Correct me if I am wrong, but I think he is the only one that has been on a stage podium in his first rally in WRC (SS3 today).
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Correct me if I am wrong, but I think he is the only one that has been on a stage podium in his first rally in WRC (SS3 today).
Ogier won the first stage he did in a WRC car. WRGB 2008 Sweet Lamb.Quote:
Originally Posted by scn
Didn't Ogier win his first ever stage in a WRC car? Although that was in extreme conditions due to ice in Wales.Quote:
Originally Posted by scn
Sunninen won one in Poland 2017
Pernilla Solberg: Can you please get Oliver 10 glasses, so he has a few in the car, or lenses if he can use them. They are harder to loose! :D
It would seem stupid not to have a backup pair in the car.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sulland
hadnt he got an other one incident with lost glasses at last rallies?Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
Oliver SolbergQuote:
Originally Posted by dimviii
@OliverSolberg01
·
Some of you may remember when I lost my glasses at Rallye di Roma last year... well it happened again!
Man facepalming
I think I was faster this time because I didn't see much in the dark!
Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat
Love the way he gives it his all for the PS.
Missing out this time, but shows the team managers what is to come!
Really impressed with Oliver's performance, top 5 in 6 out of the 10 stages. Nice push on the power stage, despite the off. Not afraid to take risks and a really enjoyable personality to watch. Hope we can see more of him in WRC1 this season.
Despite what I thought it was definitely a good idea to start here for multiple reasons.
Adamo got PR and "pressure" towards Hyundai leadership ("look we have this new star in our team")
Solberg did a bit better than expected by most people, though not drastically better (like Ogier or Suninen on their first rallies).Though I don't think it was possible to get stage win in a "consistent" rally with similar stages like this one. Maybe most surprising was his "stability" in getting similar stage times in top 5.
To make him a complete driver he imo needs three things:
1. the ability to win/get results when under pressure and expected to perform (here there was no pressure)
2. stable performances in rallies (so far he usually is like Petter, great stage times in one stage and then a mistake or a big time loss on next, that doesn't win championships against "machines" like Ogier or Loeb)
3. learn rallies that he has not started on before (here he actually had an advantage compared to most drivers)
Hard to say what is the way forward, imo he can learn all 3 things in (competitive) Rally2 car or in a WRC car. WRC car is certainly more expensive and might also add too much additional "noise", on the other hand it's also more visible and will also help him learn aero.
Which brings me to maybe the main reason why I think it was good for him to start here in WRC car. Looking at the performance of Rally2 cars and comparing the times with Arctic Rally 4 weeks ago I would say that in the current I20 R5 he'd at best be fighting for 3rd here. That doesn't not help much for points 1. or 2..... and point 3. was moot here since he already started Arctic 4 weeks ago.
So some middle strategy might be to learn rallies in Rally2, do the ralllies where he has some experience in WRC (Estonia for example) and also definitely wait for the new Hyundai Rally2.
One of the best and most experienced co-drivers in my country with lots of knowledge about WRC said in a private conversation two years ago that Oliver is on the same level as Kalle and maybe even higher. And he added that both of them have the full potential to be future world champions and that we are going to see big fights between them in the future.
He was right. Period.
P.S. Any criticism for a 19-year old kid driving a WRC car in a WRC rally is just funny.
Come on! So hypotetically said. His performance in R5...? And talking about pressure, Iīd say he had pressure after day one. And made it clear he managed it.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
@scn We were many fans saying same as your co-driver friend Loris.
So letīs enjoy what he did. And wait and see what comes next. Anyway he did some greta things in Arctic Rally.
i dont want him to go back to R5, that was such a impressive debut and interesting to follow.
him and Kalle will be having huge battles for the title in some years.
