Oliver Solberg Rally Title Near-Miss 'Hurts'

Oliver Solberg, 25, expressed profound disappointment after a late error on the final stage of Rally Sardinia cost him the World Rally Championship title. He won the rally, but championship points went to Elfyn Evans.

Solberg had led Evans by 1.9 seconds before an incident two corners from the finish line. The driver attributed the mishap to an unexpected bush on the outside of a gravel bank that caught his car.

"I tried my very best to the very end and that is all I can say," Solberg said. "I'm not a guy that gives up. I have a lot of passion."

Despite the sting of the loss, Solberg stated he has no regrets about his aggressive approach. "If I didn’t try and I had lost on time I would be struggling even more, but I at least tried," he explained. "I’m proud but it hurts. This was my whole dream. I thought I actually could do it so it is a strange feeling."

Solberg acknowledged the valuable lessons from the season. "It has been a great year and I have learned a lot. I have no regrets and I just have to look forward to the future and take the positives and hopefully have many years to try again."

He congratulated new world champions Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin. "They clearly deserve it with the strong and consistent season they have had," Solberg said.