After completing 2019 as the most successful year in its history, ŠKODA Motorsport will focus even more on customer teams and strengthen the cooperation by offering the best possible services.
Like in the past, the development of young drivers also plays an important role. In 2020, ŠKODA Motorsport will cooperate with the team of 18 years old Oliver Solberg (SWE). Driving a ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo (new name due to a renaming of its’ class by the International Automobile Federation FIA) together with co-driver Aaron Johnston (IRL), he will compete in the WRC3 category of the FIA World Rally Championship. Their first event in this category will be Rally Sweden (13/02/–16/02/2020).
Beginning with Rally Sweden, 18 years old Oliver Solberg and co-driver Aaron Johnston will share a ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo in selected European rounds of the WRC3 category of the FIA World Rally Championship 2020.
Oliver Solberg has rallying in his genes. Father Petter became FIA World Rally Champion in 2003, mother Pernilla was as well successfully competing in international and national rallies. Winning Rally Liepāja at the age of 17 in 2019, Solberg junior became the youngest driver ever to win a round of the FIA European Rally Championship. During the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship 2019 in Wales, he again delivered impressing stage times in the very competitive field of R5 drivers. “For me, it is all about learning. I am really looking forward to my first rally with the ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo in Sweden,“ says Solberg, who already had the chance to test his new rally car.
ŠKODA was the choice of champions already in the past, boosting the careers of many young drivers. Driving a ŠKODA FABIA S2000, for example Andreas Mikkelsen conquered the Intercontinental Rally Championship (IRC) in 2011 and 2012. Juho Hänninen won the IRC already in 2010, the FIA SWRC (the WRC2 predecessor) in 2011 and European Rally Championship (ERC) in 2012 with a ŠKODA FABIA S2000. Stablemates Jan Kopecký and Esapekka Lappi became ERC Champions in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
The ŠKODA FABIA R5 also played a major role in the early careers of Esapekka Lappi and Pontus Tidemand, who both became WRC2 Champions driving for ŠKODA. And last but not least, Jan Kopecký not only played a key role in developing the Czech rally car into the most successful model of its category. He also became WRC2 Champion himself in 2018. The following year, Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen took the WRC2 Pro title of the FIA World Rally Championship with the new ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo.
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