I’m with you, will be disappointing to see him back in the R5 now... I hope we can see him again in the WRC car this year. As MKnight said, the good PR for Hyundai might ensure that happens.Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
i agree too,and as i have already written here, imho Oliver is more impressive in my eyes.Quote:
Originally Posted by scn
Sorry but it's hard to get what you mean. I can extra-explain a bit:Quote:
Originally Posted by Rallyper
1. Driving under pressure
What I mean that he needs to learn to come to a rally as a favorite/expected to get a result and do it. So far basically on all rallies rallies he entered any decent result is positive.
For a Rovanpera reference see start of 2019 where he "only" had to collect WRC2(Pro) title as a clearly biggest favorite.... and crashed in first 3 rallies of the season, in Monte even on first stage. There certainly were some lessons learned.
Maybe Solberg in a similar situation manages perfectly, but it's hard to say cause he has not been in one like that yet.
------
R5 performance in Arctic - based on a lot of indicators (Solbergs times in Arctic 4 weeks ago, Veibys times there and on the WRC rally, and performance of Finnish-drivers that did both rallies as well as Huttunens splits before retirement) I think Solberg would have had big problems with at least the top 2 Rally2 cars in this event, maybe even Gryazin.
Simply because the current Hyundai R5 is not fast enough on this kind of stages.
Since he also did the event 4 weeks ago it was much better to run in WRC (upgraded to almost? latest spec, better than Loubet anyway).
I think you are very nonchalant in your speculations. Hypothetics in its worst form. Just stop. Admit he did a great job. Letīs see what comes next and let us not get more of your very nonsense here.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
You can return the day your speculations are prooved.
Solberg doesn't need wrc2 title or rally wins..
He was put to WRC car to (yeayea - have fun).. see if he has the pace. The answer is - YES.
Neither Gus, Takamoto, Pontus, Camilli or etc has shown such a speed on their WRC events..
They can cruise thru, but a young driver better shows speed and crashes, rather than safely/slowly goes thru the stages..
You have quite short memory. This is Pontus's first WRC start: https://www.ewrc-results.com/entryin...n-2013/244702/Quote:
Originally Posted by TypeR
Clearly you are unable to discuss anything related to Oliver Solberg without getting into crazy fanboy level of protectiveness.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rallyper
I wrote he did very well immediately in the first post and discussing what might be the best way forward. You manage to turn everything into his criticism without even reading it properly, even things that mention what what was good for him.
The last two sentences of yours are truly epic "shut up talking about him". "Discussion" forum in the best form.
Yesyes. You found one rally in 2013 that was one off.. and 8y ago was really just like yesterday..Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
Otherwise he hasn't been/shown any real speed in top class.
More than sure that Solberg won't keep driving with R5 for next 2-3 years. There's no point to do that.
I though you compare them when they started because the first WRC event went actually nearly same for both (bar the engine failure of Tidemand's car).Quote:
Originally Posted by TypeR
Who else noticed logo just above visor on Seb Marshall's helmet ?
Iīm sorry for being a bit harsh.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
However I still donīt like your hypothetical theories about what heīd done IF he drove WRC2 class instead. Thatīs ridicoulus. It is like you donīt really can fully admit his performance.
And yes, itīs very nice having Oliver in the WRC circus as a Swede. But more is what he contributes for the whole rallying world. No matter from where he is.
One thing we should not forget is that this was a new rally for almost all drivers except kalle and oliver. With kalle driving it basically one month ago.
Still an impressive debut, but i'm not sure he would have lost only 1:39 when all drivers would have had the same road knowledge.
Let's see what the future brings.
What logo?Quote:
Originally Posted by KiwiWRCfan
I think it was Oliver driving in Rovaniemi one month ago, instead of Kalle.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
His first rally in a full WRC car should negate any 'advantage' of driving in Lapland recently.
His driving was spectacular and reminded me of how the high-power WRX cars are driven (which he has also).
It's going to be great viewing if he gets some more top level drives with no pressure to be fastest and point-scoring.
