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Petter Solberg's son Oliver could join World Rallycross during 2018

World Rally and double World Rallycross champion Petter Solberg could be joined in the World RX field by 16-year-old son Oliver before the end of the 2018 season.

The younger Solberg is also considering racing full-time in the World RX supporting European Rallycross Championship next season.

Solberg junior became the youngest ever RX Supercar racer last year, when he raced his father's title-winning Citroen DS3 in the Rally X Nordic series aged 15.

Currently leading the 2018 RallyX Nordic standings thanks to two victories from three rounds, Oliver entered the Swedish round of Euro RX at Holjes recently but was placed on the reserve list for the event.

"I think we will try the race in Latvia [in September] because I've tried the track and it's really good fun," he told Autosport. "I'll enter and we'll see if I'm allowed."

Asked if he will enter the Euro RX or World RX Supercar category at Riga, Solberg said: "I think World RX will be tough with the car for this track, with it being only Tarmac. It's a nice track and it's more for fun because it's no championship fight, just to try how the level is.

"If I don't enter European then I'll enter World, I don't know exactly yet."

Solberg competes in rallycross and rallying using a Latvian license. He is set to take part in Monster Energy's Gymkhana Grid event in South Africa at the end of the year in the Citroen Supercar and could race in the final round of World RX the week before at Killarney.

"It would be fun, I asked if they could take the shipping a bit earlier to do the World round," he said.

"Oliver Eriksson did it last year and he did quite well and we are competing against each other on the same level this year in Nordic, so it would be cool to try out. It's a cool track with a lot of gravel so I think the car feels perfect."

With his age limiting how much and where Oliver Solberg can contest rallies, he is eyeing the 2019 European RX series in the Citroen as it "would be good for the speed and the experience to be consistent and calm with my driving. It would be good practice for rallying and it's fun".

Solberg junior tested his mother Pernilla's cousin Lukas Walfridsson's Renault Clio Supercar in Latvia last week but running was cut short by electrical issues.

Both he and Petter than took part in the Norges Raeste Bakkelop hillclimb in Norway last weekend.

Driving his father's Citroen Xsara WRC, Oliver won the event and beat the hill record by more than five seconds, while Petter drove his historic specification Ford Escort MkII.

Zdroj: autosport.com