The two-time world champion believes Oliver Solberg is on course for stardom. Read his full column on Club DirtFish
Photography by Toyota
Words by Luke Barry
Marcus Grönholm knows a thing or two about success in the World Rally Championship.
He spearheaded Peugeot’s dominant spell in the early 2000s, winning two world titles, and just two drivers (both named Sébastien…) have won more world rallies than him.
So when he makes a statement like this, we listen.
“We are entering the Oliver Solberg and Toyota era.”
The stats certainly support Grönholm’s theory: two WRC starts, two wins in a GR Yaris Rally1.
That’s a record Solberg is extremely unlikely to keep forever, but that doesn’t shake Bosse’s feeling that Solberg is ready to become the WRC’s next megastar – like the man he effectively replaces was before him.
“Oliver Solberg did a phenomenal job to win Rally Monte Carlo, and I think he’s a generational talent like Kalle [Rovanperä] is,” said Grönholm in his exclusive Club DirtFish column, Ay, Ay, Ay.
“Jari-Matti [Latvala] made the best decision to sign Oliver for Toyota. Oliver has done all of the things young drivers need to do when coming up – crashes, mistakes, junior categories, all of this – and now I think he is ready to go all the way and fight for the title.
“If someone isn’t in his ear feeding him bulls**t and making him completely crazy, then I pretty much think we are entering the Oliver Solberg and Toyota era.”
Solberg starts this week’s Rally Sweden as the world championship leader, seeking to become the first Swede to win their home event since Kenneth Eriksson in 1997.
“If I’m not wrong, he’ll be flying once again in Sweden,” Grönholm smiled.
Subscribe to Club DirtFish’s Silver tier now to read Grönholm’s full column where he explores why Rally Sweden was such a pivotal event in his career, sharing stories of how a drunk Timo Rautiainen helped convince Corrado Provera to give them a full WRC season and why Sågen was such a good stage he had to name his restaurant after it.
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Marcus Grönholm, Oliver Solberg, Rally Sweden, Rally Sweden 2026, WRC, WRC 2026
Publish Date February 9, 2026 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2026/02/Solberg01MC26cm1964-780x1170.jpg February 9, 2026
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