Oliver Solberg Leads Rally Sweden After SS1 2026

WRC, Sportrik Media – Oliver Solberg leads Rally Sweden 2026 after winning Thursday night’s opening Umeå stage by 3.8 seconds, securing an early advantage in the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

The Umeå stage, featuring the spectator-focused Red Barn Arena section, traditionally opens Rally Sweden under darkness and will also serve as Sunday’s powerstage. Solberg repeated the feat achieved in 2025 by Elfyn Evans, despite reporting that his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 was “moving around from left to right” on the pure ice surface.

Evans, who trails Solberg by four championship points entering the weekend, described his run as a conservative start but still secured second fastest time. Third overall went to fellow Toyota Gazoo Racing driver Takamoto Katsuta, 4.4 seconds off the stage-winning pace.

“The stage is pure ice, same as last year,” Katsuta said. “Tomorrow will be a different story, that’s what I’m hoping.”

The first significant error of the rally came from Jon Armstrong of M-Sport Ford, who misjudged braking for a square right. After scrubbing speed against the inside snowbank and dipping into the exit bank, his Puma Rally1 suffered a power loss, costing 45.1 seconds.

“Really lucky not to get stuck,” Armstrong assessed. “It was a difficult stage to read the grip, I just missed my braking and was lucky to get away with it. Not a good way to start, but at least we’re still here.”

Toyota’s early dominance was reinforced by Sami Pajari, completing a provisional top four lockout, while Hyundai Motorsport held positions five through seven. Thierry Neuville led Hyundai’s charge, 6.7 seconds off the lead.

“I was just following my feeling,” said the 2024 world champion. “I’m braking super, super early all the time because I don’t know if the car will stop or not. I was able to develop the feeling through the stage and hopefully that helps us tomorrow.”

Adrien Fourmaux and Esapekka Lappi were each 1.2 seconds behind the i20 N Rally1 ahead of them. Josh McErlean was the fastest M-Sport driver despite visibility issues caused by a fogged windscreen midway through SS1, finishing 15.7 seconds off the lead. Team-mate Mārtiņš Sesks was a further 2.5 seconds slower.

Solberg’s early lead places him in a strategic position heading into Friday’s stages, where evolving grip levels and road conditions are expected to play a decisive role in shaping the trajectory of Rally Sweden 2026.