• Swede’s fourth series win is enough to land big SWC prize

• Jonsson DirtFish Rally School-bound to be taught to drive like Oliver Solberg

• Internet issues spoil Solberg’s top-10 challenge in Wales

• Close to 17,000 join the Solberg World Cup in association with DirtFish

• More to come? Solberg promises news on what’s around the corner… 

 

Sweden’s Robin Jonsson has won the inaugural Solberg World Cup in association with DirtFish, landing himself a seat on a Seattle-bound aeroplane to spend a day driving with Oliver Solberg at the DirtFish Rally School.
 
Jonsson’s victory at the Volkswagen Motorsport Rally Powys, which finished on Sunday night, was his fourth maximum score from six rounds, making him a worthy champion of this inaugural Solberg World Cup. 
 
The 20-year-old superstar racer picks up a very special prize from Volkswagen Motorsport. Success on the final round in Wales is rewarded with the exact trophy Volkswagen Motorsport was presented for victory on the 2014 Wales Rally GB, following Sébastien Ogier’s win on the British round of the world championship.  
 
Second and third-placed competitors on Volkswagen Motorsport Rally Powys win a much sought after ID R model and cap.
 
Second place in the Solberg World Cup also comes with rich reward; Lukáš Matêja, who finished runner-up to Jonsson, will be the only person in the world able to drive DiRT with a genuine wheel from a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 after the technicians at the four-time world championship-winning team converted the wheel for use on a sim.

Jonathan Schaeffer was third at the end of the season and takes away a selection of Solberg-inspired prizes.
 
For champ Jonsson, the good news just keeps on coming. His unbeatable speed and consistency throughout the DiRT Rally 2.0-based championship have landed him the trip of a lifetime. Robin will be taught how to drive in real time by 18-year-old WRC2 competitor Oliver Solberg, son of 2003 World Rally Champion Petter Solberg.
 
Long-time PSRX and Solberg fan Jonsson said “This is insane! Winner of the Solberg World Cup! I can’t believe that I’ll get the opportunity to drive a real rally car with Oliver Solberg at DirtFish Rally School, it’s a dream come true. Big thanks to DirtFish, the Solberg family and their partners for making this possible!”
 
For Oliver, there was disappointment, frustration, delight and pride in equal measure at the end of the six-round series.
 
“I really wanted to make the top-10 on Volkswagen Motorsport Rally Powys,” said Oliver, who finished 35th out of 16,706 entries.
 
“Everything was going quite well for me and I was running in and around the top five when we lost the internet connection and I was forced to retire! This has to be one of the strangest reasons for retirement I will have in competition. It was really frustrating. I love this DiRT game and the roads in Wales are so cool.
 
“Our result overall was not so bad and we have to be so, so happy for the number of gamers who joined us. Can you believe we have now nearly 17,000 people competing! That’s incredible and something I am really proud of – we built this Solberg World Cup together and now we have a great club.
 
“It’s been a fantastic competition and thank you and congratulations to everybody who competed and made it so special. And big, big congratulations to Robin [Jonsson] – his speed really was incredible. Those times were amazing in all six rallies. I’m really looking forward to meeting Robin in Seattle, not just so we can drive together, but to see if I can take some tips from him to get quicker on DiRT!
 
“But, for now, we have a week or two away from gaming. Then what? What is coming next. For sure, there has to be something and I do have a few ideas…”
  
Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets said: “Congratulations to Robin Jonsson for winning the Volkswagen Motorsport Rally Powys. With his remarkable performance he clearly deserves the championship title. I would also like to thank almost 17,000 racers for taking part in the Solberg World Cup and for making make this virtual rally championship such a great experience.”
 
All that remains for the inaugural Solberg World Cup in association with DirtFish is Jonsson’s trip to America to claim his money-can’t-buy prize of a day’s tuition at the Seattle-based DirtFish Rally School with Oliver Solberg.
 
DirtFish CEO Justin Simpson is looking forward to welcoming the winner.
 
“Solberg World Cup in association with DirtFish has been an awesome competition,” said Simpson, “the response was better than expected with nearly 17,000 gamers all pushing for the win. I was very impressed with the level of competition. To win the Solberg World Cup required the preparation, talent and will of a true champion.
 
“A huge congratulations to Robin for his victory. There’s no doubt, he’s in for an absolute blast driving one of our Subaru rally cars here at DirtFish Rally School, alongside Oliver. I am sure this will be a trip he will never forget.”