In a statement issued by the Korean team Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, it´s announced that the team and the Swedish youngster Oliver Solberg, son of the 2003 world rally champion Petter Solberg, will not renew the contract for 2023 and he is now without a seat for the next season.
The 21-year-old has been sharing the third Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car with the Spaniard Dani Sordo throughout the season with mixed results – mostly on the disappointing side. Solberg achieved his career-best finish at this year´s Ypres Rally Belgium where he finished fourth overall.
The season has not been trouble-free with some retirements and he has only managed to finish in the top six on three occasions out of nine so far in 2022. The final start for Solberg in Hyundai was last time out at Rally New Zealand where he finished fifth overall despite the car suffering an engine misfire during the penultimate leg on Sunday.
In the statement it says: “Hyundai Motorsport and Oliver Solberg have announced that the contract between the two parties will not be renewed when it reaches its natural conclusion at the end of 2022. The decision to part ways has been taken following a challenging season for the team.“
“Solberg, who has completed eight events in the WRC Rally1 category in his debut year at the top level of the sport, registered a best result of fourth in Ypres Rally Belgium. Most recently, he claimed fifth in Rally New Zealand, which was to be his final Rally1 event with the team.“
“The encouraging performances have come during a season of learning for the young driver, in which he has been a positive and hardworking member of the team.“
“In an effort to deliver more consistency in its performances, Hyundai Motorsport has outlined its intentions to field an experienced trio of crews for the 2023 season. The team will decide on its complete line-up in due course and make an announcement accordingly.”
For the upcoming season, the team has decided to go with a more experienced line-up and drop the chances for youngsters to have a go. For the two remaining rounds of the season, it is Sordo who will be driving the third Hyundai.