Oliver said to parcferme.no that the road had changed so much since the national event that he didn't recognize himself and made brand new pace notes, also the WRC suits his driving style much more than the R5.
Ogier had told Petter Oliver putting pressure on him is one of the reasons he went off, also told Oliver that he used to have the "edge" on Petter but not on him :)
Oliver had 150km of test before Artic, I'm sure Kalle had quite a bit more before MC 2020.
I saw Oliver using the i20 WRC on RBR to get used to the speed, it feels really nice to drive so getting used to the speed and braking especially might have helped, who knows.
Like father like son! Petter actually copied this from Oliver on to his own FB page. https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/likefatherlikeson
My thouhgts after ARF; will Oliver keep Seb as co-driver in his future career? Or is Seb under contract with other driver?
If I were team behind Oliver, this is what will contribute very much, no matter how good his Irish mate was. Is it harsh?
Why Oliver should change codriver? Aaron only didn't start cause FIA stupid protocol.
Oliver said that aron is his codriver this year, but they had seb in backup due to covid.
Sent fra min SM-G950F via Tapatalk
I know that of course. Read my quote again. I just made a question.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Oliveira
What should Hyundai do next with Solberg?
After an amazing World Rally Car debut, everyone wants to know what Oliver Solberg does next. DirtFish debates
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/what-...-with-solberg/
As I wrote just after Arctic for the future he needs 3 things:
1. Learn rallies
2. Learn to keep stable performance trough a rally
3. Learn to get a result when expected to ("under pressure")
1-2. he can learn in both WRC and Rally2. 3. is obviously not so easy with WRC, but it's also the last thing needed. So if someone provides the money surely he can drive WRC all the time. My impression is that the cost difference is huge though.
Don't like the "simple" comments made by multiple commentators saying "he has shown he is ready". Ready for what? Fight for championship, totally no. Fight for wins, no. Drive around in 4-6 place.... sure he has shown that, but what does that give by itself? Note that Rovanpera with like 2 years more R5/Rally2 experience basically had 2 rallies where he was in podium fight last year (Sweden and Estonia), on the others he was always clearly behind the other 5 drivers.
What I find funny in that article is D. Evans saying that putting him to WRC right now is "playing the long game" while driving Rally2 is better for short term. My impression is entirely the opposite and a lot of arguments in that article say the same. Clearly putting him in the car for Arctic was extremely short-term motivated by Adamo, as claimed by himself.
If 2022 cars were the same as this year it would be much clearer pick but they are not, especially the lack of active center dif imo also makes a big difference (lately Lappi said that in Arctic).
For Rally2 there is the important step of driving the old or the new car. The old one does seem to lack a bit behind competition on some surfaces (rough gravel and maybe a bit also on very fast gravel).
Anyway, there is a calendar of WRC rallies set up. No point to discuss abstract starts when we can discuss specific events. I'd pick this:
Croatia - Rally2, doesn't have much tarmac experience, I20 R5 seems decent on tarmac lately
Portugal and Sardinia - both in same car, WRC if new Rally2 car is not homologated yet, else new Rally2
Safari - doesn't matter imo
Estonia and Finland - again both same, WRC
Ypres, Chile, Catalunya and Japan - all Rally2 (unless the new one isn't ready)
That's 4x WRC and 5x Rally 2.
This also disregards any WRC2 title ambitions, hard to say how important that is for Hyundai. In either case the first big decision point is after Croatia with factors deciding:
- result in Croatia (anything worse than 3rd (or even 2nd), will made it really hard to have any WRC2 title chance while still doing some WRC starts imo. So ironically worse result should mean more WRC starts
- status of new Rally2 car homologation
What should dirtfish make a story on next with Oliver...Quote:
Originally Posted by dimviii
Oliver need to start seeing the chess-flag!
If you as a junior from the team is told to play libero, and wait till the others fail, and learn - then you need to do that.
starting with Rally2 in Portugal is great idea for future, much better than staying home.