• Close to 15,000 gamers start this week’s Solberg World Cup round four 

• Greece lives up to its fearsome reputation for Oliver at Pirelli Rally Argolis

• Lukáš Matěja wins Pirelli Rally Argolis 

• OMP New England Rally is up and running now 

 

Oliver Solberg didn’t have far to look for advice. His father Petter knows just how hard the Greek roads can bite. Solberg Sr tackled Greece’s premier rally 12 times, finishing on the podium six times. 
 
At his last visit, driving a factory Ford Fiesta RS WRC in 2012, he came within an ace of winning the Acropolis Rally for a second time, only to be caught out by the tough, tricky and rocky roads.
 
He retired, but remained fourth, from 25 point scorers, in the championship. 
 
Oliver also retired after a technical problem with his steering wheel (genuinely, not virtually) left him powerless to keep his Monster Energy-backed Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 on the road. He retired, but remains 67th in the championship. Out of 14,887.
 
The popularity of the Solberg World Cup in association with DirtFish continues to grow and continues to exceed all expectations. It’s seeing the popularity among his fellow gamers that brings a smile to the 18-year-old’s face today. 
 
“Pirelli Rally Argolis was a tough one,” said Oliver. “I listened to my dad, he told me the stories about keeping the car in the middle of the road, but when your wheel is not exactly right it’s not so easy. Don’t forget guys, check your steering!”

Petter knows exactly what he means. Remember Greece 2002?
 
Petter: “The steering wheel came loose on my Subaru in 2002. I could feel the wheel coming loose and I was shouting to Phil [Mills, co-driver] to get the tool to tighten the wheel or it would come off in my hands. Driving with no steering is not easy!”
 
Oliver added: “We are 67th from nearly 15,000, that’s not so bad. Nearly 15,000! Can you believe that? It’s so cool to know people are coming with us on this rally and this journey and it’s so competitive. I want to say a big thank you to everybody who competed in Greece and a big thanks to Pirelli for the support. 
 
“Now we go to OMP New England Rally and I’m really looking forward to it. I did this event in the Subaru [WRX STI] last year. The roads are just fantastic, it’s going to be very fun and I hope all 15,000 of us have a good time in the stages. See you there!”
 
OMP Racing’s sales manager Bruno Curletto is delighted to partner with round four of the Solberg World Cup in association with DirtFish.
 
Bruno said: “Having been in partnership with the Solberg family for decades, we are extremely happy to add one more collaboration to this long story [by] tying our name to this event. It’s a difficult time for the racing world, but we feel that gathering all the racing people together, even if only virtually, is the right way to brilliantly fight adversities. The Solberg World Cup is a great idea!”