Colin Clark and Luke Barry debate the subject in the Rally Japan 2026 review episode of SPIN, The Rally Pod
The first half of Oliver Solberg’s 2026 World Rally Championship campaign has been a contradiction.
He’s been faster than anybody with 41 stage wins (the next best, Sébastien Ogier, has 27) but he’s the Toyota driver with the fewest podiums (two) so far this year.
It leaves him third in the world championship after seven events, 49 points adrift of points leader and team-mate Elfyn Evans.
Is a Solberg world title still realistic in 2026?
Mathematically, absolutely. If he wins each of the final seven events, he’s world champion regardless of what anybody else does provided he also collects some Super Sunday points.
But realistically? He’s going to have a road position advantage relative to Evans on at least Acropolis Rally Greece and Rally Estonia (which he won last year) and likely further events, but he equally has to eliminate the small errors that have cost him results in Croatia, Gran Canaria and last weekend in Japan.
Solberg has been the quickest driver this year, but he's also been error prone
Discussing the topic on the latest episode of SPIN, The Rally Pod, DirtFish’s Colin Clark believes the pressure of fighting for the title has impacted Solberg.
“It’s a learning year for Solberg,” Clark said. “This is what we’re all forgetting. Right after Monte Carlo, we’re talking about him as a championship contender. It’s a kid in his first full year in a Rally1 car, and we’re talking about him being a championship contender? Goodness me, and I think that hasn’t helped him. I really don’t think it has.
“David [Evans] and I had quite a lively debate about that in the car [during Rally Japan]. He thinks it’s had nothing to do with the situation Solberg finds himself in. I think it’s had everything to do with the situation Solberg finds himself in.
“But I don’t have any worries about Oliver Solberg. You know, all of these mistakes might well mean that he doesn’t become world champion this year, but he will be world champion next year and he’ll be world champion many times. I’m absolutely certain about that.”
Clark is sure Solberg “will learn and get better”, but says the next two of three will be “critical” to his 2026 title aspirations.
“I’m sure he will still be considering himself a title contender,” Clark explained. “If he can get himself back up the table and things start to move, the momentum begins to move in his direction, then yeah, anything can happen between now and the end of the year.
“But my feeling is very much that Elfyn is looking like a different competitor, a different fighter this year. And I think Elfyn will have a strategy for the second half of the year. I think it’s a strategy that will pay dividends for him.”
Listen to the full episde now, where Evans’ clever Japan win, Sébastien Ogier’s struggles and Takamoto Katsuta’s latest failure to claim the dream home result are also analyzed.
Tags: Oliver Solberg, Rally Japan, Rally Japan 2026, SPIN The Rally Pod, WRC, WRC 2026
Publish Date June 3, 2026 DirtFish
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2026/06/EpWrLL45-SOLBERG07JPN26TB203-780x520.jpg June 3, 2026
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