Oliver Solberg couldn't hide his disbelief. The Swedish driver called his rivals' decision to carry only one spare tyre “a bit stupid”, especially with Elfyn Evans fighting for the world championship.
The blunt comment came after a drama-filled Friday morning at the season finale. Solberg was the fastest of the Toyota trio, finishing third at the midday service, ahead of Sami Pajari in fourth and Evans, who was down in sixth. Evans still leads the championship by 17 points over Pajari, while Solberg is 21 points adrift.
What left Solberg scratching his head was the tyre choice. He started the morning loop with two spares, while Evans and Pajari took only one each. “I think the other guys are pretty crazy. I mean, to take one spare, especially Elfyn when you’re fighting for the championship, it’s a bit stupid,” he said.
That decision proved risky. Several drivers suffered punctures, including Solberg himself on the opening stage. Luckily, he lost only a little time. “I feel that it was the safe choice to take, for sure. Not an advantage, but at least it was the safe choice. You saw a lot of punctures this morning, myself on the first stage. I think I was quite lucky not to lose too much time,” he added.
Despite feeling a small impact before his puncture, Solberg was still surprised the tyre failed. “There is something hidden everywhere and you feel something all the time. On the final stage, I must have looked at the display ten times to see whether there was a puncture warning, because you get paranoid here,” he explained.
The same three-stage loop will be run again in the afternoon. Evans, sweeping the roads as the first car, may opt for a different tyre strategy as there could be even more loose stones to complicate his task. “Of course you can manage where you put your wheels, but half the time you don’t know when these little surprises are coming,” Evans said.
With such a tight points gap, every tyre call could have a huge impact on the title fight. Solberg clearly chose the safe route, while Evans and Pajari seem willing to take risks. The afternoon will test whether that bold strategy pays off or backfires.
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