just too optimistic. The feeling was great in the car, and it easy to say now, but I didn’t think I was pushing too hard in the stage, it was just a small mistake,” said Solberg, now 33 points behind in the championship standings. “It has been a big learning curve this year. I maybe need to take the pressure off myself, thinking about the result and wanting to win and try to be the best. Maybe it is bit too early to think like that. 

“But when the speed is there and you are fighting every rally with the top guys and you know you can do, it is hard not to push. I don’t want to be one of those drivers who drives fast sometimes and ends up in P5 and P6. I can easily do that but that is not my dream, my dream is to push on. These things happen when you are fighting.  

“I guess I just need to learn these small details for the last little percentage. That is what is missing.”

Solberg was disappointed to crash but didn't have regrets about challenging Ogier for the win rather than settling for second

Photo by: Toyota Racing

For Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais, the result was a first win of the season and one that was incredibly satisfying after such an intense fight. The manner in which the triumph was completed was vintage Ogier, offering an example for Solberg to follow in the future.  

The Frenchman said he “never panicked” despite the pressure Solberg was applying, with 42-year-old managing the risk versus reward approach to perfection. Being 0.6s up on his rival in the penultimate test, Ogier was relatively confident he would have been on the right side of a “close call” if the fight with Solberg went down to the final stage.

“Any victory is satisfying but one after an intense weekend and tough fight like this is more enjoyable and it could have been better if the fight would have gone to the end,” said Ogier. “It was super enjoyable. It is never really my approach to go for full risk and everyone knows that. I think I never panicked like I always do and focused on myself. It would have been a close call in the end and it is hard to know in which direction but we will never know. It is for sure tough for him [Solberg] to go from hero to zero very quickly but that is rallying.”

"It wasn’t such a bad rally from Saturday morning onwards. Friday was the true damage to our potential to fight for the win" Elfyn Evans

While disappointed to see Solberg’s victory bid end in such fashion, Ogier believes the only area his rival needs to improve is consistency. 

“The speed in the first five rallies is not the question [for Oliver],” Ogier added. “There is bit more of an argument about the consistency so far. I think at the end of the day it is better problem to have than the opposite. Having that kind of speed, not so many drivers have that capability, so that is very positive point for him. He is still very young and I’m sure we will be fighting in the future.” 

Evans regains championship lead at the wrong time

Solberg’s penultimate stage exit elevated Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans to second, 19.9s adrift of winner Ogier. The Welshman found himself in the fight for the victory after closing the gap to leader Ogier to 10.3s on Saturday morning’s damp stages, but Evans dropped away from the battle as the rally pressed and was left to rue his slow start to the event when it came to finding the sweet spot in his GR Yaris. Come Sunday, progress had been clearly made, evidenced by last year’s title runner-up claiming the maximum of 10 Super Sunday points. 

Evans picked up valuable points to move back into the championship lead

Photo by: Toyota Racing

It was enough to regain the championship lead by two points from team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, who was unable to match the pace on his way to fourth overall.  

However, with the next round being on gravel in Portugal, Evans, known for his dry wit, sarcastically claimed that his timing was “impeccable”, as he now has the worst road position for next week’s return to the loose stuff.

“It wasn’t such a bad rally from Saturday morning onwards. Friday was the true damage to our potential to fight for the win. I’m pleased we were able to improve,” said Evans.

Reflecting on another dominant rally for Toyota which surpassed 300 WRC podiums, Evans was quick to praise the team’s engineers for creating such an asphalt monster: “The guys are working all the time and it was already clear last year that we are able to achieve balance that others can’t. It looks like that has happened again. You have to take your hat off to the engineers working on the car. We have an amazing package.”

After a puncture denied Sami Pajari a likely maiden win in Croatia, the Finn had earmarked this rally as a real chance to take the next step in his WRC career and claim victory. However, the 24-year-old found himself “lost” with the set up and unsure why he couldn’t match the likes of Ogier, Solberg and Evans consistently. A fourth consecutive podium after finishing third was a satisfying consolation in the circumstances.

“First of all I should be always happy and satisfied to be on the podium and four podiums in a row is something unique for me personally. Who would have thought we would have a start like this to the year? I’m super happy with that,” said Pajari, who climbed to third in the standings, 29 points behind Evans. “At the same time we saw what the pace can be at the top level but there were some places where we were losing time a little bit. This rally you notice it so easily when times are so tight so we need to keep on working.”   

Pajari made it four podiums in a row - but was frustrated he couldn't match the frontrunners

Photo by: Toyota Racing

There was frustration for Katsuta, who headed into the rally leading the championship after winning in Croatia. Even with last year’s winner Kalle Rovanpera offering advice, alongside 2019 world champion Ott Tanak, the Japanese couldn’t unlock the sweet spot of his GR Yaris. Overworking the tyres was his downfall on his way to fourth.

“For sure, it wasn’t so promising but at the end I came back with strong pace and second on the Power Stage was good but there are still many things to improve but the direction I have found is good moving forward. The support from Ott and Kalle has been huge,” said Katsuta.       

Hyundai’s worrying deja vu

Hyundai knew it would highly unlikely it would be able to challenge Toyota in the Canary Islands and feared the worst after being on the receiving end of a walkover by the Japanese brand last year. 

"I don’t know [how to fix the car], the engineers don’t know, my team-mates don’t know" Thierry Neuville

The i20 N Rally1 car has undergone upgrades since it last tackled the Spanish Island’s roads, but was even further away from the GR Yaris. All three crews struggled for confidence and were constantly searching for car balance that would allow to commit to racing lines the Toyotas were taking. There were small improvements across the weekend but it was a rally to forget for the Korean brand, which is happening all too often.

Like last year Adrien Fourmaux won the ‘Hyundai Cup’ but was more than three minutes from the lead in fifth overall, and even slower than last year. The Frenchman was 0.74s/km down on the winner when that figure was 0.5s/km in 2025.

Thierry Neuville saw some light at the end of the tunnel after coming agonisingly close to a win in Croatia before his final stage error. But last weekend there was no light at all. “I don’t know [how to fix the car], the engineers don’t know, my team-mates don’t know,” said Neuville. “I wasn’t at one with the car at all and there was nothing I could do. We're far away from what we had as a car before. It’s very frustrating. We saw in Croatia a bit of light at the end of the tunnel and then it disappeared.”

Hyundai was actually slower than last year despite upgrades to its i 20 N Rally1 car

Photo by: Hyundai

The breath of fresh air provided by Dani Sordo on his first Rally1 starts since Greece 2024 provided some hope, as the Spaniard initially led the way on Friday, before finishing seventh.   

“The rally in general and being back in the Rally1 class on these stages was super nice,” said Sordo. “We struggled a bit with the car, and it was very difficult to fight the Toyotas. Between the three Hyundais, it was a nice fight but, in the end, we don’t want to just fight ourselves.”

The hope is that a return to gravel where the i20 N is much stronger will ignite Hyundai’s season.   

Amstrong underestimates, McErlean receives timely boost

In a rally where the gaps between the three Rally1 teams were stark, it was Josh McErlean that triumphed in the battle within M-Sport-Ford. It was a confidence-boosting first clean rally of the season for the Irishman, who finished eighth.

"It's been a really positive weekend for us. We had a clean rally for once, which represents a big step up in performance compared to previous events,” said McErlean.

It was a role reversal for Jon Armstrong who suffered his first setback since making an impressive start life in the Rally1 class. The Northern Irishman was fortunate to survive an off on stage four and was even luckier to recover from understeering off the road on stage 14 at high speed. 

"It's been quite a tricky weekend. Coming here from Croatia, which was also quite tough and twisty, I thought it should be okay, but I probably underestimated the challenge of the rally in terms of all the consecutive corners - the tyre gets very hot and there's not so much grip to the Tarmac,” said Armstrong. “We just really struggled to be in a good rhythm and have good speed like we did in Croatia, which is frustrating. I made some mistakes trying to learn the tyre, because it's a bit different from what we had in previous ERC seasons. I'm grateful to get to the finish and still learn as much as we can.”

McErlean earned the flowers in the M-Sport battle against Armstrong

Photo by: M-Sport